You season 5: Release date speculation, cast and latest news

The new image of Joe in the Big Apple is the signalling of production on the new series kicking off, meaning that filming on the upcoming series is officially underway.

On top of that, we've also got the announcements of Madeline Brewer (The Handmaid's Tale), Griffin Matthews (Genius) and Anna Camp (True Blood) all joining the cast as new characters.

It's been a little bit of a long time coming for fans, who have been waiting patiently for You season 5 details after the release of You season 4 part 2 in March 2023.

As for what will go down in the new series, an exciting clip was unveiled at Netflix’s latest Tudum fan event and Penn Badgley dropped some clues as to what fans can expect in the upcoming season.

“I’ve heard you’re on the edge of your seats, waiting and theorising about the epic conclusion to You," Badgley's character Joe says in the clip.

"More importantly you’re considering what, or should I say, who Joe will come up against as he finally returns to New York.

“Though I can’t say who just yet we all know there are many loose ends from Joe’s past,” Badgley continues, as we spot Marienne (Tati Gabrielle) and Beck (Elizabeth Lail) held hostage in his glass cage.

“The question is who are you?” he teases, as a number of Joe’s other victims flash onto the screen, including Jenna Ortega’s Ellie Alves, the younger sister of murdered Delilah, and Amy-Leigh Hickman’s Nadia, who Joe framed for murder at the end of season 4.

Could they be set to return? Fans will have to wait and see. For now, read on to find out everything we know about You season 5 on Netflix.

Will there be a season 5 of You?

CONFIRMED: Netflix has renewed the series for a final fifth season and it's set to be an epic conclusion for our protagonist.

Confirming the news on Friday 24th March, the streaming giant announced the news in a thrilling series flashback video. In it, we see snapshots of Joe's past throughout the series and the video finishing with Badgley saying: "Goodbye, You."

However, executive producer Sera Gamble, who created the series with Greg Berlanti, is stepping down as showrunner for Season 5 to focus on developing other projects.

Instead, 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 showrunning duties.

In a statement, Gamble said: “As I step back from day-to-day showrunning 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.

“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. I’m excited to watch and support the You team as they bring Joe Goldberg’s journey to its delightfully twisted conclusion.”

You season 5 release date speculation

With the series renewal news, Netflix previously confirmed that season 5 of You would be landing on our screens in 2024.

While we don't have an exact release date just yet, it's not looking as though we'll be getting new episodes in the first half of the year, and with filming only kicking off on season 5 now, we wouldn't be surprised if the release date was pushed back.

Last year's strikes likely impacted the production schedule on the final instalment in the series but let's keep our fingers crossed for new episodes sooner rather than later.

What could You season 5 be about?

Well, seeing as season 4 started off as an English whodunnit, there's no telling what a potential season 5 could be about. Speaking about season 4 initially, Penn Badgley had said: "It's structured differently. We've taken the format and it is evolving, you're not just seeing Joe in a different city, it's a different kind of like journey that we're on."

Of course, the series is based around the books by Caroline Kepnes so it could very well be that her third novel could be the source material for season 5. The script and tale for season 4 strayed away from Kepnes' books but who's to say that the series may not revisit her novels in season 5?

You Love Me was published in 2021 and is the third instalment in her You book series. It follows Joe as he journeys to the Pacific Northwest and meets lovable librarian Mary Kay DiMarco, who he falls intensely for. But he's ready to prove he's a different man and tries to court her without his usual obsessive acts, even securing a job in the sleepy town.

While Mary Kay sounds similar to Marienne, it could be the case that her plot line could be revisited again in season 5 or Joe could somehow weave his way into the life of another librarian, who also happens to be a mother and friend.

But Kepnes is also bringing out a fourth novel in her You series, due for release in April 2023. For You and Only You follows Joe to the hallowed halls of Harvard, where he earns a coveted place in a writing fellowship. Like in season 4, he's set to be introduced to a tight-knit group of wealthy individuals and also falls in love with Wonder Parish, a woman with the same attitude as Joe that could very well be his literary soulmate.

But after faking his own death in season 3 and then adopting an alias as Jonathan Moore in season 4 – to then be re-revealed to the world as Joe – can he really carry on going around the globe unnoticed? There's definitely a lot of source material for any future seasons and the way that season 4 ended, we can only hope for some kind of comeuppance to be coming Joe's way sooner rather than later.

We do know that this final season will be a goodbye of sorts, with Gamble stating that season 5 will "bring Joe Goldberg’s journey to its delightfully twisted conclusion".

However, Gamble, who created You with Greg Berlanti, is stepping down as showrunner for season 5 to focus on developing other projects. Longtime You writers Michael Foley and Justin W Lo will take over as showrunners.

In her statement, Gamble said: "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.”

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about the possibility of season 5 and what it could entail for her character, Kate, Charlotte Ritchie confessed: “My dream is that Kate wakes up one day and thinks, ‘What am I doing?’"

She said: "Phoebe and Kate love each other so much, I hope they get some kind of reunion. They could film in a very warm location and be on holiday. Phoebe’s a bit of a love of her life so I hope maybe Phoebe can knock some sense into Kate.”

How did You season 4 end?

Well, it was certainly a twisted ending.

With Nadia (Amy Leigh Hickman) getting closer to the truth of Joe's past, she forges a plan to help Marienne (Tati Gabrielle) escape the glass cage in the derelict London warehouse. We found out in the finale that although Marienne appeared dead in the cage, the pair had actually agreed to inject her with pulse-slowing betablockers that made her appear dead. When Joe left her body in the park to be found, she escaped with Nadia.

Joe killed Kate's dad and framed his bodyguard for the crime, which is news that almost comes as welcome relief to Kate after a longstanding rocky relationship with her father.

Joe attempts to rid himself of his "dark side", throwing Rhys over a London bridge but of course, it's all a figment of his imagination. Joe then jumps off the bridge himself but is rescued, winding up in hospital, with Kate telling him the news of her father's death.

In the hospital, Joe and Kate (Charlotte Ritchie) share a moment where they profess their love for one another and Kate asks Joe plainly what she needs to know about his past. He reveals his true identity (not Jonathan) and although it's off-screen, we're left to assume that he's told her everything.

Elsewhere, Nadia goes searching in Joe's apartment for evidence that could help get him arrested for Rhys's murder. She finds Rhys's stuff and goes to meet her friend Eddie who's been helping her but Joe corners her on the street. She's nervously also looking for Eddie but when she drops her phone, Joe picks it up and finds the pictures she's taken of the evidence.

In the final scenes of the finale – which are a flashback with Joe now in New York – we see that Joe had actually found Eddie and killed him, leaving him on the road. Nadia stumbles over his body and Joe frames her for his murder, putting the knife (murder weapon) in her hand.

He says the box of Rhys Montrose's things is going to be found in her bedroom by the police. They'll think it was Eddie that killed Rhys and then Nadia killed Eddie because of it. "She refused to speak in her own defence, still hasn't spoken from prison. Like I said, smart," we hear Joe narrating.

And then things annoyingly seem to wrap up rather perfectly for our protagonist. He and Kate are being interviewed for their philanthropy work and we learn that due to Kate's wealth and substantial PR team, Joe has managed to rebrand his image as a victim in his relationship with Love Quinn, while also starting a foundation with Kate that will see them open an art school in NYC and London.

Essentially, Joe got away with everything – yet again.

But in the finale, we also see Marienne living peacefully back in Paris with her daughter when an article on The Cut flashes up on her phone; a profile on Joe and Kate entitled "A Brush with Death, A New Life of Philanthropy: How Joe Goldberg Escaped Killer Love Quinn".

She says: "Grateful for a second chance at a good life? Right" which very much could point to some kind of revenge plot in a potential season 5.

In the very last moments of the finale, we see Rhys' reflection in the window, hinting at the fact that Joe never managed to "get rid of" his dark alter-ego and most certainly points at a potential season 5 character return.

You season 5 cast

Penn Badgley will, of course, return as our problematic main lead, Joe Goldberg. But could Tati Gabrielle return as Marienne Bellamy in order to exact some revenge? Perhaps.

With Joe now leading a new life between New York and London, Charlotte Ritchie will reprise her role as Kate, but there have also been some further exciting casting announcements for the new series.

Madeline Brewer, known for her roles in Orange is the New Black and The Handmaid's Tale, will play Bronte. According to Netflix, Bronte is "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."

Griffin Matthews has joined the cast as Teddy Lockwood, who has been described as "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."

And in rather fun news, Anna Camp will be playing twins in the new series as Raegan and Maddie Lockwood, Joe’s twin sisters-in-law.

According to Netflix: "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.'"

The previously released TUDUM teaser intimates that someone from Joe's past will return but as for who it'll be, we'll just have to wait and see.

The confirmed cast list for You season 5 is as follows.

• Penn Badgley as Joe Golberg
• Charlotte Ritchie as Kate
• Madeline Brewer as Bronte
• Griffin Matthews as Teddy Lockwood
• Anna Camp as Raegan and Maddie Lockwood

As for any season 4 faces making an appearance, there is potential for Kate's best friend, Phoebe (Tilly Keeper) to return, as well as the rest of Kate's London friends.

We know that Rhys made a surprise reappearance in the final moments of the finale so Joe's hopes of getting rid of his evil alter-ego were unsuccessful and Ed Speleers could return as the charismatic devil on Joe's shoulder.

We'd hope Nadia is concocting a revenge plan of her own so Amy Leigh Hickman could very well be returning but as is often the case of You, Joe continues to go through life relatively unscathed so there is the high possibility that season 5 could just pick up with an entirely new plot and characters.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Read more:

• You star Penn Badgley on big twist and message behind season 4 part 2
• Does Marienne die in You season 4 part 2? Tati Gabrielle on return
• You season 4 part 2 ending explained: What happens to Joe?
• You’s Charlotte Ritchie on why she was “nervous” about the season 4 role
• You season 4 location guide: Where was the Netflix thriller filmed?
• You star on season 4: ‘It’s timely and important – but also fun'

You season 4 part 2 is available to watch on Netflix now. Seasons 1-3 are also streaming now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.

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