If You're Missing You, The Perfect Follow-up Show Has 7 Seasons & A 97% Rotten Tomatoes Score

With Joe Goldberg’s story officially over, fans of You will be looking for something to fill the void, and the 7-season series Younger is a perfect option. For five heart-pounding seasons, we watched Joe (Penn Badgley) fall in love, kill for love, and eventually turn his killer sights on the objects of his affection themselves. Though toxic love and murder is You‘s throughline, also running throughout the show is Joe’s love of literature. Throughout the series, he works at Mooney’s bookstore, volunteers at a library, becomes an English professor, and You season 5 sees Joe find fulfillment in writing.

Based on the novel of the same name by Pamela Adlon, Younger ran for 7 fantastic seasons, first premiering on TV Land in 2015. The series centers on Liza Miller (Sutton Foster), a newly divorced 40-year-old mother who decides to reignite her career in the publishing industry. Faced with ageism, Liza decides to lie about her age, posing as a 26-year-old to score a job as an assistant at Empirical Press. A comedy series, Younger is much different in tone from You, and may seem like an odd recommendation, but the shows have more in common than meets the eye.

Younger Has Similar Literary Vibes To You

Though Not A Killer, Younger’s Protagonist Is A Book Lover Like Joe

When I first heard about You, I initially wasn’t very interested. But then I heard that season 1 was about a guy who works at a bookstore and falls in love with a young writer named Beck, and I knew I had to watch it.

While I also became hooked on the core murder element to the show, what really set You apart for me was its celebration and love of literature. I’m proud to say I have almost nothing in common with Joe Goldberg — except that I, too, am a bibliophile, and it’s rare to see that be such a prominent aspect of a television protagonist.

Like You seasons 1 and 5, Younger is set in New York City, specifically the literary world.

Younger‘s Liza Miller is also someone with precious few similarities to Joe, but publishing is her life force, and she loves books. Like You seasons 1 and 5, Younger is set in New York City, specifically the literary world. It’s a much more corporate series, as it’s about characters who work at a major publishing house, but there’s a lot for book lovers to latch onto. While Bronte introduced romance tropes to You, Younger has fun featuring parody characters of famous authors, from George R.R. Martin to Candace Bushnell.

Both Younger & You Feature Protagonists Hiding A Big Secret

Liza Lives A Double Life

Aside from a passion for reading, at first blush, it doesn’t seem like the warm-hearted, supportive mother Liza Miller has much in common with a homicidal misogynist. However, much of Younger sees Liza trying to hide a big secret that could destroy her, which is essentially what You is all about. Of course, lying about your age to get a job in a corporate culture that dismisses middle-aged women isn’t on par with Joe Goldberg killing dozens of people, but there’s no denying that’s where the drama in both shows stems from.

Liza Miller and Kelsey Peters are in front of a blue and purple background.

Younger Cast & Character Guide: Who Else Stars In The Sutton Foster Show

Though Sutton Foster takes the lead as Liza Miller, the Younger cast includes an incredible ensemble of talented actors who create fun characters.

Trying to keep a secret is almost never easy, and it’s even harder with secrets as big as Liza’s, and certainly Joe’s. Both Younger and You‘s protagonists’ attempts to cover their tracks set off huge chain reactions, often to comedic effect — black comedy, in Joe’s case. Though nobody dies because of Liza’s lies, there are definite consequences, like her boyfriend getting a tattoo of a dragon in commemoration of Liza’s false birth year.

Why You Fans Will Love Younger

Liza Lives A Life Of Romantic Complication

Joe Goldberg is no white knight or Prince Charming (despite what the press might have said). Nobody should swoon over his actions, but there’s no denying he’s a romantic. His intense romantic infatuations are what fuel him, as he makes the object of his obsessions the center of his universe — until they come between him and his first love, which is killing. While You is in no way a romantic show, there’s no denying that it’s about romance.

Collage of characters from Jane the Virgin, Younger, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

20 TV Shows To Watch If You Like Younger

Younger may have ended now, but fans of the Star series will love these other shows about secrets, lies, romance, and female friends.

Romance is a big part of Younger as well. Similar to Joe, Liza’s romantic life in Younger becomes increasingly complicated because of her lie, though her relationships are much healthier and less lethal. Most You viewers are likely fans of the romance genre, so they’ll find a lot to like in Younger. Only this time, they’ll get to root for the protagonist’s happily ever after instead of actively cheering against it.