You can admit it: At least a part of you is enamored by Joe Goldberg—and that's by design.
Ahead of You's season four, part one premiere on Feb. 9, Penn Badgley explained the psychology behind his charismatic serial killer.
"We have created a character that we want people to be charmed by, seduced by," he exclusively told E! News on Feb. 7. "It's not like it's a clinical portrait of a serial killer and everybody just happens to be obsessed with him. No, it's on us that everybody likes him so much. We've created him that way."
But Joe's not the only charming criminal on TV. Television history is rife with characters so bad you can't help but love to hate them. From mischievous miscreants to outright murderers, there's no shortage of anti-heroes in the TV landscape.
Since You's premiere in 2018, Joe has racked up quite the body count—including many of the show's other fan-favorite characters.
"Who is anyone to accurately judge whether or not someone can be redeemed?" Penn continued. "OK, if you're talking a serial killer, maybe it's safe to say people who've killed that many people cannot be redeemed."
However, you'll have to wait until March 9 for season four, part two of the Netflix series to find out if Joe is ultimately redeemable. Although, Penn did admit, "I'll go ahead and say Joe can't change, won't change."
In the meantime, keep reading to see where Joe Goldberg ranks amongst TV's most notorious anti-heroes. And be warned, there are obvious spoilers below...
Hugh Laurie's character may be the definition of a narcissist, but compared to the rest of the anti-heroes on our list, he is rather tame. For starters, he doesn't have too much intentional blood on his hands.
Unlike Dr. House, Edie Falco's Nurse Jackie is intentionally treacherous with her co-workers and patients. However, while she does do harm, a great deal of it is at her own expense.
What sets Omari Hardwick's Ghost apart from the previous two entries is not only his kill count, but also his general lack of empathy for even his own family. Cold-blooded, indeed.
Whether you find Eve or Villanelle to be the show's true anti-hero, it's safe to say that both Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer's characters have killer instincts. And senses of humor.
Penn Badgley's Joe Goldberg is currently in his most heroic era yet in season four of the Netflix series. However, half a season of relative innocence does not quite make up for three years' worth of bloodshed. And the bodies keep dropping.
Michael C. Hall's Dexter may be the only TV serial killer who's proven more deadly than the aforementioned Joe. While he technically only kills other serial killers, it's safe to say the Bay Harbor Butcher is as infamous as they come.
Sure, he might not have quite as high a body count as the killers before him, but where would we be without James Gandolfini's original TV anti-hero? [cut to black]