The psychological thriller You hit Netflix in 2018 and had fans buzzing over the serial killer Joe Goldberg, who many argue is based on notorious real-life serial killer, Ted Bundy. Created by author Caroline Kepnes in her 2014 novel titled You, and followed by her sequel Hidden Bodies in 2016, the story follows Joe Goldberg, a bookstore manager and serial killer whose love for a customer turns obsessive and delusional. Although Joe is the villain, fans not only root for him, but some fall in love.
The similarities to Bundy are somewhat blaring, for the list goes on and on. Kepnes was adamant that Bundy played no role in the inspiration of Joe, but fans began to question that sentiment once You premiered. With Netflix releasing both a film and a docuseries about Bundy and his life at the same time that You dropped, people truly wondered just how connected the truth was from fiction.
Serial Killer Similarities
Much of these comparisons come from how both Goldberg and Bundy are charming, charismatic, and handsome on the outside, but depraved, obsessive, and hollow inside. Not only that, but there is a striking resemblance to Ted Bundy and actor Penn Badgley, who stars as Joe. Within this alpha male persona of proving their masculine worth, both real-life Bundy and fictional Goldberg attract women who fall in love with them. The allure may seem odd, but given the physical attraction mirrored with the surface personality, women genuinely find these two men to be attractive.
Kepnes said that Goldberg was not based on Bundy because it would be perverse and reminded people that Goldberg was fictional and that Bundy killed real people, with real families, and real consequences. Eerily enough, a Reddit user pointed out a scene in You where Candace, Joe’s ex-girlfriend who later has a frightening incident with Joe in Season 2, calls Goldberg “Bunny”. Carol Boone, wife of Bundy, used to call him “Bunny” as well.
Inspiration For Goldberg
While Kepnes maintains that Goldberg was not influenced by Bundy, other sources of inspiration were noted. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) of American Psycho was one and the inner monologue of the killers to bring the audience in closer lends evidence to this. Arnold Friend of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates and Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) of The Silence of the Lambs were other inspirations. The idea of both vying for attention and coveting what they couldn’t have are traits from both that were put into the making of Goldberg.
Creating a killer for a character is challenging and influences exist from everywhere. The amount of scripted crime television shows, mixed with the vast amount of true crime shows and podcast, as well as every movie where someone dies, the possibilities for even the slightest touch of influences are endless. Bundy’s past is horrific and although no one should base anyone off of Bundy, his persona and the character of who he was are exactly what crime fanatics thrive on. Goldberg is simply another complex serial killer on television and whether it’s Bundy, Lecter, or Bateman, a bit of each is inside of Joe.
