You season 3 debuts on Netflix globally on October 15th, 2021, and if you’re looking for everything you need to know before diving into the third season, here’s an updated look at the release date, trailers, and everything else known so far.
In less than a month after its season 2 release, Netflix confirmed its commitment to You by renewing the popular psychological-crime drama for a third season. It shouldn’t come as any particular surprise given the second season was viewed by over 54 million people. The show found new life on Netflix after originally being a Lifetime series.
The second season saw a change of scenery for Joe, moving from the Big Apple that is New York to the Golden Coast of Los Angeles.
Changing his name to ‘Will’, it didn’t take long before his new muse arrived, Love Quinn. Despite his determination to change his murderous way, naturally, people just seemed to die around Joe. A climactic finale left fans wanting more, and thankfully Netflix will be providing the goods eventually.
Now let’s get into everything we know about season 3 of You.
What to expect from season 3 of You on Netflix
Below, we’ll now cover what we know and speculate about what we can expect to see from season 3 of You.
When will season 3 of You release on Netflix?
The most important question of all. When could we expect to see You season 3 on Netflix?
On August 30th, it was confirmed that season 3 of You is due to release on October 15th, 2021.
New and returning cast for season 3 of You
In September 2020, we learned that You is currently casting a brand new member of the cast. His name is Dante and here’s what the casting call says about the character:
“A veteran whose sight was damaged in combat, Dante works at the local library. A step-father to his partner Ted’s two boys, Dante is sarcastic, world-weary, and unfailingly dependable. We are looking for an Actor who is Visually Impaired – this includes LOW VISION (degenerating vision), LEGALLY BLIND or Totally BLIND.”
A casting grid also confirms (not to anyone’s surprise) that Penn Badgley and Victoria Pedretti are set to return.
In October 2020, we got word via Netflix Queue that two new cast members had joined for season 3.
Shalita Grant is the first new name who is known for her stints on NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans where she plays Sonja Percy. Her new role on the show is as Sherry.
Travis VanWinkle is the second new casting who seemingly will be quite close to Joe in season 3 as he “invites Joe into his inner circle”. Travis is known for his roles mainly in the 2009 horror movie Friday the 13th.
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.
Travis VanWinkle will play the wealthy Cary, who invites Joe into his inner circle pic.twitter.com/Js70prlmZv
— Netflix Queue (@netflixqueue) October 15, 2020
On October 21st, Netflix Queue announced another addition to the cast with Scott Speedman joining the cast as Matthew. Scott is previously known for roles on Underworld and The Strangers.
Scott Speedman has joined the cast of YOU Season 3!
He’ll play Matthew, a successful CEO, husband, and uncommunicative father. He's reserved, mysterious, and has a tendency to be withdrawn … all of which masks a deep well of emotion underneath pic.twitter.com/EYp7Xfg65u
— Netflix Queue (@netflixqueue) October 21, 2020
Then, in late November 2020, Variety lifted the lid on the final 13 new and returning cast members for season 3.
They are as follows:
- Saffron Burrows as Love’s mother, Dottie
- Dylan Arnold as Theo
- Tati Gabrielle as Marienne
- Michaela McManus as Natalie
- Shannon Chan-Kent as Kiki
- Ben Mehl as Dante
- Chris O’Shea as Andrew
- Christopher Sean as Brandon
- Bryan Safi as Jackson
- Mackenzie Astin as Gil
- Ayelet Zurer as Dr. Chandra
- Jack Fisher as Young Joe Goldberg
- Mauricio Lara as Paulie
In addition to these, various IMDb updates reveal some of the other smaller roles in season 3 such as:
- Mathew Trent Hunnicutt as a teacher
What will happen in season 3 of You?
Warning: Potentially huge spoilers for season 2.
Season 3 is set to continue adapting Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes with episode one currently titled “And They Lived Happily Ever After”. Episode one is written by Sera Gamble and Mairin Reed and directed by Silver Tree. You can see the script posted by the writers account below.
The second season saw a huge twist at the end of the ninth episode when it was revealed that Love Quinn, had murdered Delilah. Joe was out Joe’d by Love when she revealed she had been following him and knew of his antics all along, but loved him all the same. She also revealed she framed her brother, Forty and killed his lover when they were teenagers.
Forty, unaware of his sister’s actions, attempted to protect her from Joe but ultimately lead to his death. Attempting to execute Joe, Forty was shot and killed by Officer Vasquez, who had followed Delilah’s sister to Anavrin. With Forty’s attempted murder and Quinn’s money situation resolved, Joe was wiped off the suspect list for Henderson’s death.
Moving to a home in the suburbs, with a heavily pregnant girlfriend, the third season is set up when Joe heavily hints his new “victim” will be his next-door neighbor.
Lead actor, Penn Badgley has his own theory on what to expect from Joe, in season 3. He believes that Joe will seek to find what was taken from him in his childhood, heavily insinuating that Joe will try to uncover what made him become a sociopath.
With the story of the book covered by the end of the second season, a third season will see the largest leap yet away from the source material. Caroline Kepnes’ book Hidden Bodies was the inspiration for the story of the second season, and despite the series deterring from the main plot of the book, it was still a wealth of information on the characters. Caroline Kepnes’s only work since that release being Providence, a separate story altogether (although we’ll cover another that has since been announced shortly).
Netflix has provided an official synopsis for season 3:
“In Season 3, Joe and Love, now married and raising their baby, have moved to the balmy Northern California enclave of Madre Linda, where they’re surrounded by privileged tech entrepreneurs, judgmental mommy bloggers, and Insta-famous biohackers. Joe is committed to his new role as a husband and dad but fears Love’s lethal impulsiveness. And then there’s his heart. Could the woman he’s been searching for all this time live right next door? Breaking out of a cage in a basement is one thing. But the prison of a picture-perfect marriage to a woman who’s wise to your tricks? Well, that’ll prove a much more complicated escape.”
Where is You season 3 in production?
Current production status: Production concluded (Last updated: 04/23/2021)
As of March 2020, the series third season was still in the writing phase and we were expecting filming to get underway in the summer. However, with all the COVID-19 disruption that never came to fruition.
All of the writers worked on writing the series exclusively from home as they shared on their collective Twitter account.
We hope you’re doing your best to social distance/stay home right now. I know it’s hard, but it’s important right now. And we hope our new writing partners bring you some joy. Feel free to post pics of your isolation buddies in this thread too. Much love ❤️
— youwriters (@youwriters) March 18, 2020
Digital Spy had stated that filming will begin in February 2021, and will still arrive in 2021 however that’s now thoroughly debunked.
In September 2020, we got word via scooper Daniel Richtman that You season 3 is tentatively due to begin filming in early November 2020 and then film until “Late April 2021”. He also revealed the set, as with most other Netflix productions, will have strict COVID-19 restrictions.
On November 2nd, 2020 we got official confirmation that season 3 was in production.
We recommend you stay at least 6 feet from Joe Goldberg at all times.
YOU Season 3 is back in production. pic.twitter.com/ijti25tPFk
— Netflix (@netflix) November 2, 2020
In 2021, Netflix France gave us a quick update with a behind the scenes look at Penn Badgley in the role of Joe in season 3.
Production concluded on April 23rd, 2021 according to showrunner Sera Gamble who Tweeted the good news alongside info about some of the downsides of running a production during COVID-19 times.
We had zero on-set positive COVID tests through a significant and scary surge here in LA. And haven’t had one since.
Because every single member of cast & crew worked very hard to take care of each other during a time that’s stressful, in a situation that’s tough to control.
— Sera Gamble (@serathegamble) April 23, 2021
In April 2021, we got a small update from Sera Gamble who posted the script cover for episode 10. The title was blurred out by we know it’ll be written by Sera herself and Neil Reynolds while being directed by Silver Tree.
Filming is expected to conclude on April 26th, 2021 according to ProductionWeekly back in November 2020. It’s unclear whether this is still the case but we do expect Netflix’s general social media and the specific You account to share the news once its wrapped.
Are you looking forward to another season of You? Let us know in the comments.