Hello… You. These two words send shivers down any fan of Netflix's stalker series – whenever Joe Goldberg (played by Penn Badgley) says it, you know there’s trouble ahead. And boy, did he say it a lot in season 3. You tackles a whole host of themes from violence to murder, mental health, and even parenthood – albeit in anything but a traditional way.
With the most recent season continuing to tick up the body count, You showed us anything but a life of happily ever after for Joe and Love (Victoria Pedretti).
Season 3 started with a bad omen when Joe said, “no more bad things ever again, I promise…” and viewers held their breath as they were thrown through a season full of jealousy, couples counselling, young Joe flashbacks, and a whole lot of mummy issues.
Fortunately for us (though less so for his future victims), season 3 didn’t mark the end of Joe’s story, and now we await season 4. So, here’s everything we know so far about what's coming up, based on season 3's ending and what the show's creators and cast have said about the series' future. Spoilers follow.
You season 4 release date
In October 2021, Netflix revealed that You had been officially renewed for a fourth season:
Hello, you. For you, YOU has been renewed for Season 4! See you soon. pic.twitter.com/mIqXwvUDIlOctober 13, 2021
While there’s no sign of an official release date yet, given how recently season 3 hit the streamer, we’ll be sure to keep this page updated as and when we hear any news.
If we were to make an educated guess, though, pandemic aside, we’ve been treated to a new season of You on almost every year so far. Season 1 hit our screens in 2018, season 2 in 2019, season 3 in 2021, and with a fast renewal on season 4, we could be looking at late 2022. Early 2023 is also a possibility, but we can't imagine you'll be waiting longer than that.
You season 4 trailer
So far, while there isn’t a full-length trailer out, we have been treated to a short teaser that was released to announce season 4’s renewal by Netflix. The teaser hints at the return of some of Joe’s past ‘Yous’ in eerie flashback fashion.
You season 4 cast
If you’re not up-to-date on You, then you’re in for a shock when we talk about who we think will be back for season 4.
We lost some pretty big characters in season 3. Most importantly though, we lost Love, which means no more Victoria Pedretti next year.
Love didn’t go down without racking up some more victims in season 3. Her jealousy saw her quickly take out the neighbour, Natalie Engler (Michaela McManus), murder anti-vaxxer Gil (Mackenzie Astin), and encounter some near-misses with neighbor-turned-lover Theo and Madre Linda’s famous blogger, Sherry, not to mention her fitness-obsessed husband, Cary.
The only confirmed character we have for You season 4 so far is Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), but that doesn’t mean we can’t guess over some others.
With Joe leaving Madre Linda behind, we also concluded the lives of those he left in suburbia. All but one one, that is: Marienne (Tati Gabrielle) and Joe’s latest try at ‘The One’, who he vows to find.
There were also mentions of Ellie Alves (Jenna Ortega) as Joe secretly sent her money he made from fixing rare books, something he does obsessively, alongside stalking. And showrunner Sera Gamble hinted at the return of old characters in future seasons to THR back in 2019. “Ellie is still in Joe’s life. He’s sending her money. She hates him, but he is sending her money. So that door remains open for us. And as you saw in season 2, I mean Beck was dead and she came back. One of my favorite things to do is bring back a dead person to haunt you. So the door is wide open for everybody’s favorite characters.”
By 2021, however, showrunner Sera Gamble explained to EOnline that scheduling conflicts for Ortega have so far ruled out a return for Ellie in the show.
Joe also left his and Love’s son, Henry ‘Forty’ Quinn-Goldberg, with Marienne’s best friend and librarian colleague Dante and his husband Lansing. Whether this storyline will be returned to, we’ll have to wait and see, but it sounds like Gamble is actively considering how this choice will change the character. "I think it will shape him from this moment forward. And even his exact plan of when and if he would return for his son is something that we will...if we get to the writers room...come together and talk about for hours and hours and hours between snacks."
The teaser trailer (seen above) also hints at the return of old 'Yous', with Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), Candace Stone (Ambyr Childers), and Love Quinn-Goldberg (Victoria Pedretti) all making appearances. We'll update this page when we have a full list of returning cast members for You season 4.
You season 4 plot
Each season so far has been 10 episodes long, so we’re expecting more of the same with You season 4.
When it comes to the plot, we were left on a cliffhanger as Joe – now Nick – left a café and walked along a street with the Eiffel Tower behind him. So, he’s in Paris this time. But what does that mean for the stalker and murderer?
We know that Marienne escaped Love and went on the run with her daughter, Juliette, and that Joe mused in the final episode that he would search the world and find her. Gamble confirmed to EOnline that searching for Marienne would form the focus of Joe's trip to Paris. "What's a completely different kind of environment to put him in? And then also, what haven't we done that could potentially get him into lots of trouble?"
We also know that Glamma Dottie is a dynamic, hard-hitting character that may not take too kindly to the demise of her daughter, Love, following twin brother Forty’s death in season 2. That said, Gamble has indicated she's in crisis right now, and not necessarily being "calculating and strategic" – though she's still around as a narrative possibility to encounter Joe in future, of course.
Joe Goldberg himself, aka Penn Badgley, spoke to Collider about what could be next for Joe, “I mean, it’s like, does a person like Joe deserve to die? Yes. But does anyone deserve to kill him? I really think this is the question.”
Concrete plot details for You season 4 will have to wait, then, but the last shot of season 3 at least gives us the vague shape of the next run of episodes.
Can there possibly be any more You?
You is based on the thriller book series by Caroline Kepnes, and while there’s a whole list of differences between the TV adaptation and the books, she did reveal in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that there’s more to come with an untitled, fourth book in the works. “So now that I’m writing the next one and, by nature, the end of it makes me want to keep going. So I’m going with that feeling, as long as it feels alive to me, as long as publishers want to publish it and readers want more. For me, he’s got a lot of living to do, unfortunately, and fortunately.”
With that in mind, season 4 might not be the end for Joe. No end date has been set for the series yet – but it sounds like the author isn't short on ideas for where the character goes next, which might help shape future seasons.
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