How edgy romantic thriller ‘You’ blurs the line between love and obsession

Lail (left) and Badgley in “You”

What would you do for love? You might not like the answer provided by the main protagonist of Caroline Kepnes’ best-selling novel “You,” whose edgy 10-episode TV adaptation will be streamed on Netflix starting Dec. 26.

When bookstore manager Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) crosses paths with the brilliant but broke student Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), his answer to the aforementioned question becomes as clear as his love for prose and poetry: Anything.

Using the internet and social media as his tools to get close to Beck, as her coterie of BFFs, led by Peach Salinger (Shay Mitchell), call the perpetually cash-strapped writer, an awkward crush quickly becomes impetus for obsession as Joe quietly—and strategically—removes every obstacle in his way.

Early this week, executive producer Sera Gamble, who cowrote the series with Greg Berlanti (“Love Simon,” “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” “Riverdale,” “Supergirl” and the upcoming “Batwoman” and “Stargirl”), told Inquirer Entertainment about how Penn and Elizabeth developed their potent chemistry onscreen, and why she roots for the star-crossed couple despite seemingly insurmountable odds.

Penn Badgley

Here’s our Q&A:

What were the series’ biggest inspirations for its compellingly perverse tone and noirish quality? The book itself! Caroline Kepnes wrote this amazing novel about Joe Goldberg, and it was the rich inspiration for the series.

What attracted you to the book, and how faithful is the web series to it? In the book, I was attracted to the tension between the romantic and the creepy. I was fascinated by my own continual desire to root for the couple, despite knowing the twisted truth about Joe Goldberg.

The series expands the world imagined by the book, but it’s faithful to much of the original story.

The series shows Penn Badgley in a different light as an actor. How did he end up playing Joe Goldberg? Penn and Elizabeth make a pretty pair. Was their chemistry instant, or was it something they had to develop? Penn read the script, and we met to discuss it. It was important for us to be on the same page about the message of the show, and to be clear that he would be portraying behavior we were interested in exploring but not necessarily condoning.

Elizabeth read scenes with Penn as she was auditioning for the role, and they had mutual respect that instantly shone through in the scenes.

Elizabeth Lail

[Their chemistry] looks effortless to me, but of course there’s a lot of invisible work that goes into the processes of actors of that caliber. I’m sure they both worked very hard to make everything look easy.

What was the most challenging aspect about adapting the book for the big screen? In a way, we are telling two stories at once: the story in Joe’s head, as seen through Joe’s eyes … and the real story of Joe Goldberg. Because he’s sometimes a bit deluded about the truth of what he’s doing.

Keeping both stories going on parallel tracks for every episode was challenging, but fun and exciting.

Any reaction to observations that compare “You” to “Gossip Girl,” perhaps because of Penn Badgley, its common denominator? I compare everything to everything, so I’m not surprised!

Penn likes to joke that his character on “You” is the meta-evolution of Dan Humphrey, [Penn’s character in “Gossip Girl”].

 What is the message  the show wishes to impart about obsessive love?   More than any one message, the show is interested in exploring the sometimes very blurry line between love and obsession.  And the fact that sometimes, when we think of great love stories, we’re actually thinking about stories of obsession, violation and violence.

From left: Nicole Kang, Elizabeth Lail, Shay Mitchell and Kathryn Gallagher

The novel gave me a lot to think about: I reexamined my own love of romantic comedies after reading Caroline Kepnes’ take on them. I thought it was the perfect book to turn into a TV show because it’s making such a point about the great cinematic romances of the past—we can use that same visual language to point out where those stories cross the line.

The book has a pretty good following. Are you worried about its avid readers’ expectations? Always! We’re fans of the book, too. So, we hope they like it.

How—or, more appropriately, why—did you end up incorporating Paco (played by Luca Padovan), the book-loving boy with an abusive stepfather who isn’t in the book, into this story? Greg Berlanti had a vision for a young boy who would help us extrapolate more about where Joe comes from and why he is the way he is.

We’re very lucky to have cast Luca Padovan. He’s mature beyond his years and a great actor.