On Thursday, almost five months after production on the thriller’s fifth and final season began in New York, Penn Badgley (he/him) shared a video of himself going to set for his last day of work. Where’s his head as he approaches the end of his time as Joe? Well, as you can see below, he’s being “very demure” and “very mindful.”
Based on the novels by Caroline Kepnes, You centers on Joe, a book-loving, hopeless romantic with a penchant for stalking and killing the women he (claims to) love, as well as anyone else who gets in his way. While Joe’s search for The One began in New York, it took him first to Los Angeles in Season 2, then to the suffocating suburbs of San Francisco in Season 3, and most recently London in the just-launched fourth season.
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There across the pond, the genre-hopping drama threw him into a one-percent skewering whodunit that forced him to finally accept he’s not a good man — an undeniable truth he avoided for far too long. At the season’s conclusion, Joe returned to New York City with his wealthy partner Kate and a dangerous new lease on life — a life he’s finally admitted is fundamentally immoral, something that Badgley is excited about exploring.
While there are very few details about the final season, we do know it will introduce Joe’s new extended family. Griffin Matthews (he/him,The Flight Attendant) has been cast as the brother of Joe’s new wife Kate (Charlotte Ritchie), while Anna Camp (she/her, Hysteria!) will be playing two roles — Kate’s identical twin sisters. They join Madeline Brewer (she/her, The Handmaid’s Tale) as a young woman who makes Joe reconsider his new life.
Who is in the last season of YOU?
In addition to Badgley and Ritchie (she/her), there’s Brewer, who will play Bronte, an enigmatic and free-spirited playwright who gets a job at Joe’s new bookstore. As the two connect over literature and loss, Bronte stokes in Joe a nostalgia for his former self, causing him to question everything his life has become.
Matthews is playing Teddy Lockwood, Joe’s snarky yet loyal brother-in-law. A confidante who was never fully accepted by the Lockwood family, Teddy brings authenticity and empathy to a family for whom such things are a foreign concept.
Camp is pulling double duty as Raegan and Maddie Lockwood, Joe’s twin sisters-in-law. Raegan is the cunning, cutthroat CFO of the Lockwood Corp who has her eyes on the throne and will crush any adversary… be they family or not. Maddie, on the other hand, presents as the unserious twin, a thrice-divorced socialite whose job is “vaguely PR.” But make no mistake, a master manipulator lies beneath Maddie’s frivolous façade.
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Season 5’s recurring cast includes:
- Natasha Behnam (she/her, The Girls on the Bus) as Dominique, who appears to be an aloof hipster. But Dominique is a passionate, clever, fiercely loyal young woman. Despite her wealthy upbringing, she’s a headstrong caretaker among her scrappy artist friends.
- b (they/them, Station 19, Birds of Empire) as Phoenix, a shrewd and resourceful person with a strong moral code. Their young life was upended by tragedy, setting them on a course that led to New York and a search for renewed purpose.
- Pete Ploszek (he/him, Parks and Recreation) as Harrison, Joe’s golden retriever brother-in-law. A former pro football player and trophy husband to Reagan Lockwood, Harrison must balance the needs of his family with his own heart’s desires.
- Tom Francis (he/him, Sunset Boulevard) as Clayton, a pretentious, self-absorbed, wannabe author whose vindictive, controlling nature draws Joe’s attention.
- Nava Mau (she/her, Baby Reindeer) as a Detective Marquez.
As if that wasn’t enough, Badgley previously teased at Tudum: A Global Fan Event that a familiar face from Joe’s past will come back to haunt him in Season 5, creating problems for his Big Apple homecoming.
“There are many loose ends in Joe’s past,” says Badgley in the video above, as we’re treated to clips of several people Joe has wronged over the past four seasons. For example, there’s the falsely imprisoned Dr. Nicky (John Stamos) from Season 1, orphaned Ellie (Jenna Ortega) from Season 2, and the bougie Conrads (Shalita Grant and Travis Van Winkle) from Season 3, just to name a few. At this point, however, Badgley can’t reveal which one of Joe’s surviving victims will return in Season 5.
When Tudum spoke to Badgley before Season 4 debuted, he said he was excited about exploring this new and fully integrated version of Joe.
“I think it sets us up to actually have a really great finale season,” said Badgley in an interview with Tudum ahead of Season 4’s debut. “Can his inner monologue evolve some now? What does it mean for him to accept himself?” (And how will his planned new bookstore fare in the city’s unforgiving retail market?)
What You Should Know About Season 5
While Penn Badgley’s anti-hero never could’ve predicted where his quest for true love would take him, the same can’t be said for the show’s creative team, because they “always conceived it as a five-season journey,” executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter said in a statement in March.
Executive producer Sera Gamble, who created You with Berlanti, is stepping down as showrunner for Season 5 to focus on developing other projects. In her stead, longtime You writers Michael Foley, who’s been with the series since Season 1, and Justin W. Lo, who joined in Season 2, will take over show running duties.
“As I step back from day-to-day show running to focus on new projects, I’m immensely grateful to co-creator and all-around genius Greg Berlanti, Caroline Kepnes, my friends at Berlanti Productions and Alloy Entertainment, and our steadfast partners at Warner Bros and Netflix,” said Gamble. “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 Badgley. I’m proud of what we’ve all accomplished and feel privileged to pass the torch. I’m excited to watch and support the You team as they bring Joe Goldberg’s journey to its delightfully twisted conclusion.”
In their statement, Berlanti and Schechter thanked Gamble for stewarding the show and said they look forward to working with Foley and Lo.
“We are so incredibly grateful to Netflix and Sera and everyone who has been a part of this show from the beginning. Sera is the most brilliant writer and partner and will remain a key part of the You family as an executive producer. We intend to bring her every idea we can from our company for years to come,” said Berlanti and Schechter. “We are excited to continue our relationship with Mike and Justin as they take over the reins as co-showrunners and prepare to bring Joe Goldberg home.”
Foley and Lo added, “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.”
You’s audience grew throughout its first three seasons, with each one adding more viewing hours through 28 days than the one before it. So far, the fourth season has spent five weeks on the Global Top 10 English TV list and reached the Top 10 in 90 countries.
“We’re proud to see how You has captivated audiences worldwide, becoming an instant sensation on Netflix with a resounding cultural impact that has grown season over season,” said Peter Friedlander, vice president of scripted series, Netflix, US and Canada. “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.”
Will Joe finally face judgment? You’ll have to wait until You return to find out. In the meantime, keep coming back to Tudum for more news.
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