As YOU wrapped up its fourth season run on March 9, fans couldn’t help but wonder whether a fifth season was in the works. 

The good news is that on March 24, Netflix announced that YOU Season 5 is happening.

Unfortunately, the fifth season will also mark the drama’s final season. No premiere date has been announced, but new episodes are expected to arrive in 2024.

Brace yourself for Joe Goldberg's final chapter.

You will return for a fifth and final season in 2024! pic.twitter.com/rbQBOnQPSJ

— Netflix (@netflix) March 24, 2023

The fourth season of the Lifetime-turned-Netflix thriller basically hit reset, throwing audiences for a loop with a murder mystery format surrounding Joe’s new life in London as Professor Jonathan Moore. 

The action really ramped up in the second half of the season as Joe’s lies and secrets began to unravel and catch up to him, threatening his “European getaway” and any shot at happiness. 

It’s actually quite amazing what the writers have been able to accomplish. They’ve managed to keep Joe’s character consistent yet provide several unique seasons that continue to keep audiences in suspense and shock with numerous well-executed twists. 

And it definitely seems that there’s much more where that came from in terms of a fifth season, which will now gear up to wrap up the storyline, provide closure (will we see Dr. Nicky and Ellie make a return?) and hopefully, serve justice where justice is due.

Spoilers below—stop reading if you’re not caught up on the most recent season of YOU!!

By the end of season 4, Joe managed to come out on top, eliminating Nadia by forcing her to take the fall for Rhys Montrose and Edward’s deaths. He thought his Marienne problem was taken care of when he carried her lifeless body to a park bench, but little did Joe know, she was actually alive. He fell for the elaborate and insane escape plan that she concocted with Nadia.

And after a failed suicide attempt, Joe managed to silence the voices outside of his head, personified by the hallucination of Rhys, embraced his darkness, and found a kindred spirit—sort of—in Kate, who he believes is the love of his life.

The two promised that they’d keep each other on the straight and narrow, though for Joe, that meant simply accepting his desires to kill as normal. And with Kate’s protections in place, he’ll be able to continue on as Joe doing what Joe does.

And thus, Joe is more powerful and dangerous than ever. It would be a shame if the streamer didn’t let writers, and audiences, explore this new side of Joe—the one that’s completely content with himself and no longer running from the darker parts. 

There are so many unanswered questions that benefit from another season. Can he really be the man Kate wants him to be? Will he be content with Kate and tame his obsessive nature? Can he cover up additional murders? Does having Kate on his side make it easier or will she eventually begin to pry and wonder? What if he can’t control his temper? Will Kate end up in a glass cage just like the rest of them eventually? 

Then there’s Marienne, who is a loose thread since she’s alive and well. I don’t think she’d actively risk her safety to take down Joe, but she does owe Nadia, who risked everything and went out of her way to help free Marienne, only to get caught in the crosshairs herself.

There’s a lot of story left to tell when it comes to Joe Goldberg’s new lease on life, and while I’m not exactly sure how much more audiences can stomach or how much more blood needs to be spilled, Netflix clearly knows it has a duty to the people to end this series the right way—with Joe hopefully meeting his match and dying an excruciatingly painful death just like all of his victims. 

That didn’t happen on YOU Season 4 as he once again got away with murder, so it just means that we’re hoping to see it on YOU Season 5. 

You can check out all of our YOU coverage in the meantime! 

It’s time to say goodbye to Riverdale. The series that brought to life the Archie Comics—and made Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, and Jughead Jones household names—is embarking on its seventh and final season in 2023.

Below, we’re breaking down some details along with your most-asked questions about season 7! 

What Will Riverdale Season 7 Be About?

On Riverdale Season 6, Cheryl managed to successfully save everyone from Bailey’s Comet, but the strange events were far from over as everyone woke up in the ’50s. Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica are all teenagers again living in 1955, though Jughead is the only one who remembers what happened.

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s Instagram also gave us this gem of ’50s Jughead, so do with that what you will. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (@writerras)

“Jughead remembers everything that happened. And I think our characters, whether they’re conscious or not, have an emotional memory of what they’ve been through… It is still in continuity,” Aguirre-Sacasa told Decider. He also acknowledged that many of the storylines from season 6 would be addressed, which hopefully means we won’t be spending all of our time in 1955.

He’s been revealing quite a bit about the final season on Instagram, including that there will be a ’50s-themed dance, the sock hop, in the second episode of the season.

Is There a Teaser for Riverdale Season 7?

Kind of. Aguirre-Sacasa’s Instagram is a vault of Riverdale-goodness, so the unofficial teaser was shared on his page and gives fans a look at the first minute or so of the premiere episode. Pop’s customers are dancing in the year 1955 as we’re introduced to the ’50s versions of our favorite characters. 

Check it out:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (@writerras)

Are There Any Riverdale Season 7 Photos?

Yes! Entertainment Weekly previously revealed the first-look photos at the upcoming season, which included the core cast back in the classroom and in their best ’50s looks. Fangs also took the stage, with the show runner telling the outlet, “Fangs is sort of our greaser rocker. He’s a little bit like a Ritchie Valens character in our universe.”

Aguirre-Sacasa also posted a look at Archie, who is a dreamboat in every single decade he exists in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (@writerras)

Will Riverdale Season 7 Be As Weird As Previous Seasons?

In a surprising twist, Aguirre-Sacasa revealed to Entertainment Weekly that it’s “probably, weirdly, our most grounded season.” Madeline Petsch confirmed this, noting it is “pared down with the craziness” while chatting with Variety, adding that it will focus heavily on the core relationships that made season 1 so special. She did warn, however, that “everyone is dating everyone.”

“Thank god the ’50s were as crazy as they were, because it’s been so fun to be in that world,” Aguirre-Sacasa explained, adding, “Every season we explore the tropes of a specific genre, be it supernatural, be it pulp, be it crime. This year our genre is the 1950s, so we’re in dialogue with the American myth of what the 1950s were versus the reality.”

Will There Be New Faces on Riverdale Season 7?

You bet! Aguirre-Sacasa explained that there will some differences between the characters, so the ’50s Veronica may not have the same background as the present-day Veronica. This will likely make it complicated to keep up for fans, especially since season 6 was so all over the place. 

However, it also provides the opportunity to mix in new characters. 

Deadline reported that two new faces were cast for the season as recurring cast members. Nicholas Barasch will play Julian Blossom, a “bully who always gets his way.” He will be Cheryl’s twin brother (yep, not Jason Blossom!), and the “antagonist to all of our teen characters, most especially Archie.” It also seems like Archie and Cheryl might be getting married (or something?) based on this teaser on Instagram. It’s Riverdale… that’s all I have to say.

Karl Walcott, on the other hand, joins as Clay Walker, an Army brat described as  “studious, well-read, and well-traveled.” The outlet notes, “He is very open-minded in his art and his sexuality. As he does in the comic books, Clay will have an impactful friendship with fellow queer character Kevin Keller.”

What Will Riverdale Season 7 Episode 1 Be About?

Aguirre-Sacasa told EW that the first episode is Jughead’s story. “It’s him asking, ‘What do I do with the fact that I’m the only one who remembers our lives before the comet hit?’ And that gets resolved at the end of episode 1. But you get to see Cole playing the Jughead we’ve known, and then you get to see Cole putting on a 1950s persona.”

The show runner also teased “something very, very dark happens at the end of episode 2.”

Will There Be a Villain in Riverdale Season 7?

Riverdale is known for its villains—Hiram Lodge, TBK, Gargoyle King, the list goes on—but Aguirre Sacasa notes there won’t be one villain this season, per se. Instead, the decade seems to be the villain as he notes the character must find “their way in the constricting, dark realities of the 1950s, trying to discover themselves in a really repressive, conformist, homophobic, racist world.”

The biggest struggle is our characters trying to live authentic individualistic lives during a time period where that was really hard to do,” he adds.

When Will Riverdale Season 7 Premiere?

The CW announced that Riverdale’s final season will kickoff on Wednesday, March 29 at 9/8c. It will consist of 20 episodes that will conclude on Wednesday, Aug. 23.

Is There a Riverdale Season 7 Synopsis?

Yes!

“Picking up where last season ended, Jughead Jones finds himself trapped in the 1950s. He has no idea how he got there, nor how to get back to the present. His friends are no help, as they are living seemingly authentic lives, similar to their classic Archie Comics counterparts, unaware that they’ve ever been anywhere but the 1950’s.

La Brea wrapped up the first half of its second season in November.

The bad news is that we’re going to have to wait a little longer for new episodes, but the good news is that the network is going to make it worth your while.

NBC is supersizing the return of the prehistoric drama, so when it returns on January 31, 2023, the series will air two hour-long episodes back-to-back. This means that both La Brea Season 2 Episode 8 and Episode 9 will air that Tuesday night. 

The eighth episode of the sophomore season is titled “Stampede,” and will pick up with the aftermath of the Harris family’s decision to jump through the Los Angeles sinkhole and return to 10K B.C. to upload the virus necessary to shut down the time-traveling machine, and, essentially, save humanity, even if it means stranding themselves in the prehistoric-era in the process. 

Per TVLine, the episode will see an “unlikely leader” rallying “the Clearing to face an oncoming prehistoric threat.”

Next up—there’s danger lurking everywhere, especially when the survivors begin to turn into enemies. 

The second episode of the season, titled “Murder in the Clearing,” is kind of self-explanatory in that there is a murder in the Clearing that sends everyone into a bit of a frenzy, with Lucas and Sam leading an investigation to find the killer. It seems that Woolly Mammoths are the least of their worries these days!

Weaved in through both episodes will be Gavin’s struggle with trying to prevent Eve’s death, which he saw in the vision right before they all took the plunge through the sinkhole. Will he be able to stop it? Will keeping this vision a secret from his family drive a wedge between them?

Here’s a look at the trailer for the double dose of episodes! 

You can catch up on our fall finale review now—and check out the full 2023 midseason TV schedule right here! 

And we’ll see you back here on January 31, Cravers!