Penn Badgley has stayed relatively quiet after after his unforgettable role on Gossip Girl, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been busy. He just married partner Lola Kirke for the second time (just go with it), and now he's gearing up to make his return to the small screen. According to Entertainment Weekly, the 30-year-old is coming to Lifetime to star in the network's new series, You, and fans of Badgley's character on Gossip Girl (his real character, *cough cough*) will be pleasantly surprised. The roles aren't too different. In fact, they sound exactly the same.
You, based on the Caroline Kepnes' novel, tells the story of a bookstore manager named Joe Goldberg (played by Badgley) who uses technology and social media to make the woman he's lusting after, Beck, fall in love with him — extremely creepy, but also extremely on brand. Doesn't this sound like a classic Gossip Girl move? It's just five years later with much faster social media, but the stalking and secrecy remains the same.
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You, however, is a more of a tense thriller than an addictive drama, since Joe uses social media to get close to Beck and ultimately "remove" people who are in his way — whatever that means. (We're pretty sure we know what it means).
While Beck's character has yet to be cast, You was given a straight-to-series order in April and will be executive produced by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, as well as Sarah Schechter, Leslie Morgenstein, and Gina Girolamo. There's no word yet on when You will be coming to our screens, but at the rate things are going, Badgley and Kirke will probably have at least two more weddings before then.