Back in 2017 the ladies of my improv troupe passed around one copy of You by Caroline Kepnes, and it was wonderful. You is such a creepy and unique read, so naturally it was a blast reading it with four other women — too much to discuss in-between improv practice.
You can imagine our excitement when last year, Lifetime picked up You as a miniseries. It’s now released on Netflix, and I finally had the chance to sit down and binge-watch it. Here are my thoughts…
You by Caroline Kepnes: The Book vs. TV Show
Lifetime did a fantastic job with the production of You, hands down. The casting was phenomenal, the writing to bridge the gap between book and screen was tight, and most importantly — the magic of the book was not lost in translation. Which usually happens.
A few elements were added, a few were taken away, but overall what the screenwriters did worked. I enjoyed the storyline involving Joe’s neighbor and digging a bit deeper into his relationship with Kandace, even if those two elements weren’t in the book. It added great depth, creepiness, and made for great TV. I didn’t love the subplot involving Beck’s father and stepmother. I felt they spent a bit too much time on that, but hey, if that’s my only complaint I think they did a great job!
TL;DR
The book was hilarious, and it was recreated beautifully for television. I would recommend reading the book first before watching, but either way…