You season 5 star Madeline Brewer is preparing herself for potential fan backlash to her new character. Serving as the final season for the hit psychological thriller show that first began on the Lifetime network in 2018, the show was later picked up by Netflix for 2019’s season 2. Brewer has been tapped to join the You season 5 cast as Bronte, a free-spirited playwright who comes to work in Joe Glodberg’s (Penn Badgley) New York bookstore and is widely speculated to become the latest target of his unhealthy, and frequently fatal, obsessions.
With You season 5 set to arrive on Netflix on April 24, Brewer recently spoke with Vanity Fair about what fans may expect from her character. Suggesting that viewers are either going to “love to hate her—or hate to love her,” the actor has begun preparing herself for potential backlash, even if that means having to avoid social media for a while. Check out her comments below:
People aren’t going to like Bronte for one reason or another. They’ll love to hate her—or hate to love her. So that part I’m just gently preparing myself for. If that means I’m not on Instagram for a while, that’s fine. Because I have a wedding to plan. And a Nietzsche class to finish. I got other shit to do. So hopefully, everybody’s chill, but if they lose their chill—I’ll be okay.
Brewer also went on to comment about the irony inherent in worrying about how her character is received, given that Badgley’s protagonist is a serial killer. The Handmaid’s Tale star joked that viewers may need to go to therapy to understand their affection for Joe. Check out her final comments below:
That’s why I love the show so much, it holds up a mirror to us, like, ‘Yeah, we know you’re in love with that serial killer guy from Netflix. Go to therapy. Figure out why that is.’
You Has Already Had A Long List On Unlikable Characters
Brewer’s comments are particularly interesting, given that audiences have already been introduced to a long succession of unlikeable characters throughout You’s previous seasons. With Joe’s exploits often bringing him into close proximity to an assortment of wealthy socialites, narcissists and other patently toxic behaviours, viewers have repeatedly cheered for his twisted schemes and motivations despite their dark and deeply problematic nature.
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While Brewer’s comments may hint at her new character joining the long list of less-than-savoury people who have been drawn into Joe’s orbit, her insistence that she may experience real-life backlash may instead point to her character becoming the cause of his undoing. With Badgley’s character repeatedly escaping justice throughout the show’s other seasons, most viewers are expecting You season 5 to finally deliver Joe’s long-deserved comeuppance, and Brewer’s fears may instead be based on the role that her character plays in that.
Our Take On Madeline Brewer’s Bronte Delivering Justice To Joe
You’s Newest Character May Be A Direct Reflection Of Season 1’s Beck
Given that You season 5 will also see Joe return to New York for the first time since season 1, the parallels to the show’s inaugural outing are already being pointed out by eager fans. Not only will the show feature the return of Joe’s beloved bookstore, but many viewers have pointed out the connections between Brewer’s Bronte and Elizabeth Lail’s Guinevere Beck.
With viewers likely to draw their own connections between the two New York-based writers, it would be exceedingly fitting, even somewhat poetic, for Brewer’s Bronte to be the one responsible for delivering Joe to justice.
With viewers likely to draw their own connections between the two New York-based writers, it would be exceedingly fitting, even somewhat poetic, for Brewer’s Bronte to be the one responsible for delivering Joe to justice. Given that You has already offered viewers several deeply unlikeable characters, Brewer’s concerns about how fans will receive her character is likely based on far more than her assorted character flaws.
Source: Vanity Fair
You
- Release Date
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2018 – 2025-00-00
- Showrunner
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Sera Gamble, Greg Berlanti
- Directors
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Marcos Siega, Lee Toland Krieger, Cherie Nowlan, DeMane Davis, Kellie Cyrus, Marta Cunningham, Martha Mitchell, Victoria Mahoney, Erin Feeley
- Writers
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Justin W. Lo
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Penn Badgley
Joe Goldberg
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Elizabeth Lail
Guinevere Beck
