'You' stars and creator share 13 things even superfans may not know about the Netflix series

Love Quinn - you season 3
Season three of "You" featured some intense scenes. Netflix
  • "You" just aired its third season, so we spoke to the executive producer and stars of the show. 
  • Shalita Grant, who played Sherry, struggled with fake crying and hated filming inside the glass box.
  • Season 3 had a storyline featuring Mr. Mooney, but it had to be scrapped because the actor died.
  • Warning: Spoilers for season three of "You" ahead. 
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One of Shalita Grant's biggest struggles was learning how to cry on cue.

Sherry crying in the glass box - You s3
Shalita Grant as Sherry Conrad. Netflix

Grant, who played Sherry Conrad, told Insider she was concerned about having to break down during glass-box scenes because she's struggled with crying on cue.

"When I found out that I was going to have to cry I was like, 'You know what? I am going to hack this, totally in the vein of Sherry and Cary," she said. 

To improve her skills, she did script analysis and practiced mental tricks. 

 

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Travis Van Winkle gained 10 pounds of muscle for the role and did some of his own stunts.

Joe and Cary talking at the party - you season 3
Travis Van Winkle as Cary Conrad. Netflix

Van Winkle said he worked closely with a trainer and nutritionist to prepare for his role as Cary. 

He said he put on 10 pounds of muscle while working out five days a week — and he was also able to do some of his own stunts. 

"I built a physicality with Cary that allowed me to play in all of these different fight scenes and these sequences," he told Insider. 

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Van Winkle knew his character was going to live to the end.

Cary and Sherry Ted Talk finale  - You season 3
Both of the Conrads get out of the box alive. Netflix

There are multiple times this season where it seems like Cary is going to die, from the hunting trip and fight with Joe to getting shot by Sherry while in the glass box.

But Van Winkle knew that his character would survive to the end of the season because executive producer Sera Gamble told him ahead of time. 

"Knowing that I lived I think really allowed me to push Cary to further limits ... it just gave me some more freedom," he said. 

 

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Since Grant didn't get to act out Sherry's death she decided to give her character bangs.

Sherry at her party - you season 3
Shalita Grant said she was excited to do a death scene. Netflix

Grant was a "You" fan before being cast on the show, so she was excited to be part of the first couple locked in the cage. She also thought it meant she'd get to act out Sherry's death.

"I was all about dying. I was like, 'What's going to be my angle? How do I die?' because I've also never got to die on camera," she said. 

Once Gamble told her Sherry would survive, Grant brought that excitement to Sherry's finale hairstyle instead.

"My gift was bangs. That's how Sherry gets through this — trauma bangs. We're gonna survive and thrive with bangs," she added. 

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Pedretti's stunts didn't require that much prep.

Love Quinn - you season 3
Victoria Pedretti as Love Quinn. Netflix

Love has more physical fight scenes this season than she did on season two, but Pedretti found that they didn't require any intense preparation.

In some cases, she only began preparing with the stunt coordinator the day of the scene. 

"Usually the day of, we would just go over the murder just that day, or if we were working with props, lifting things, digging," she said. "We would just practice the day to make it look as good as possible."

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Grant's least favorite part of filming was being trapped in the glass box.

Sherry in the glass box - You s3
Sherry Conrad in the box. Netflix

Gamble said that the glass box comes apart to make it easier to fit the cast and a camera into the small space, but Grant still didn't enjoy acting in it.

Grant said her scenes in the glass box where she was trapped with Van Winkle were her "least favorite" part of filming the season.

"I don't like being in tight spaces," she said. "And, God, love Travis, but I also don't love being in tight spaces with other people."

Grant said the filming experience was "super uncomfortable," though she enjoyed seeing how the scenes turned out.

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... But Van Winkle loved filming in the glass box.

Cary in the glass box on the flooro - You s3
Cary Conrad gets injured while in the box. Netflix

Van Winkle actually enjoyed getting to act in the iconic cage because of the way it heightened the energy of those scenes.

"I loved it, I love being in a confined space because you don't have anywhere to go and so it intensifies things. I feel like everything just gets a little bit brighter in there," he said.

He said he enjoyed filming the scenes with Grant, too, because "she's got a lot of energy and I have a lot of energy and you put that in a small confined space and a lot of fun happened."

 

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One storyline that needed to be completely removed involved Mr. Mooney.

Mr. Mooney - You
Mark Blum as Mr. Mooney. Netflix

Gamble said one storyline that she wishes they would have been able to include would have involved Mr. Mooney.

They scrapped the plot when the actor who played him, Mark Blum, died from complications associated with COVID-19, which Gamble described as a "painful" loss. 

 

 

 

 

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The library scenes were filmed on a set, but a real library was used for exterior shots.

Madre Linda library
The interior of the library was a set. The exterior was a real library. Netflix

Gamble told Insider that the crew used a real library and a set to create the full look of the Madre Linda Library.

"The exterior of the library's a real place, so just the foyer of the set matches with the front of the real location so that we could seamlessly bring you from one to the other," she said. 

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Pedretti didn't know for sure if Love had killed James until this season.

Love looking concerned - You s3
Sometimes not even the actors know what's going to happen next. Netflix

While portraying Love during season two, Pedretti never knew for sure if Love had killed her first husband, James.

"I had a sense that she took part in how he died, but whether or not it was more malicious or on accident was yet to be seen," she said. 

But Pedretti said she does believe that Love hadn't actually intended to kill James.

"I truly do believe that she was being honest when she said it was a bit of an oversight in the measuring of the paralytic," she told Insider. 

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COVID-19 restrictions impacted a few scenes, so the crew got creative.

Joe and Love wearing hospital gowns - You s3
The coronavirus is mentioned a few times throughout the season. Netflix

Though the pandemic did still happen within the show's universe, it seemingly ends by the time the third season starts.

Gamble said that, despite filming during a spike of COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles, the writers still wanted the show to have the same quality from previous seasons.

She said that they were forced to be "more clever than ever" to achieve this. For example, since they couldn't film large scenes that were supposed to have "a cast of thousands" they had characters arrive early for big events. 

She continued,  "I think there's still exciting scenes that express that like a party is happening but maybe they showed up a little early for the party so everyone's not there yet because that was too many people to have on set that day."

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Henry Quinn-Goldberg may be a part of a future storyline.

Henry with Dante - You s3
Dante and Landon end up raising Henry as their own. Netflix

Now that Henry is with Dante, Gamble described the baby as being "someplace better in the short-term," though Joe may want to change that in the future.

"I don't think he can be erased from Joe's heart or Joe's motivations going forward," she said. 

Henry's involvement in future seasons may also depend on what "You" author Caroline Kepnes does in the book series that the show is based on.

"The book and the show are now kind of working in parallel timelines," Gamble told Insider. "The stories are a little bit different now but she has so many thoughts about Joe and a son and children ... I don't think she's totally done exploring that, so, therefore, neither are we."

As for Penn Badgley, he told Insider he'd love to see characters like Paco and Ellie return to the series. 

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