At last! After waiting two years from when the second season dropped, You will finally return with its third season.
The second season followed Joe (Penn Badgley) and his homicidal tendencies as he moved to Los Angeles once he left behind his past life in New York. He fell in love with a pastry chef named Love (Victoria Pedretti). Joe eventually found out that Love is very similar to him, and that he’s even going to be a dad.
Netflix just announced that the series will return in October with a chilling teaser that is narrated by Joe himself. So far, this is what we can gather about the upcoming season.
Premiere Date
At the end of the trailer, there are two reveals: the name of the baby (Henry, a literary name) and the premiere date: October 15.
Season 3 Renewal
Netflix announced on January 14, 2020 that You would be renewed for a third season consisting of 10 episodes. Back then, TVLine confirmed that the installment would arrive in 2021, but didn’t specify when. This renewal announcement came weeks after Penn Badgley accidentally let slip about the exciting news in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
When asked about Love’s character, Badgley said, “Dare I say, I think in the third season…” He began to try to backtrack what he had said when he realized what he let slip by saying, “I literally know nothing about the third season.”
The interviewer started to pressure Badgley on whether more You would be coming to Netflix. The actor struggled, “Technically I can’t… I mean, like, unofficially.”
Cast & Crew
Netflix confirmed that Badgley (Joe) and Pedretti (Love Quinn) will both be returning to their roles in Season 3.
You‘s co-creators Sera Gamble and Greg Berlanti are also returning as the show’s executive producers too, with Gamble being the showrunner.
In October 2020, Netflix announced the show would have two new characters in the upcoming season. One of Netflix’s Twitter accounts tweeted, “Fresh blood joining You Season 3: Shalita Grant will play Sherry, a ‘Mom-fluencer’ who appears down to earth, but is actually a mean girl who only pretends to welcome Love into her social circle.”
Also joining the show is Travis VanWinkle, who “will play the wealthy Cary, who invites Joe into his inner circle.” We just have to wait and see if either character survives the season.
Deadline reports that Scott Speedman of Animal Kingdom will have a recurring role. “Speedman will play Matthew, a successful CEO, husband, and uncommunicative father,” the outlet stated. “He’s reserved, at times mysterious, and has a tendency to be withdrawn, all of which masks a deep well of emotion underneath.”
Deadline reported in November 2020 that Saffron Burrows, who plays Love’s mother, has been promoted to a series regular. Other new regulars are actors Tati Gabrielle (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and Dylan Arnold (Nashville). Michaela McManus, Shannon Chan-Kent, Ben Mehl, Chris O’Shea, Christopher Sean, Bryan Safi, Mackenzie Astin, Ayelet Zurer, Jack Fisher, and Mauricio Lara will also appear in recurring roles. Scott Michael Foster (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) is also reported to appear in You‘s third season.
Plot
Executive producer Sera Gamble told Cosmopolitan UK “I will say that we have an idea for season three that is SO exciting that people talk about it in the [writer’s] room everyday. So my fingers are crossed…I’ll just say, I hope we get the chance to keep making the show.”
When speaking on Us Weekly‘s Watch With Us podcast, Gamble said, “I think the very best thing inside of Joe is his desire to protect innocent young people. That’s so sincere. It’s obvious that he doesn’t have any ulterior motive beyond maybe just wanting another kid to have a better childhood than he did.” She added, “I mean, the argument can be made that he saved both [Paco and Ellie], but the argument can probably more strongly be made that he came into their lives and destroyed them.”
Gamble is also interested in exploring the story of Love’s mom. She spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the ending of Season 2, and dropped hints of what she’d want to explore if the show continued.
“The stakes are pretty high. I have so many questions about Love’s mother who’s incredibly in the picture at the end of the season, like how much she really knows about her children,” Gamble told Entertainment Weekly. “We wrote [the finale] hoping that we will get the opportunity to tell more story because we’re really excited with the seeds planted at the end of season 2.”
As for the Joe and Love dynamic, Gamble revealed on the Watch With Us podcast, “He has a baby on the way and Love has moved from that perfect girl that he’s trying to win to the real girl, who’s maybe not exactly what he’s expected… to something much more like a wife.”
Location
Although the first season was all about Joe in New York, Season 2 followed the lead character in California, and it looks like that’s where he’s staying. Deadline reported that a potential third season of You was awarded $7.213 million in the latest round of California tax credits recipients.
First comes Love, then comes baby.
