Netflix’s ‘You’ Season 2: release date, cast, trailer, plot and everything we know so far

The Penn Badgley-starring show is back with season two

Dropping as a late Christmas treat, Netflix‘s latest psychological drama You was rapidly binged over the festive period with the second season already confirmed before it was released worldwide. Following Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), a seemingly charming bookstore manager who falls for one of his customers Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), he becomes obsessed with Beck and starts to stalk her. At first he succeeds, and the two begin to date, but as things progress Goldberg’s web of lies starts to unravel and the murders stack up.

Left on a huge cliffhanger ending, fans waited eagerly for You season 2 – and now it’s here! So here’s a helpful recap on what we know about it.

  • Season one spoilers ahead!

How do I watch You season 2 on Netflix?

Yes! Ahead of season one of the show premiering on Netflix, it was announced there would be a second season of You as a Netflix Original title.

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The series had originally premiered on US network Lifetime, which had originally renewed the show’s second outing before You jumped over to Netflix.

What is the You season 2 release date?

Well, it was an other late Christmas gift as season two of You arrived on Netflix on Boxing Day (December 26).

Announcing the news on his Instagram account, star Penn Badgley wrote: “Ready for a fresh start.”

View this post on Instagram

Ready for a fresh start. December 26.

A post shared by Penn Badgley (@pennbadgley) on

Are there any trailers for You season 2?

Yes indeed. The first trailer for the second season was shared on December 5, and sees Joe continuing his creepy stalker ways. Watch it below.

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A second trailer has followed, released on December 16, which is set over a slow, creepy cover of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’. It sees Joe talking of a fresh start, but finding that moving on is harder than first thought.

How many episodes will there be?

Unconfirmed (as of early December – but the first season had 10, so it looks likely that the second season will follow suit with another ten episodes. (Update: You season 2 does indeed have 10 episodes).

Has production on Season 2 started yet?

Yes! Speaking to NME, showrunner Sera Gamble confirmed that the second season would start filming in February, and that the writers are currently figuring out episodes five, six and seven.

On 15 February, images emerged from the first Season 2 table read. One photo shows star Penn Badgley with new cast member Victoria Pedretti, while another sees him joined by Ambyr Childers, who is returning as Joe’s estranged ex Candace. See the post below.

Can we see any photos of Season 2 of You?

A first look photo has been posted by Entertainment Weekly, which sees Joe up to his old tricks again, looming over what looks to be his next victim. See it below.

Who will be in the cast for You season 2?

We know that Penn Badgley is going to return in the lead role of Joe Goldberg, but as of yet it’s unconfirmed whether any other characters we saw in the first season will join him. However given the body count of the first ten episodes, it’s likely that new characters will be brought in for the next season.

It’s currently up in the air whether John Stamos will reappear as therapist Dr. Nicky. Last we saw Nicky was in prison, after being framed for several of Goldberg’s murders, but speaking to The Hollywood Reporter showrunner Sera Gamble has expressed interest in him returning: “It’s too soon to say definitely whether John Stamos will return in season two but we have been talking a lot about the character and we’re excited to keep telling that story.”

On February 15, Deadline reported that Gotham actor Robin Lord Taylor will feature in season 2 as Will – a character that “deals with unsavory sorts as part of his job, but is himself a thoughtful, personable, and highly intelligent guy who marches to the beat of his own drummer. That is, until he gets trapped in a bad situation.”

Need for Speed actress Carmela Zumbado has been confirmed for series two, it was announced on February 21. She plays Delilah Alves, an investigative reporter who will likely spell some trouble for Joe [via Deadline].

Deadline have reported that Marielle Scott will join the cast in a recurring role. She’ll play Lucy, “an edgy-chic literary agent with a deadpan wit and a sense of humor about her own LA-ness”.

Who is the female lead for You season 2?

Netflix have confirmed that Victoria Pedretti (who played Nell in The Haunting of Hill House) will appear in season two of You as the female lead. She’ll play a character called Love Quinn, who’s an aspiring chef.

What will happen in You season 2?

Season 2 of You is expected to be based on author Caroline Kepnes’ follow-up novel to YouHidden Bodies, although it’s not known how strictly it will follow the plot of that sequel book

Deadline have reported that the second season of the show will follow bookstore manager Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) “as his search for love takes him to Hollywood where dreams can be made or shattered”.

Speaking to NME, showrunner Sera Gamble did reveal that loose ends from Goldberg’s past could return: “Without giving away too much, Joe thinks he’s gone out there by himself [Laughs]. So we can say that with like an ellipsis at the end of the sentence. He’s definitely trying to make a little bit of a left turn in his life. But you know, it’s really fun when a character makes plans right ’cause then you can just go blow them all.” Gamble went on to explain that there’ll be an aspect of Goldberg outrunning his past in his trip to LA, saying: “There’s an aspect of trying to outrun his past and also trying to stop and fix some things and seek some different things for his future.”

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Gamble elaborated on this, saying: “If you look at every act of violence that he does in season one, that is potentially something that could come back and bite him.” Gamble added: “Part of the fun of continuing the story is that the loose ends from Joe’s past are still dangling and could come back to him at anytime. He is very worried about the fact that Peach Salinger’s family has hired people to investigate her alleged suicide, and there is evidence potentially still at her house from season one.

Gamble has also said to The Hollywood Reporter that Joe’s past, and in particular the abuse he received from mentor Mr. Mooney, will be further explored in the next season: “Joe was taken in by a guy who had a certain type of life philosophy that really did rub off on Joe. Joe was already a teenager by the time he even met Mr. Mooney. There’s a lot more to explore about Joe from earlier in his life. Those are the things we’re starting to get into for season two”.

Season 1 was also left on a cliffhanger, where Joe’s ex-girlfriend Candace (Ambyr Childers) appeared in his bookstore and tells him they have unfinished business, so we can expect to find out more of what happened between them.

You’s Joe Goldberg

Badgley has shed a little more light on what might happen in Season 2. He said at a recent press conference that his first thought upon reading the script for the new season was: “How are they going to do this?”
“It’s difficult to pull off what we’re doing because he’s so obviously evil and there’s the pretty surreal concept of Candace being alive,” be continued. “I think they pulled off an incredible feat and I think that we explore the concepts of the show in an interesting new way.”

Speaking of what to expect from the new season, Badgley expanded: “In season two, you see parts of Joe you’ve not seen before. We’re not doing the same thing again, because I think that would be irresponsible. And to be honest, a lot of that really comes through in Victoria’s character, which is my love interest in the upcoming season.”

What do we know about the character of Candace?

Candace (played by Ambyr Childers) is Joe’s ex-girlfriend, and the two clearly have some unfinished business. Throughout the season it was heavily implied that she dead (and most likely killed by Joe, when he found out she was having an affair with her record producer), but her arrival in the dying seconds of season one was a wild deviation from the source material, and a total heel-turn for the narrative.

Throughout the first season Joe maintained that Candace was in Italy, showing her Instagram account to Beck to convince her she was alive; but given the season finale this may not be true. Was she supposed to be dead? Did she really go to Italy all along? Does she know what Joe did, and is continuing to do? All questions that we’re hoping season two will answer.

Questions we want answered from a second season:

The first season of You left plenty of threads hanging – here’s what we want from a second run.

What’s the deal with Mr. Mooney?

Joe’s mentor is presented as something of a hard-edged, overwhelmingly strict, and even abusive foster father. While it’s heavily hinted that this upbringing had a huge effect on how Joe himself sees the world (and acts out his fantasies), a second season could shed more light on that upbringing itself, and maybe even what caused Mooney himself to become so vicious.

Is that piss pot gonna cause a problem?

The private investigator hired to investigate Peach’s death revealed to Dan towards the end of season one that they had found a jar of the suspect’s urine at the site, and were having it DNA tested. Unlike most of the situations Joe got himself in in season one, there’s little he can do to wrap this one up – the pot’s already been bagged as evidence. How will he get out of this one? Pissing in a jar in someone’s house is more than a little suspicious, let alone the day before they die…

Are Beck’s remaining friends not suspicious?

Look, it’s fairly clear that they’re a bit… slow. But there’s gotta be at least an inkling of suspicion surrounding Joe, who entered their friendship group shortly before the death of two of their closest friends? And, as far as we’re shown, seems relatively unfazed by the whole thing? Working in a book shop that’s selling your murdered girlfriend’s book would probably be enough to prompt most to move jobs, no? It’ll be interesting to see whether season two brings up any more suspicion amongst the remaining members of Beck’s friendship group.

Does Joe feel any remorse for the murder of Beck?

The ending of Season 1 seemed to imply that Joe’s typically warped mindset had led him to justify the murder of his own girlfriend, with Joe internally arguing that, as he finally gave her the bestselling book she’d already dreamed of (posthumously, at least), her death wasn’t entirely in vain. But will a second series see him reflecting on his actions, or even regretting them?

‘You’ season 2 is streaming on Netflix now

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