Netflix’s ‘You’ Renewed for Fifth and Final Season — With New Showrunners

Joe Goldberg will stalk one last time.

Netflix has handed out a fifth and final season renewal to its Penn Badgley drama You. Showrunner Sera Gamble, who has steered the series through its first four seasons (including its original run on Lifetime), is stepping back from her day-to-day role on the series. Fellow exec producers Michael Foley and Justin W. Lo will take over as showrunners on the series from producers Warner Bros. Television. Gamble will remain credited as an exec producer on You alongside Greg Berlanti and his WBTV-based Berlanti Productions partner Sarah Schechter, David Madden, Alloy’s Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo, John Scott, Neil Reynolds, Foley, Lo and leading man Badgley.

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“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, [author] Caroline Kepnes, my friends at Berlanti Productions and Alloy Entertainment, and our steadfast partners at Warner Bros and Netflix,” Gamble said. “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.”

Netflix split season four into two parts, with the first half of its 10-episode season dropping Feb. 9 and the second returning a month later. The thriller hit No. 1 on Netflix’s internal charts with the second half of its fourth season, though those numbers fell short of its third cycle. (Netflix, like other streamers, does not release traditional viewership data.)

In an interview ahead of season four, Gamble said producers had “an idea for season five” that they were excited about, as she opened up about the show’s potential shelf life.

“It was never anyone’s intention to run this one into the ground. When we’re done, we’ll be done. And we’ll pack it up,” she told THR’s TV’s Top 5 podcast. “Even in the early conversations with Penn, the idea was not to crank out episodes forever; it’s to feel like we have told the complete story. And though I feel like tonally, we’re very different and we are not trying to sell Joe as any kind of a hero with a straight face. This is a show that is in the tradition of these single-lead shows with a guy who does increasingly bad things. The beautiful thing about it is that when his arc is complete, so is the show.”

Gamble signed an overall deal with Universal Content Productions in 2020 that reunites her with the studio behind her former Syfy drama The Magicians. She will now prioritize developing new projects for UCP after passing the baton to new showrunners on You. Gamble previously had a carve-out of her UCP deal that continued to allow her to serve as showrunner on You, which she co-created alongside Berlanti.

Speaking of Berlanti, the prolific producer recently renewed his rich overall pact with Warners. For the studio, Berlanti exec produces The CW’s Superman & Lois, Gotham Knights, All American and its spinoff, Kung Fu, the final seasons of Riverdale and The Flash; HBO Max’s upcoming The Girls on the Bus and Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives. The latter series recently moved from HBO Max to Netflix.

“We are so incredibly grateful to Netflix and Sera and everyone that has been a part of this show from the beginning,” Berlanti and Schechter said in a joint statement. “Sera is the most brilliant writer and partner and she will remain a key part of the You family as an executive producer. We intend to bring her every idea we can from our company for years to come. Ever since our friends at Alloy shared Caroline Kepnes’ fantastic book we have always conceived it as a five-season journey. We are excited to continue our relationship with Mike and Justin as they take over the reins as co-showrunners and prepare to bring Joe Goldberg home.”

Foley, for his part, has been with You since its start. His credits include Berlanti’s The Flight Attendant, Shonda Rhimes’ How to Get Away With Murder, as well as such shows as Revenge and Unforgettable. Lo, who joined You in season two, previously worked with Berlanti on Fox’s Prodigal Son and is developing an original idea with Berlanti Productions. His credits also include Netflix’s Glamorous.

“Working with Greg and Sera on You has been a highlight of our careers and we’re incredibly honored to be entrusted with the final chapter of Joe Goldberg’s story,” Foley and Lo said in a joint statement.

“You became an instant sensation on Netflix with a resounding cultural impact that has grown season over season,” said Peter Friedlander, vp scripted series at Netflix. “We’re excited — and a bit terrified — to see how it all ends for Joe Goldberg, but one thing is for sure: YOU are in for an unforgettable ending.”

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