‘You’ Season 5: Everything To Know So Far About The Last Stand For Stalker Joe (Update For July 2024)

You began as a relatively unnoticed Lifetime series that turned into an irresistible bingewatch after arriving on Netflix during a holiday season. Years later, Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) has cycled through multiple identities and several settings throughout four seasons, and although the most recent season fell prey to inertia, the show’s streaming numbers stayed strong enough (and fans of the series do include Ariana Grande) for Netflix to allow Joe’s story to come to a proper conclusion with a fifth season.

Of course, this series has moved seasons beyond the original source material (Caroline Kepnes’ same-named novel), and a blunt question now exists: should Joe die to bring a fitting end to his reign of terror? If there’s any justice in the TV world, yes, and given Badgley’s early horror at fans thirsting over a killer, he would likely support this development. Sure, Joe will likely get away with a few more murders before that happens, but let’s talk about what is actually known about how this “nice guy” will roll into his old-new town:

Plot

First, let’s go back to where it started for Joe (with a freak out):

And here’s how it’s going with fifth-season Joe back in New York (after stints in LA, Paris, and London) and looking more at ease because he’s not running from the scene of a murder (or is he?) or pretending to be a professor:

Joe will open a new bookshop in Manhattan, and this season will bring at least one ghost, according to Netflix, and since he’s already been haunted by Love, Candace, and Beck, perhaps Benji will return for a turn at mentally torturing Joe. Whatever happens, this season will end at a semi-preplanned place given that executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sara Schechter aimed for five seasons. Additionally, series co-creator Sera Gamble left her showrunner post with scribes Michael Foley and Justin W. Lo taking over those reins.

How will justice be served? If Joe doesn’t end up being trapped by a prospective (or former) victim inside one of his beloved cages, then it’s possible that he would be busted through the efforts of Dr. Nicky (John Stamos) or Marienne (Tati Gabrielle). What is certain, however, is that Badgley is done with sex scenes, and he has suggested that Joe’s “inner monologue” could “evolve,” and he might be working “to accept himself.” Clear as mud.

Cast

Beyond Bad Boy Badgley, it’s likely that we will see the return of previous Joe targets/victims/ghosts, including Beck (Elizabeth Lail), Candace (Ambyr Childers), and Marienne (Tati Gabrielle) before this story concludes. We could also use a good haunting by Joe’s ex-wife/mutual stalker, Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti), and don’t forget that Dr. Nicky (John Stamos) remains alive, along with Jenna Ortega’s character, Ellie Alves (her return is not confirmed).

The newest collection of characters in Joe’s orbit will include Bronte (Madeline Brewer), “an enigmatic and free-spirited playwright” who will work in Joe’s new bookshop and obviously appeal to his love of those archaic tomes. Joe’s latest wife, Kate (Charlotte Ritchie), will return after helping Joe rehabilitate his image, and Griffin Matthews (The Flight Attendant) will appear as Kate’s socially outcast brother. Finally, Kate’s identical twin sisters (Anna Camp in both roles) will be on hand to stir up sh*t:

“Raegan is the cunning, cutthroat CFO of the Lockwood Corp who has her eyes on the throne and will crush any adversary… be them 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 underneath Maddie’s frivolous façade.”

Release Date

C’mon, Netflix. They’re being very secretive, other than to suggest that this season will debut in late 2024.

Trailer

The series hasn’t gone into trailer mode yet for this final season, but Penn Badgley suggests that anybody from Joe’s past could show up, including Dr. Nicky (!).