You season 3 release date: Cast, trailer and latest news for Netflix series

Fans will remember that season two ended with them moving into a picturesque house that came complete with an attractive neighbour for Joe to fantasise about – but as the trailer ended with the couple burying a body, it can safely be assumed that the picket-fence and expensive coffee maker lifestyle may not be for them.

Last month, Netflix released a few sneak peek images of You season three, including one of Love menacingly holding a knife and Joe in full stalking mode.

The images include a glimpse of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina's Tati Gabrielle, who joins the You cast as a no-nonsense librarian, and Scott Speedman as successful CEO Matthew, who has the bad luck to be Joe and Love's neighbour.

https://twitter.com/streaming/netflix/status/1440073281508294670?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

The series is adapted from Caroline Kepnes' books of the same name, with creator Sera Gamble already teasing that the third series would be even more "bonkers" than the last two.

She wasn't wrong - as you can find out in our You season 3 review.

Want to find out more? Read on for everything you need to know about You season three, returning and new cast members and suspected plot twists.

Loved You? Read more about the Netflix thriller here:

• Where is Marienne at the end of You season 3?
• What happened to Forty on Netflix thriller You?
• You season 3 ending explained: Did Joe and Love survive?
• You on Netflix gets season 4 renewal before season 3 has launched
• You cast: Meet the characters in Netflix thriller
• Who is Mark Blum? You season 3 tribute explained

How many episodes are there in You season 3?

There are 10 episodes in season three, with the same number in the previous two series.

You season 3 release date

The third season of You is now available to watch on Netflix.

Back in August, the streamer announced series three's Friday 15th October release date in a tweet alongside a number of first-look images featuring Joe, Love and their brand new baby.

Netflix announced in April that production had wrapped, having begun filming just before the coronavirus pandemic. It was soon halted to keep the cast and crew safe from catching the illness.

After an extended hiatus, Netflix confirmed in November 2020 that filming on season three had resumed.

It didn't take long after season two's December 2019 debut for news to emerge about a further series, with the commission of third run officially announced the following month.

In addition, Caroline Kepnes, the author of the books on which the Netflix series is based, released the third book called You Love Me on 6 April 2021.

What time is You released on Netflix?

Netflix dropped the entire third season of You at 8am on Friday 15th October, so it is ready for you to get watching right now.

You season 3 trailer

The first full-length trailer for the new series teased serial killer Joe Goldberg's new role as a devoted dad – but had he left his murderous past behind him? Judging by this clip, it didn't look like it.

Netflix also dropped a date announcement video for series three, featuring a sinister Joe baking a cake for his newborn baby.

In the video, Joe announces that he's naming his new son Henry, adding: "For you, I can change. I'll be a man you look up to. A man you will be proud to call dad." We'll see about that.

You season 3 cast

Gossip Girl's Penn Badgley returns as lovesick serial killer Joe Goldberg alongside Victoria Pedretti as equally murderous rival/girlfriend Love Quinn.

Showrunner Sera Gamble told Us Weekly that Love would have her own storylines independent of Joe in season three, saying: "The intention is to build her out — her point of view, her desires, her problems — in a way that makes her feel as fully realised as her troubled romantic partner."

Two characters who had small but impactful introductions last season return to You in larger roles, namely Joe's latest next-door neighbour Natalie, played by The Vampire Diaries star Michaela McManus, and Love's mother Dottie, portrayed by Saffron Burrows (Mozart in the Jungle).

As reported by Deadline, several new characters debut in season three, including Travis Van Winkle as a self-proclaimed "Master of Self-Optimisation" Cary, and Shalita Grant as his wife Sherry, a locally famous “Momfluencer” obsessed with social media.

Voice actress Shannon Chan-Kent stars as Kiki, a devoted follower of Sherry, while Hawaii Five-0's Christopher Sean portrays her husband Brandon. Deadline adds that Kiki is "a wife, mother and life coach who enjoys a life of entitlement", while Brandon became rich as a tech investor in his 20s and is now a stay-at-home dad.

Yet another member of Sherry's clique is stay-at-home dad Andrew, played by Patriots Day actor Chris O'Shea, while 9-1-1's Bryan Safi costars as Andrew's wry husband Jackson.

Scott Speedman, who has recently joined Grey's Anatomy as a series regular, plays Matthew, a successful CEO and Natalie's husband who struggles to be emotionally open with his family.

Meanwhile, Tati Gabrielle has officially moved on from cancelled fantasy drama Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, playing no-nonsense librarian Marienne on You season three, a woman attempting to overcome her personal struggles and build a better life. The Good Wife's Ben Mehl plays her friend and colleague Dante.

In January 2021, it was announced that Scott Michael Foster, who will be familiar to fans of musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as the privileged lawyer Nathaniel Plimpton III, had also joined the cast.

He plays a television news reporter in You named Ryan, a well-liked single father with a history of addiction who can sometimes be manipulative and controlling to those closest to him.

Rounding out the cast are Dylan Arnold (Halloween Kills) as troubled university student Theo, Mackenzie Astin (Scandal) as mild-mannered geology professor Gil and Ayelet Zurer (Daredevil) as couple's therapist Dr. Chandra.

There had been speculation that some characters from the first two seasons would return – including Will Bettelheim (Robin Lord Taylor), whose identity Joe stole in season two, and Dr Nicky (John Stamos), who Joe framed for his crimes in season one – but neither make an appearance this season, although they could return for the recently confirmed season four.

There's also the possibility of more from Ellie Alves in the future, with actor Jenna Ortega telling Insider: "I don't think her storyline has fully run its course and I say this because the writers have been so brilliant in the way that they left so many possibilities open."

Ortega also said she would happily return if asked, telling Cosmopolitan: "I had such an incredible time there that if they would like to have me back, I'm more than happy to take a few digs at Joe again."

"Imagine if she took down Joe and Love," Ortega added. "Insane."

• For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.

You season 3 plot

You is the story of stalking sociopath Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), who repeatedly develops obsessions with young women – aspiring writer Beck (Elizabeth Lail) in season one before he turned his attentions to aspiring chef Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti) in the second run.

**WARNING: contains spoilers for You season two**

The second series ended in a rather shocking manner, with Love revealed to have been behind the murder of both Delilah (Carmela Zumbado) and Candace (Ambyr Childers). It looks like Joe has met his match.

Love also revealed she was pregnant with Joe's baby at the end of the second season. The third season begins with Joe and Love (and baby Henry) living in suburbia and attempting to become a happy family unit, although it's unlikely either of the new parents can keep their psychotic tendencies under wraps for too long.

As season three wrapped back in April, the show's creator Sera Gamble revealed that the upcoming episodes are "f***ing bonkers and the performances are insanely good", while showrunner Patrick Gamble told Entertainment Weekly: “The stakes are pretty high. I have so many questions about Love’s mother who’s incredibly in the picture at the end of the season, like how much she really knows about her children.

“We wrote [the finale] hoping that we will get the opportunity to tell more stories because we’re really excited with the seeds planted at the end of season two.”

And co-creator and executive producer Sera Gamble hinted that the third run could see an even more exciting storyline, telling Cosmopolitan UK: "I will say that we have an idea for season three that is SO exciting that people talk about it in the [writer's] room everyday."

Both seasons one and two were based on novels written by Caroline Kepnes, and the third season is loosely based on her third book that was published earlier this year.

According to the book's description, Joe is ready to start a family "even if it kills him", and is "done with Love".

He leaves the city for a "cozy island in the Pacific Northwest", and meets a new love interest/potential victim – librarian Mary Kay DiMarco.

"Joe won't meddle, he will not obsess. He'll win her the old fashioned way... by providing a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand. Over time they'll both heal their wounds and begin their happily ever after in this sleepy town," the book teases.

"The trouble is...Mary Kaye already has a life. She's a mother. She's a friend. She's...busy," it continues. "True love can only triumph if both people are willing to make room for the real thing. Joe cleared his decks. He's ready. And hopefully, with his encouragement and undying support, Mary Kaye will do the right thing and make room for him."

Kepnes offered Netflix an early draft of the book and says that, while there are similarities between the text and the screenplay, there are definitely differences.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: "You're going to see Joe living in a place similar to where he lived in the book," but she adds: "The minute that Love in the show became a killer, I think that also changes things a lot."

On what she envisioned for the third story and Joe, she said: "I really wanted him to tangle with a woman who's a little more settled in her life than the women in his past. So right off the bat, I knew this man is not going to get the dream family that he thinks he's going to get at the end of Hidden Bodies...

"I wanted to put him in a place where he has this idealism about small-town life, that it will be less about social media and more about real life. It was a great way to play with his clinic denial that every person alive has their own story and their own little personal private network of people.

"I loved this idea of him meeting this woman and immediately she's following him, he's following her and they're two adults and then the rest begins."

Natalie, Joe's new obsession in the series, is indeed settled down and married - though this is a different character to the town librarian Marienne, so fans will have to tune in to see just how much of the book's premise features in the series.

The show's description has teased that Natalie has a secret life however - which may have something to do with an early twist that Penn Badgley hinted at.

"We're definitely upping the ante...I think by the end of the first episode, something quite unexpected happens," Badgley told Access. "It's not outside of the wheelhouse of what would happen, but you might think that would happen at the very end of the season. So, it's like, we sort of hurdle along very quickly...I think by the end of the season, you're in this totally different place that you didn't think you'd be."

If you want more of a breakdown as to how the most recent series ended, you can read our You season 3 ending explainer here.

You season 2 filming locations

The second season moved filming to LA which had a "big effect on the show" according to Penn Badgley. Of course, the new season (and seasons after that) can move anywhere.

Penn said: "I remember having a conversation with [EP Greg Berlanti] about this. He was like, 'You know what? I think we can put you anywhere and the show works. We could put you in Hawaii and it would work.' Maybe that will happen in the fourth season? I'll keep my fingers crossed."

In the end You remained in California for the filming of season three, in line with the location of Joe's new home: the fictional Northern California suburb of Madre Linda.

You season 3 theories

Like any television show with an avid fanbase, there are loads of fan theories online about what could happen next on You – some more plausible than others, and some which – we promise – are cleared up in season three's episodes.

Before season three dropped, there had been plenty of speculation about Love's unborn child, particularly over who the real father is. Sure, it could very well be Joe, but given the series has a knack for shocking twists, viewers have dreamed up alternatives.

Some remain suspicious that the father could be Milo, particularly as the contraceptives Love claims to have used with him are not always effective, while a more elaborate theory suggests the baby could be the result of artificial insemination via a sperm donor.

There's a growing sentiment that Love really could be the one to beat Joe at his own twisted game, with some fans suggesting that she secretly killed her late husband too, suspicious of the fact he died of a mysterious unknown ailment.

If not Love, perhaps Forty could put Joe to justice from beyond the grave, with one recurring idea being that the film he was working on could still see release and expose the psychotic murderer once and for all.

You seasons 1-3 are streaming on Netflix. If you want to watch something else check out our best movies on Netflix guide or best series on Netflix. You can also order Caroline Kepnes' You from Amazon.

If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide.