Although you may see the series on Netflix, the show You has a little bit of diverse background that you had thought it would. So basically You is a psychological thriller. The series is one of the most-watched shows on Netflix. The television series is created by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble and it is produced by Warner Horizon Television, in collaboration with Alloy Entertainment and A&E Studios. When season 1 aired on Netflix, audiences couldn’t believe what they were seeing on screen. The kind of content was not only shocking and spine chilling but it just reflected on how far stalking could get, how dangerous stalkers could be, and how serious a role social media plays in stalking. Think of something like embedded journalism in the Iraq war of 2003 and now think of something like You. Back then attaching a pool of journalists with military generals was a groin breaking practice. It was reported to be an ethical dilemma. But now social media itself acts as an embedded journalist, the way it attaches itself with people, journalists, writers, book shop owners in this case. Why we mentioned the word ‘Journalists’ is because the chief victim in season 1 was a blogger. So she was always on social media and that is how the stalker crept on her slowly and slowly until he became a permanent part of his life and started to affect her at a deep level than you could have imagined. He ultimately killed her, her best friends, and turns out he was a full-blown pathological sociopath. That is what Pen Badgely showed us with that. That’s right people, there is no choco-boy image there, just plain stalkerish creepy lead that will hunt you down and kill you. Season 1 of You was directly picked up from the 2014 novel written by Caroline Kepnes. It traced the story of Joe Goldberg, who lives in New York and works as a bookstore manager and a part-time serial killer. He falls for a lady customer named Guinevere Beck, he stalks her, creeps into her life, and quickly develops a toxic, and delusional obsession with her. The first season, which was released in 2018, stars Penn Badgley, Elizabeth Lail, Luca Padovan, Zach Cherry, and Shay Mitchell. The star cast of season 2 of You included Ambyr Childers, Victoria Pedretti, James Scully, Jenna Ortega, and Carmela Zumbado. Season 2 was equally nerve-wracking as the first season was. Penn moves to a different city, find a different victim. This time around there is a shocking end-twits that kills you as a viewer. Do not worry we will not spoil it for you. For we are here to recommend ten shows that are like You.
Breaking Bad
Speaking of thrillers, is there any show that could match the aplomb of Breaking Bad? Nah, don’t think so. Led by Walter white aka Bryan Cranston aka Heisenberg, and Jesse Pinkman aka Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad was the story of a high-school uber-talented chemistry teacher who broke bad at 50 after his doctor told him he had cancer. Due to financial obligations and to keep his family secure, after his death, he started a meth business along with a high-school dropout, a low-class meh dealer Jesse Pinkman. The two of them carry on for five seasons at the end of which Jesse drives to freedom and Walter dies. Breaking Bad aired on AMC and it has a bunch of wins in its kitty. It was created by Vince Gilligan for AMC.
Black Mirror
Years ago in 2011 when the pilot episode of Black Mirror aired with the pig/Prime Minister incident, people just lost their minds. Season 1 was brief, so was season 2, or as they are better known as series. Black Mirror, when it moved to Netflix was watched globally by audiences who had missed it before. Basically it is an anthology series, each episode of which centers around a different story, a different style. But the show introduced an interactive storyline with Bandersnatch, changing the way audiences perceived any show. Black Mirror is created by Charlie Brooker.
True Detective
Just as fantastic its predecessor show is, True Detective is equally great. But it was the greatest in season 1 with the buddy-cop pairing of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Like Black Mirror, True Detective is an anthology series. It is created by Nic Pizzolatto and it aired first in 2014. Unlike the Black Mirror, the story remains for one whole season with one cast. Every season of True Detective so far (three have aired) is a self-contained narrative, employing new cast ensembles. Season 2 of True Detective was all about Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch, Kelly Reilly, and Vince Vaughn set in California about a criminal-turned-businessman. Season 3 was a little low with the ratings, dealing with the case of kidnappings in Ozarks. It starred Mahershala Ali, Carmen Ejogo, Stephen Dorff, Scoot McNairy, and Ray Fisher.
The Walking Dead
AMC’s The Walking Dead is another name for a cult favorite, a fan favorite, one that has a spin-off in the form of the movie coming up! This one is a post-apocalyptic series that deals with humans vs. the walkers. It belongs to the genre of horror. It is derived mostly from comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The cast is quite huge. There are survivors of a zombie apocalypse, wanting and trying to stay alive with the constant threat of attacks from the mindless zombies, whom we know by the name “walkers” on the show. AMC announced that The Walking Dead was renewed for an eleventh season on October 5, 2019. For now, the production has been halted but the series has become a franchise bigger than ever.
Altered Carbon
The show Altered Carbon is a futuristic tale of events from 300 years+. The story is that society has been changed by new technology. Humans can no longer die and death is just an excuse. The human bodies are interchangeable and death is no longer being permanent. Amidst all of this, the only person surviving is Takeshi Kovacs. He forms a group of elite interstellar warriors who were destroyed and defeated in an uprising against the new world order. And that is how the story begins! You have to give Altered Carbon some time for it can be a little heavy in the beginning.
Stranger
The newest member of the Netflix clan is Stranger. It arrived on Netflix in 2020. The story is about a hole of secrets that sends a family man Adam Price on a quest to learn ugly truths about the people closest to him. Eight episodes were part of Stranger in season 1 and the series was composed by David Buckley. Harlan Coben, and Danny Brocklehurst are the program creators. You can easily stream Stranger on Netflix, whenever you wish!
Ozark
Jason Bateman’s career-defining role and character breaking role is Ozark. A Netflix hit, Ozark is the tale of a family man embroiled in a major money-laundering scheme gone wrong. Ozark was first out in 2017, with Bateman himself on the team as a director and an executive producer. Three seasons of Ozark have made it thus far. The story goes somewhat like this: a financial advisor “Marty” Byrde relocates his family from Naperville to the remote summer resort community of Osage Beach, in Missouri. While no one can understand this sudden relocation, there’s the whole plot of the money-laundering scheme for a Mexican drug cartel that has gone wrong. Marty gets deeper into the game by proposing to correct things by going into a bigger laundering operation in the Lake of the Ozarks region.
Game of Thrones
Is there an introduction that Game of Thrones needs? We didn’t think so. Known as the biggest historical-fiction or the biggest show in general, Game of Thrones is the tale of nine warring kingdoms, each of which is fighting for the Iron Throne. HBO’s GoT is more than that, there are warring factions and kingdoms that go beyond just normal day-to-day medieval age things. There are dragons, zombies from beyond the periphery of their kingdom and entire lore to believe in! The show was created by D&D–that is Dan and David.
Elite
Here is one diverse entry in the list, i.e, a Spanish show about homeschoolers, otherwise known as Elite. It was reopened to local audiences through Netflix, the show centers around elite high schoolers who are suddenly introduced to three working-class teens in a Spanish high-society school. The clashes led to murders and more murders. There is a lot of violence, crime, nudity, and drug abuse for a high school show. But that is how the show progresses! Three seasons of Elite have aired so far!
Sherlock
BBC’s Sherlock broke fresh ground when it aired in 2010 with season 1. Sherlock gave Benedict Cumberbatch his stardom. Created by Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, and Stephen Thompson, the show is based on the life and times of modern-age Sherlock Holmes (a high functioning sociopath) who solves cases for the British public. Soon an Afganistan war soldier, John Watson join him and they set off on adventures. Martin Freeman as Watson and Andrew Scott as their arch-nemesis is a thrill to watch!
