YOU season 2: Penn Badgley says reprising role as murderer Joe was ‘isolating’ and ‘oppressive’

Penn Badgley says reprising his role as murderer Joe Goldberg in YOU was an “isolating” and “oppressive” experience.

The actor returns as Joe in the Netflix hit series’s second season, which is due to premiere later this month.

While season one was set in New York, this new instalment takes place in Los Angeles, where Joe is living under a new name.

Candace, we’ve got some unfinished business.

— YOU (@YouNetflix) December 12, 2019

Being in LA wasn’t without consequence for Badgley, who told Variety in a recent interview that it impacted his portrayal of the character.

“For me, playing Joe [in LA] was even more isolating because there was literally more space, so it’s almost like the void that he stares into represents the void in himself that he’s terrified of,” he told the publication.

Badgley added: “It maybe became more oppressive. He is a little bit of an oppressive character, if not extremely, and there’s something I experience of that when playing him.

Aw, Joe made a friend.

— YOU (@YouNetflix) December 3, 2019

“So just privately, the weekends were refuge, because I was able to live in LA like a normal human.”

YOU, which became a fan favourite last year, ended with a dramatic season one finale in which stalker Joe (spoiler alert) killed his girlfriend Beck.

Working at a bookstore with Joe… What can go wrong? @theadwinbrown

— YOU (@YouNetflix) November 30, 2019

A new season two trailer unveiled earlier this month shows him apparently struggling to adapt to life in Los Angeles, having apparently fled to the West Coast.

YOU, based on the novel of the same name by Caroline Kepnes, will return to Netflix on 26 December.