After garnering massive success, Netflix’s hit psychological thriller, You, will be renewed for its fifth and final season according to The Hollywood Reporter. After first premiering in September of 2018, the show has millions of fans worldwide intrigued and captivated by Penn Badgley’s (Gossip Girl, Margin Call) performance as serial killer Joe Goldberg. With many twists and turns and shocking revelations, fans are at the edge of their seats to witness how this saga will come to a satisfying end.
As what The Hollywood Reporter pointed out, “Joe Goldberg will stalk one last time.”
This fifth season will bring back Badgley’s character as Joe Goldberg, but as for anyone else, it comes and goes. In recent times, many have looked to see if there would be any returning faces coming for the final season, such as Jenna Ortega. She mentioned to Entertainment Tonight how she “was devastated,” after she not being able to film You season four because she was filming for Tim Burton’s (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman Returns) Wednesday. As of now, it is unconfirmed if she would be returning to the hit Netflix series, although fans have speculated that she might reappear based on how she left things off in season two.
It’s not just the cast who are being changed around. The showrunner for the first four seasons, Sera Gamble (Supernatural, The Magicians), announced that she will step down from doing her day-to-day work for the show and has passed the torch to Michael Foley (How to Get Away with Murder, Revenge) and Justin W. Lo (Prodigal Son, No Tomorrow). According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gamble will still be credited as an executive producer alongside Greg Berlanti (The Flash, Love, Simon) and his Warner Bros. Television-based Berlanti Productions partner Sarah Schechter (Free Guy, The Flash), David Madden (Something the Lord Made, Superman & Lois), Leslie Morgenstein (The 100, Gossip Girl), Gina Girolamo (The Secret Circle, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin), John Scott (Suits, Star Trek: Discovery), Neil Reynolds (Doom Patrol, The Vampire Diaries), Foley, Lo, and Badgley, who directed an episode of You in season four.
From the same article, Gamble signed an overall deal with Universal Content Productions in 2020. This is the same studio that brought her Syfy drama, The Magicians, to life. She will now dedicate her time to work on her next upcoming projects. Berlanti renewed his deal with Warner Bros. as well. After years of working for the show since the beginning when You was being aired on Lifetime, Foley gets to run the production along with Lo. The latter joined the series at the start of season two. Lo collaborated with Berlanti on Fox’s Prodigal Son and is currently working on ideas for shows with Berlanti Productions. In a joint statement from The Hollywood Reporter, Foley and Lo said the following; “Working with Greg and Sera on You has been a highlight of our careers and we’re incredibly honored to be entrusted with the final chapter of Joe Goldberg’s story.”
According to Deadline, Gamble was excited to see what her colleagues will do for this final season of You; “Making the show alongside our writers, producers, directors, cast and crew has been an honor and ridiculously fun…And I feel lucky to have worked with an artist as gifted and thoughtful as Penn Badgely. I’m proud of what we’ve all accomplished and feel privileged to pass the torch.”
When discussing with Variety for his cover on their magazine, Badgley brought up how his character could go down either through his own doing, justice through the law, or if someone else kills Joe. In the magazine, he mentioned “I thought it was the only way it could go…Is killing Joe enough? Whoever kills him is brought down to his level.”
It is confirmed that this will be the final season for You as explained by Gamble.
“It was never anyone’s intention to run this one into the ground. When we’re done, we’ll be done. And we’ll pack it up…Even in the early conversations with Penn, the idea was not to crank out episodes forever; it’s to feel like we have told the complete story. And though I feel like tonally, we’re very different and we are not trying to sell Joe as any kind of a hero with a straight face. This is a show that is in the tradition of these single-lead shows with a guy who does increasingly bad things. The beautiful thing about it is that when his arc is complete, so is the show.” via. The Hollywood Reporter.
From that same article, Vice President for scripted series at Netflix, Peter Friedlander, has this to say on the impact You had not only for Netflix, but the genre as a whole; “You became an instant sensation on Netflix with a resounding cultural impact that has grown season over season…We’re excited — and a bit terrified — to see how it all ends for Joe Goldberg, but one thing is for sure: YOU are in for an unforgettable ending.”
From Deadline, Gamble sums up her view on the final season saying, “I’m excited to watch and support the You team as they bring Joe Goldberg’s journey to its delightfully twisted conclusion.”
As of now, there is no release date yet, but many speculate it would come out in early 2024. Stay tuned for more updates and announcements coming soon. In the meantime, you can watch a trailer from the previous season down below.