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12 Shows Like ‘You’ to Watch in Honor of Season 5

To fill your Joe Goldberg void

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shows like you
Netflix

In the past four seasons of Netflix’s You, Joe Goldberg—played brilliantly by Penn Badgley—has gone to extreme lengths to win the hearts of his latest obsessions. In the process, the show has offered a glimpse into the mind of this charming sociopath, who has totally shifted our perspective on love and infatuation. 

Fortunately, the popular series is returning for season five, so fans can expect to see more of Joe’s antics as he pursues his latest personality, Professor Jonathan Moore. But if you’re wondering how you’ll fill the Joe-shaped void in the meantime, we compiled a list of the 12 best shows like You. Keep reading for the best options on Netflix, Prime Video and more.

1. Killing Eve 

  • Cast: Sandra Oh, Jodie Comer, Fiona Shaw, Darren Boyd
  • Number of seasons: 4

Much like Joe’s secret obsession with his romantic partners, an MI5 agent named Eve becomes infatuated with an assassin who goes by the name Villanelle. But as Eve tries to track her down, Villanelle also develops a growing obsession with her. Based on the novellas by Luke Jennings, the cat-and-mouse thriller offers a fascinating peek into the mind of a sociopath. But it also explores female relationships, sexuality and whether people can truly change.

2. Dirty John 

  • Cast: Connie Britton, Eric Bana, Juno Temple
  • Number of seasons: 2

You’ll notice a familiar pattern with Joe’s relationships. First, he wins a woman over with his bookish charm. Then, the entire relationship devolves into chaos as disturbing details come to light. Similarly, in season one of Dirty John, a charismatic doctor starts to date a single mother named Debra. She doesn’t realize that she’s dating a master manipulator with a seriously dark past. Inspired by true events, the series explores John’s psyche as he targets Debra and her family.

3. Bates Motel 

  • Cast: Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke
  • Number of seasons: 5

Even if you’re not familiar with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, this captivating series will appeal to anyone who’s fascinated by deeply disturbed men. Set before the events of the 1960 film, Bates Motel explores Norman’s messy relationship with his mother as they move to Oregon in hopes of getting a fresh start. While the show explores Norman’s origin story, there are several other factors—like the growing suspense and three-dimensional characters—that make this an addictive watch.

4. Hannibal 

  • Cast: Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas
  • Number of seasons: 3

Hannibal follows Will Graham, a skilled criminal profiler, who is hired to investigate a serial killer. When it starts to take a toll on his mental health, he gets paired up with a forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Little does Will know, Hannibal is leading a double life as a serial killer and cannibal. Worse yet, he starts to develop an obsession with Will and secretly manipulates him, which only worsens his mental state.

5. Chloe 

  • Cast: Erin Doherty, Billy Howle, Pippa Bennett-Warner
  • Number of seasons: 1

Joe relies heavily on social media to stalk women and infiltrate their lives. Similarly, Becky Green uses social media to investigate the sudden suicide of her childhood friend, Chloe—but it doesn’t end there. Desperate to figure out what really happened, Becky assumes a new identity and orchestrates a run-in with Chloe’s BFF. But the more she gets involved with Chloe’s inner circle, the more she starts to lose herself in the process.

6. The Fall

  • Cast: Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan
  • Number of seasons: 3

Paul Spector is an incredibly handsome and charming family man who lives a normal life with his wife and children—or so it seems. What the average person doesn’t know is that Paul is also a misogynistic serial killer who’s been stalking and hunting down a string of professional women. Senior detective Stella Gibson is brought on to solve the case, but it proves to be more challenging than she expected.

7. Dexter

  • Cast: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter
  • Number of seasons: 8

We’re totally convinced that Joe’s character was partially inspired by Dexter Morgan, the likable bloodstain pattern analyst who secretly hunts down and kills criminals who evade the justice system. Aside from having two personas, both characters are similar in that they have a warped sense of morality and often cross the line because of it. But in Dexter’s case, he’s constantly torn between giving in to his sociopathic tendencies and his desire to be normal.

8. Mindhunter

  • Cast: Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Hannah Gross, Anna Torv
  • Number of seasons: 2

Set during the late ’70s and ’80s, Mindhunter follows a team of FBI agents who make up the Behavioral Science Unit. Their main goal? To study the minds of imprisoned serial killers and apply that knowledge to their toughest investigations. The series offers some insight into the origins of serial killer profiling, featuring depictions of notorious criminals like Charles Manson, Son of Sam and BTK Killer.

9. Ozark

  • Cast: Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Sofia Hublitz
  • Number of seasons: 4

Although Ozark isn’t a psychological thriller, it does center on a Joe-esque character who juggles two vastly different personas. Bateman stars as Marty Byrde, a seemingly happy financial advisor who’s forced to relocate his family from a Chicago suburb to the Lake of the Ozarks after a money-laundering scheme goes horribly wrong. After the move, Marty and his wife, Wendy, dip their feet into even murkier waters, getting involved with local criminals and the Kansas City mafia.

10. Barry

  • Cast: Bill Hader, Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Glenn Fleshler
  • Number of seasons: 4

Speaking of complicated men who lead double lives, meet Barry Berkman. The professional hitman and former marine comes to realize that he’s not happy with his life of violence. So, he takes up acting classes in hope of pursuing it as a full-time career in Los Angeles. But there’s just one problem: walking away from his impulse to kill is easier said than done. Anyone who has conflicting feelings about Joe will take a liking to Barry, whose constant battle with his own conscience will have you rooting for him one second and hoping he gets caught the next.

11. Revenge

  • Cast: Madeleine Stowe, Emily VanCamp, Gabriel Mann
  • Number of seasons: 4

Emily Thorne may not have a Joe-level obsession with her love interest, but her revenge mission, which involves taking down every single person involved in her father’s death, certainly calls for some espionage. With some careful planning and research, Emily strategically infiltrates the wealthy Grayson family, intending to destroy them from within. But as she tries to carry out her plans, Emily grows attached to a few people in the family, making her mission more difficult.

12. Gypsy

  • Cast: Naomi Watts, Billy Crudup, Sophie Cookson
  • Number of seasons: 1

You meets The Shrink Next Door in this gripping drama, which follows Jean Holloway, a clinical psychologist who simply refuses to respect her patients’ boundaries. Throughout the series, she makes a habit of getting deeply involved in their personal lives—so much so that she befriends her patients’ loved ones.


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