You actor Penn Badgley has revealed that he believes his serial-killer character, Joe Goldberg, just needs some love. Whilst admitting the love-sick murderer he plays doesn’t deserve redemption, he has reflected on what he would do if he passed him in the street in real life.
In a clip shared by Entertainment Weekly, Penn spoke on his podcast, Podcrushed (which he co-hosts with director Nava Kavelin and artist Sophie Ansari), about his belief that his You character simply needs some love. “So, let’s say he was a person I was obsessed with and, somehow, I could meet him in a controlled circumstance and he was interested in listening to me…” Badgeley says, referring to a situation where he might pass his character on the street. “I would actually try to love him. Because, the truth is, he’s never gotten that. So I would ask Joe… I, honestly, feel like I would look at him for a long time.” He revealed this would be his way of taking a page from Otis Redding’s songbook by "trying a little tenderness with" the man. “He needs love. It’s like, I would hug him… I would hold him.”
Alongside these comments, Badgley acknowledged that his character’s actions throughout the series have been deplorable. “I think I’ve been clear about how much I detest all of his deeds,” Badgley said before admitting he would try to show him some of the love he sorely needed. “Because of my relationship to him, I would try to love him. I’m not saying he deserves that. I’m not saying anybody else should do that. I’m saying I would try to love him,” he explained. In the series, not only does Joe Goldberg stalk women, but he also commits several murders in an attempt to stop people from getting in his way of love.
Season 4 of You will be released in February next year. The series will see Joe Goldberg in London living as a professor by the name of Jonathan Moore. “Living in London has allowed me to bury the past if you will. Gone are the days of unrequited love and longing,” Badgley says in character in a Season 4 sneak-peek clip, revealing he is no longer a New York bookstore manager, a Los Angeles shop clerk, or a doting suburbian husband. “This time around, I’m focusing on academia and instruction while keeping my typical extracurricular activities strictly professional.”
The series first aired in September 2018 on Netflix, with the fourth season set to drop in two intervals: part one on February 10, 2023, and part two in March. The new season will see Tati Gabrielle (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) return as Marienne Bellamy, as well as new faces Lukas Gage (Euphoria), Amy-Leigh Hickman (Ackley Bridge), Charlotte Ritchie (Call the Midwife), Ed Speleers (Downton Abbey), Tilly Keeper (East Enders), Niccy Lin (Lockdown Kings), Aidan Cheng (Devils), Eve Austin (Law and Order: Special Victims Unit), Ozioma Whenu (The Virtual Llama), and Dario Coates (Coronation Street).
Season 4 of You will premiere on February 10, 2023, exclusively on Netflix. In the meantime, check out the date announcement trailer: