Caroline Kepnes is an American writer, screenwriter, author and formerly, an entertainment reporter. She is best known for her books You, Hidden Bodies and Providence: A Novel.
Career
Kepnes was born November 1976 on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Her father is Jewish and Kepnes identifies as "half-Jewish." During her formative years, she attended Barnstable High School. After graduation, she commenced her studies at Brown University. Later, she obtained an undergraduate degree in American Civilization and worked as an entertainment reporter for Entertainment Weekly. In an interview with the Boston Globe Kepnes said her first paid writing gig was an article on boy bands, for Tiger Beat magazine. In addition to her work as a writer, she performed as a background character in the television series The $treet. In 2014 Kepnes released her first novel of the thriller series, You. Kepnes explained the darkness of You, which deconstructs the romantic-comedy tropes highlighted in many films and shows by making the protagonist a violent stalker and serial killer, saying it was written in a dark period of her life, the year her father died of cancer, and in which she experienced several other personal challenges. Later, Kepnes was initially hesitant on labeling Joe, as a few readers argued that his actions classified him as a serial killer. The author then clarified her position on the matter, citing that "I remember when I wrote You and someone first referred to Joe as a serial killer. I argued 'he’s not a serial killer, he meets these terrible people and has these awful thoughts, but he’s very sensitive'. It’s very strange to realise you have written a serial killer." In February 2015, it was announced that Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble would develop a television series based on the novel at Showtime. Two years later, it was announced that the series was purchased by Lifetime and put on fast-track development. You premiered on September 9, 2018. On July 26, 2018, ahead of the series premiere, Lifetime announced that the series had been renewed for a second season. On December 3, 2018, it was confirmed that Lifetime had passed on a second season and that Netflix had picked up the series. The second season was released exclusively on Netflix on December 26, 2019. On January 14, 2020, You was renewed for a third season by Netflix. The third season is scheduled for release sometime in 2021. In 2016, Kepnes published a sequel to You, Hidden Bodies. It was loosely adapted in the second season of the Netflix thriller series, You. For Hidden Bodies, Kepnes had thoughts for a potential direction before its conception, stating that before "I was even finished with the first book I knew what my second one was going to be. I wanted to trap Joe somewhere." Her third novel, Providence, published in 2018, has been described as romance-suspense-thriller, with supernatural aspects. Alison Flood, in a review published by The Guardian, wrote "Providence is compelling, and Kepnes provides a sometimes piercing insight into the small, strange, sad details that make up a life, though without quite achieving the deep, dark pleasures of You." According to Cheryl Wassenaar, in a review in Cultures magazine, the novel is "a bit like Dexter meets, well, H.P. Lovecraft." Kepnes is currently working on the third and fourth novels for the You series.
