*Warning: This article contains spoilers*
Netflix has been seriously spoiling us lately. Following global hits like Squid Game, Bridgerton and Emily In Paris, the streaming giant announced it's treating us to a fourth season of You, starring Penn Badgley as the ridiculously hot yet terrifying serial killer, Joe Goldberg.
News of You season four came just days before the third season's release date in 2022, so you can imagine how excited we are to find out that more episodes are on the horizon.
Here's everything you need to know about You season four (and yes, we're planning a binge-watching marathon too).
When will You season four be released?
You season four is out now, and available to stream on Netflix.
Season four is 10 episodes long, and split evenly into a part one and part two - each with its own release date. Part one's first five episodes dropped on February 9, while part two was released a month later, on March 9.
Netflix revealed the news of the show being renewed for a fourth season in October 2021, much to fans' delight. In June 2022, Badgley was seen filming the fourth season in London (you can see photos here) wearing a three-piece check suit and sporting a bushy beard while pursuing a female star wearing a silver dress.
In March 2022, meanwhile, Netflix shared an Instagram picture of a clapperboard splattered in fake blood on the @younetflix Instagram account to announce that season four was in production.
'Feeling YOU-4-ic. YOU Season 4 is now in production, [sic]' the post's caption read.
Badgley celebrated his 35th birthday on November 1, 2021, and unsurprisingly received a birthday cake which paid tribute to his You character.
The actor's wife Domino Kirke-Badgley took to Instagram Stories to show off the tart, shaped like the number '35' and covered in fruit, gold flakes, flowers and French macarons, which she presented her husband on his big day. Edible photos of Badgley's You character from the show also topped the gigantic cake.
'I love eating my husbands face,' Kirke-Badgley captioned a video, played to the TV show's theme song, of the cake on Instagram. 'Happy Birthday Penn,' a message at the bottom of the cake read.
Who makes up the You season four cast?
Gossip Girl actor and star of You Badgley is of course back as Joe, the lonely bookshop manager who stalks women and (spoiler alert) usually ends up murdering them.
The first half of season four also introduces us to a whole new roster of You characters who Joe meets as part of his new life in London – with more likely to join in the soon-to-be-released part two.
Joe's new gang of frosty rich kid 'friends' – whether they like it or not – includes Kate (played by Charlotte Ritchie of Feel Good fame), Lady Phoebe (Eastenders' Tilly Keeper), Adam (Lukas Gage), Nadia (Amy-Leigh Hickman), Rhys (Ed Speelers of Downton Abbey) and more.
Tati Gabrielle, who played Marienne in season three, has also returned to the You universe as the ongoing object of Joe's affections.
One unlikely character who we were hoping would make a comeback is Jenna Ortega's character Ellie, who appeared in season two.
We almost forgot that Ellie was the younger sister to gossiper Delilah, who had befriended LA newcomer Will (aka Joe). While Delilah didn't make it out alive in season two, Ellie did and there are several You fans who think she might be the one from his past stalking Joe, as seen in the fourth season trailer.
'I ran away from all this. But one of you is watching me. One of you is hiding in plain sight. So who are you?' he said in the teaser.
On the possibility of returning for season two, Ortega told Teen Vogue in 2019 that she'd want her character to be 'an even bigger badass' if she came back.
'I don't want her to come back and be extremely vulnerable and sad,' the Wednesday star said, adding: 'It would be amazing to see Ellie come back and take control of her life. She has so much potential and so much talent that she shouldn't waste because of him.'
In 2022, the actor continued, telling Vulture that she'd 'love' to return as Ellie.
An unlikely appearance might also come in the form of Cardi B. Fans of the TV show and the pair will know all too well that they've formed an unlikely friendship since season three of You dropped, with Cardi B suggesting she could play a role in the series, a sweet Twitter interaction and even a swapping of their Twitter pictures.
In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Badgley responded to rumours of a possible cameo from Cardi B. 'Well, I don't know, I definitely can't say,' he said. 'But there is actually—I believe this is true—there's an actual Change.org petition.'
When pressed further on the rumours, the actor repeated: 'I can't say because I don't know.'
We now know that the singer sadly does not feature in season four in person – but Cardi B does make an 'appearance' in episode one, in the form of her song 'I Like It'. Her hit alongside J Balvin and Bad Bunny plays in the background as Joe dismembers yet another dead body.
If you've finished season three you'll know that Love meets her untimely death at the hands of Joe in the final scenes. However, eagle-eyed fans spotted something rather suspicious in the trailer for the upcoming second part of season four...
Things are about to get significantly more twisted (and murderous, if we've learnt anything from the past three seasons) as a teaser clip for the latter five episodes of season four seems to show the potential return of none other than Joe's ex-wife, Love (played by Victoria Pedretti).
A split-second flash shows Love sitting in a chair, in what looks like a library, looking at Joe. Of course, last we knew, she had been murdered at the hands of Joe himself in the finale of season three – so this is quite the unexpected appearance. It could be a flashback, of course, or a figment of Joe's imagination, but given the setting isn't one which we recognise, it's fair to assume she might somehow be making a miraculous return.
You can watch the full trailer for part two below:
What is the You season four plot?
If you haven't already binge-watched all ten episodes of You season four since their release, then what have you been doing?!
Without spoiling it entirely, in brief: Joe, now known as Jonathan Moore, is now in London pretending to be an English Literature professor at University. Having tracked down his season three love interest Marienne, he is back to his old tricks and has 'accidentally' infiltrated a group of posh, privileged Brits – and involved himself in a series of mysterious murders as a result.
The first three seasons of You were adapted from a series of novels by Caroline Kepnes, but there's no fourth book - so we really no idea what to expect from the plot prior to season four's release. And the same can be said for the much-anticipated part two of S4.
Showrunner Sera Gamble, however, told The Hollywood Reporter that season four would 'explore new, dark facets of love'. We're terrified already.
Need a recap of season three before delving in? Have a read of ours here.
What has the cast said about You season four?
Ahead of the release of the much-anticipated second part of season four, show protagonist Penn Badgley spoke about the finale, those shocking twists, and the potential of a season five.
If you haven't yet watched part two of season four, we recommend you stop reading now.
Speaking exclusively with Entertainment Tonight about Joe's situation at the end of season 4, Badgley said: 'Well, clearly he's back home in New York... But now he's sort of got unlimited resources. He actually has the power he's not had. With Love and the Quinn family, he had power but he didn't want it. He didn't want to take it... The family didn't really want to give it to him. I think now, he's really embracing his lower nature. He's letting the animal take over the human basically. He's letting the predator take over his... heart.'
In terms of what Joe's new situation might mean for the character going forward, Badgley said 'He's probably going to be just quite unhinged, I guess. I don't know though, I really don't know.'
On whether he thinks there's enough of a story for the show to continue with a fifth season, Badgley told E! News: 'I think so, but that's a question for Netflix. I think they probably want it, but I don't know.'
Of course, the many twists and turns that happened in the final few episodes of season four mean the story is nowhere near wrapped up.
But Badgley said in a recent interview that season five – if it does happen – could make a good finale for the much-loved show. 'Now, I will say [executive producer] Greg Berlanti pitched me on an end and I thought it was brilliant,' teased Badgley. 'I can't tell you what it is. He pitched it to me like a year and a half ago before I knew it was happening, season 4. He also told me how he thought it would end in season 5 and I thought, "Yeah, that's great."'
'I certainly can't spoil it but I would think that if we don't get another season, this could be a somewhat satisfying end,' he added. 'Joe, at this point, he's like a post-modern icon. He's such a popular dude but... there’s gotta be, to me, a more thorough, satisfying conclusion.'
Here's hoping that You does in fact get renewed for a fifth season... Netflix, we're looking at you!
Is there a You season four trailer?
Yes. On January 9, 2022 Netflix shared the trailer (which you can watch above) for Part I of the fourth season and sees Goldberg (Badgley) be referred to as Professor Jonathan Moore and mingling with students, while also on the hunt for ex Marienne.
'Heartbreak is always a catalyst for a new path,' the protagonist says in the trailer, which seemingly involves the murder of a student and Goldberg receive a text message from an unknown voyeur.
Netflix released a first-look teaser in September 2022 which shows Goldberg reinventing himself again, this time as a college professor in London.
'Allow me to introduce myself,' he says in the trailer. 'I’ve gone through a bit of refinement...'
Rest assured there'll be plenty of unsettling action and (as far as we can guess) the reappearance of that famous glass box...
We'll continue to update this article when new information comes in.
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