You may know that one of my murdering “friends” in my true crime book, Privileged Killers, is a serial killer. If you don’t know that, you undoubtedly know that countless Americans tune into serial killers when and wherever they can.
The hit series You, is no exception.It features this cage room where the serial killer Joe Goldberg keeps his victims.

The Cage
First a couple of true facts about the book-based series:
Is Joe Goldberg based on a real serial killer?
While some fans have speculated that Joe Goldberg is based on a real serial killer, such as the charismatic Ted Bundy, the character is purely fictional. Instead, Caroline Kepnes, the author of the You book series that the show is based on, found her inspiration in pop culture.
One such influence is the 1991 Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho, which follows wealthy and narcissistic investment banker Patrick Bateman who spends his nights as a serial killer. Much like that book, Kepnes writes several passages on Joe’s inner monologue, revealing his manipulative, obsessive, and deranged nature.
What to Watch now that You is over.
What is it about a killer? Though lurid stories have long fascinated audiences, the massive popularity of true-crime stories and shows about murder make it clear that we remain transfixed by people who commit unthinkable crimes. That’s certainly the case with Netflix’s You, which emerged as one of the streamer’s most popular series across five seasons since 2018.
You stars Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, a serial killer who also happens to be a hopeless romantic in New York City. His adventure has taken him overseas to London, but in You’s fifth and final season, he’s back in New York, where he’s trying to rehabilitate himself with a new wife and a new outlook on life.
But how long can that last when he meets another woman who may just be his soulmate?
Handsome Character
The reaction to Joe Goldberg has been strange—many have declared their obsession with him because he’s undeniably handsome (something that You plays up significantly), even though he’s a cold-blooded killer and psychopath to boot. That said, the fascination with Joe reflects a larger cultural obsession with serial killers.
Penn Badgley as Joe Greenberg In YOU
Some ideas if you feel Withdrawals
As You, one of the most outrageous serial killer shows in recent memory, is finally coming to an end, we’ve got suggestions for your next watch.
These suggestions are among those that Barry Levitt who is a contributor for TIME, has contributed.
In the mind of a killer
Dexter
Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is a forensic technician at the Miami PD leading a double life in this welcome twist on the police procedural. Dexter’s protagonist solves crimes, but he’s also a vigilante serial killer. Not dissimilar to Joe, Dexter has a strict moral code when it comes to his killings: he only targets the criminals of Miami’s seedy underbelly. Balancing his two different worlds isn’t easy, but it makes for hugely compelling television. Fan consensus is that the first four seasons are brilliant before a steady decline in quality, ending in what’s widely considered one of the worst series finales of all time. Still, Dexter is of Showtime’s most popular series ever, and it’s spawned two spin-off series (Dexter: Original Sin and Dexter: New Blood) with more on the way.
Available to stream on Netflix, Paramount+, and Fubo
Sweetpea
Ella Purnell’s star has skyrocketed thanks to roles in Yellowjackets and Fallout. But her best work comes in Sweetpea, a hidden gem on Starz. Purnell plays Rhiannon, a shy, unassuming woman. Even in her small English town, her identity is defined by others: her father, the family business, and her former school bully who is still part of her life. But one shocking action completely alters Rhiannon’s trajectory, when she [possible to hint at what she does without completely spoiling it?] and she slowly steps into her own in an unlikely and surprising fashion. Sweetpea is a darkly comic, slow-burning thriller about self-discovery, complete with manipulation and bloody murder.
Available to stream on Starz and Prime
Bates Motel
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho made the entire world scared to get in the shower, but it also introduced a legendary villain in Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Over 50 years later, Bates was brought back to life in A&E’s Bates Motel, a prequel to the film that follows Norman (Freddie Highmore) as a student while he and his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga), open a motel. The longest-running scripted show in A&E history, Bates Motel examines the endlessly complicated (and often very creepy) relationship between mother and son, and how their influence over one another makes the events of Psycho feel fated. After all, a boy’s best friend is his mother.
Available to stream on Prime
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