Prepare to be your most insufferable, most toxic self again because Netflix series You — starring Penn Badgley as Joe, the stalker and serial killer with delusional dreams of being a normcore boyfriend — is officially back for its fourth season! After trailers dropped, giving us a glimpse at Joe’s new life, his new name, his new friends/victims, and the twist that he would not just be the one stalking this season but being stalked (!!!), we were chomping at the bit to see how it all might unfold.
You has broken down season four in two parts: one half on 9 February 2023, and the second a month later on 9 March 2023. Short clips released on Instagram have gave us Joe’s initial thoughts on those unlucky enough to find themselves caught up in his chaotic life.
There’s the cold and mysterious Kate who Joe fears may be hiding more than even he is; flashy playboy and parental-disapointment Adam and vapid heiress and socialite yet (seemingly) nice Lady Phoebe.
There’s also the studious and stressed student Nadia; the social-climbing Rhys, who Joe says he relates to (which is meant to be a compliment), and Simon, the one who Joe’s usual disarming charm seems to not be working so well on. Check them all out on the @younetflix Instagram.
Over the past year, the show has been filming in London at Royal Holloway University — which was transformed into a fictional university campus, the new location of the constantly on-the-move Joe’s treachery — as well as Paris, where we left the character in season three. Although Cardi B did pitch her own storyline for the upcoming season where she’d meet Joe at Paris Fashion Week, it seems as though the “WAP” rapper and Hustlers’ actor will sadly not be making an appearance. If anyone could have stopped Joe’s reign of terror, it would have been her.
Along with the major change in location, Penn has also shared that this new season will have a new vibe. “The tone is similar but it’s shifting in that there is a different format,” he told Entertainment Tonight, adding, “It’s almost like we’re shifting the genre slightly. And I think it works.” Intriguing! Here’s everything we know about the next instalment in the You-niverse.
What happened at the end of You season three?
After killing his equally-unhinged-but-way-more-iconic wife Love, Joe staged the murder-suicide of them both, before then dropping off their baby, Henry, on the doorstep of his kind, family-man colleague Dante. He then hops on a plane to Paris to pursue his on-the-run latest obsession Marienne. Get a job! Stay away from her!!
What is the plot of You season four?
Although we were in the city of love for the final moments of season three, it looks like both Joe and Marienne have crossed the channel this season. In the UK, Joe has entered his problematic professor era at a university which makes him even more dangerous because, tbh, who didn’t have a crush on their English teacher? Using the name Professor Jonathan Moore, Joe has grown facial hair and wears tweed three-piece suits (we assume he also smokes heavily and quotes Nietzsche to students).
Who is returning for You season four?
Other than Penn as the ever-messy Joe, the only other person confirmed to be returning to the cast is Tati Gabrielle as Marienne. While Joe’s past murder victims have been known to return as hallucinations haunting the serial killer, neither Elizabeth Lail or Victoria Pedretti — who played his ex-partners — Guinevere Beck and Love Quinn respectively — have been confirmed to return.
Having said that, in the aforementioned interview with Entertainment Tonight, Penn did reveal that we should expect to see some more people returning. “There’s also some other familiar faces which I think I can [say]”, he said. Could it be a now older Ellie, played by Jenna Ortega, who survived Joe and Love’s rampage in season two and has been receiving guilt money from him ever since? Or maybe even Joe’s toddler son Henry will come back into his life…
Who is joining the cast of You season four?
Joining them across the pond is Lukas Gage (The White Lotus and Euphoria) as Adam and Charlotte Ritchie (Fresh Meat) as Kate. There’s also a host of talents from seriously British TV including Tilly Keeper (Eastenders) as Lady Phoebe, Amy-Leigh Hickman (Tracy Beaker Returns) as Nadia and Ed Speelers (Downton Abbey) as Rhys. Though it’s not exactly clear what role these characters will play, the short teaser trailer suggests Rhys is a like-minded colleague of Joe’s at the university, with a book entitled A Good Man in a Cruel World (it’s giving incel). Others joining the cast include Niccy Lin as Sophie, Aidan Cheng as Simon, Eve Austin as Gemma, Dario Coates as Connie and Ozioma Whenu as Blessing.
Is there a trailer for You season four?
The new season’s official trailer gives us a few glimpses of the newbie cast, along with Joe in a series of twee fashions and all-black stalking wear. In a voice over, Joe promises to be just as creepy and delusional as ever: “Heartbreak is always the catalyst for a new path,” he says, seeming to track Marienne as she walks along a train platform. No one likes a stalker that’s also a hypocrite! “You’re a murderer, Joe,” Marienne helpfully reminds him. But what follows is just puppy dog eyes, denial, copious amounts of booze, and weirdo behaviour. Here we go again!
In a new teaser trailer for the second half of the season – spoiler warning for the first! – we see Joe fighting for the survival of his new life in London, grappling with his feelings for Kate, and, naturally, burying a body. But a cameo from Victoria Pedretti – reprising her infamous role as murderer-heiress Love Quinn – is inarguably the clip’s true crown jewel. We find her sitting cross-legged in an armchair, reading a memoir (recently-published in the world of the show). “Hi Joe,” she says, with a hint of side-eye. Get him! Destroy this man, please!
When is the season four release date?
The first half of the series has been made available to watch on Netflix from 9 February 2023, with the second half making its way to the platform on 9 March.