First airing on Lifetime on September 9th and then hitting Netflix the day after Christmas, You gives a view into the life of a stalker. It shows how the stalking develops and how it gets much more dangerous as the obsession goes on.

Main character Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) works in a bookstore, watching everyone that comes in being able to perfectly analyze their every move and guess what they’re looking for. When Guinevere Beck, or Beck, (Elizabeth Lail) walks in he instantly falls for and wants to be with her. They begin talking and after she leaves, he begins to stalk on social media. After standing outside her very open windows many times and following behind her daily routine, even to her college campus, he ends up with her phone. With all her information and messages at his fingertips he finds out where she’s going, any other guys he needs to get rid of, and even some friends to watch out for.

First off, only one season has been aired yet, but it’s already off to a great start. Some shows may start off with a weaker first season to test the waters, but this one came out with a bang. Taking you through ten episodes of non-stop suspense and action, I really enjoyed it. It also really creeped me out to realize that anyone you meet can get so much information off the internet about you without you even knowing. I mean Joe gets Beck to fall in love with him even though all this time he had been invading her privacy and spending most of his time watching her and what she does. It really makes you think because you realize how realistic it could be and how easy it would be for this to happen to you.

Now I did have a few issues with the series and how dramaticized it was. A lot of Joe watching her had to with the fact that she had these giant windows at the front of her little house. I think anyone with even a little common sense would find someway to cover those up so that the entire street can’t see what you’re doing every second of every day. I wouldn’t think anyone would be okay with that much openness into their life by strangers. Another thing is it’s just shocking no one ever realized anything off about Joe even after all the ‘coincidental’ run-ins and all the things he knew about her or what she was doing without being told.

I think the direction of the show is promising. Right now there’s only one season, but season two is on the way. Besides dialogue between characters, you’re led through the show by following the actions of Joe and Beck while they narrate it and explain their thoughts. It was a really cool way to get to know and be attached to the characters. Also, the character selection for the stalker was perfect because, like in reality, he seems like someone you can trust and not like there’s anything wrong. He’s able to build relationships and feelings that seem genuine. Lastly, I really loved how they played off of Joe working in a bookstore because through this it gives him access to this soundproof book room in the basement. The box can be locked and is a very well controlled environment for temperatures and sound, allowing him to carry out his devilish deeds without being caught.

The show does well at staying realistic and showing how at risk we are as a social media generation of being stalked or having people gain access to your information. It does a really good job of transferring a creepy feeling from the show to you, that you’re being watched. So if you’re planning on watching, I’d curl up in a blanket and keep the lights on.