You Showrunner Sera Gamble Teases A Very Different Season 4

Netflix's unsettling stalker drama "You" has captivated global audiences at an astonishing rate. The series follows the psychotic serial killer Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), who utilizes social media to stalk and execute his unfortunate victims. His knack for falling in love with unattainable women precedes him as he constantly flees locations after each deadly love affair.

In Season 4, Joe makes a cross-country trip overseas from California to London following the hallowed end of his marriage with Love (Victoria Pedretti) — as the wedding vows go, 'til death do you part (RIP Love). With a new job and fresh look, Joe aims to find yet another lover, no matter how much blood he has to shed. This brings the cleanly dressed bookworm to a new collegiate setting where he will have the joy of molding bright, but aggravating, young minds. The short-tempered new professor soon finds himself in the middle of a mind-boggling whodunit, surprising even the experienced killer.

Series creator Sera Gamble teased how the upcoming fourth season will be unlike the others in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. She was inspired by the works of Agatha Christie and classic Sherlock Holmes tales which deal with the engrossing relationship between murder and mystery. This will lead viewers to immediately and obviously suspect Joe in the season's goings-ons, however, the subversive showrunner suggests that may not be the case this time around. 

Sera Gamble is no stranger to literary adaptations. Before "You," Gamble ventured to the magical Brakebills University with Syfy's fantasy series "The Magicians." Rather than portray a linear book-to-screen adaptation, Gamble subverted expectations by weaving her own original take on Lev Grossman's enthralling epic. In "You," she employs a similar style. 

With Entertainment Weekly, Gamble outlined how Season 4 is different from previous installments, starting with Joe's new identity as professor Jonathan Moore. "Very early on in the life of the series, [author] Caroline Kepnes told me that she envisioned him in this academic setting eventually, and I just loved that image," Gamble shared. "So we've known for years that we wanted to eventually put him in a university. It's also fun because for the first time, really, he's talking about the books he loves so much and getting the correct level of respect that he never really got when he was a bookstore manager." The callbacks to Joe's bookish persona in Season 1 will also remind viewers of the unimaginable glass prison that was lurking underneath the rare bookshop. 

Gamble further explains that some things will still feel the same as Joe finds himself surrounded by another group of privileged brats. He'll even have a fascinating selection of possible victims featuring European aristocrats with grand titles. 

Part 1 of Season 4 will be released just in time for Valentine's Day on February 9th, 2023.