Is Netflix's 'You' Actually A Sequel To 'Gossip Girl'?

This fan theory is going to blow You fans’ minds

We already know there’s a Gossip Girl reboot right around the corner, thanks to HBO. But what if we don’t need that reboot to know what happened to the Upper East Siders after Gossip Girl was revealed, because the hit series You on Netflix is actually a Gossip Girl sequel? That’s what a lot of fans are thinking.

Think about it. Both series star Penn Badgley. In Gossip Girl, he played Dan Humphrey, the man who was eventually revealed to be the salacious blogger who revealed so many of his costars’ secrets. Gossip Girl knew everything, and that took some serious stalking and sneaking around — what a perfect way to hone those skills before using them to learn everything about Beck in the first season of You?

Plus, we already know that Dan/Joe/Will is OK with packing up and starting a new life somewhere under a new name because that’s (spoiler alert) pretty much the central theme of the second season: After killing Beck, Joe heads to Los Angeles to escape Candace, who, in a my-how-the-tables-have-turned situation, is now stalking him. He assumes an entire new identity, and he does so a little too easily, if we’re being honest. Who’s to say it isn’t so easy for him because he has practice? Because he already moved from the Upper East Side as Dan Humphrey to Brooklyn to assume his new identity, Joe Goldberg?

So here’s the theory: Dan royally messed things up with Serena. He was never serial killer status like we see in You, but he was creepy enough that you know he did something to mess up that relationship. Obsessed with finding that kind of love in his life again, he assumed his new identity in Brooklyn. He met Candace, but that didn’t work out. Still, he honed his skills and learned from that relationship, so when he spotted Beck in his bookstore, he was ready.

Except that didn’t work out either, as You viewers are painfully aware. So Joe decided it was time for another new identity and fresh start. He headed to LA, became Will Bittenheim, and went after Love Quinn. And there you have Season 2. Dan Humphrey is Joe Goldberg is Will Bittenheim. You and Gossip Girl happen in the same cinematic universe!

I’m not the only one with this theory. People who (like me) binged the heck out of You Season 2 already have noted the similarities between Badgley’s two famous characters.

It just makes too much sense not to be true.

We’ll likely find out more when the Gossip Girl reboot finally comes to our TV screens. But in the meantime, we’re just going to assume Joe Goldberg/Will Bittenheim will be involved.