Penn Badgley Talks ‘You’ Season 5, the Effects of His Character on His Personal Life, and More!

With the return of the second half of the hit Netflix series You, many fans are naturally inquiring about when they can expect You Season 5.

When Penn Badgley, 36, was asked about the future of the series, where he stars as the serial killer and stalker Joe Goldberg, he confesses that Season 5 is likely to be the show’s “grand finale”.

“I know what Greg [Berlanti, co-creator] pitched me a few years back as what he thought was the right way to end. If there’s another one, it’s going to be, I think, a grand finale,” Badgley said in an interview with GQ Hype.

The Physical Effects of Playing Joe Goldberg

The former Gossip Girl star also admits that the role of Joe Goldberg has a physical effect on him, stating that he gets back problems from the role.

“The only aspect of it that stays with me is the physical. I have back problems often in the middle of the season – there’s a physical echo of being that tense for that much of the day.” Badgley notes.

The Request for Less Physical Intimacy in You Season 4

Leading up to the release of You Season 4, Badgley has also spoken about his desire to remove sex scenes from the series. And he was quite nervous about the request when he first approached the showrunners.

“I was nervous to even have that conversation. It was not easy. It was easy because of Sera’s response, and I felt relieved. But technically speaking, if I thought I’d had the ability to set that boundary earlier, I would have.” Badgley reveals.

The actor – who is married to Domino Kirke (whom he has a son, James, 2, with) – knew his request would be difficult due to the raunchy earlier seasons of the series. However,  showrunner Sera Gamble was more than happy to comply with his wishes.

“I asked Sera Gamble can I just do no more intimacy scenes,” Badgley said on his ‘Podcrushed’ podcast. “This is actually a decision I made before I took the show. I don’t think I have ever mentioned it publicly. One of the main things was, do I want to put myself back on a career path where I’m always playing the romantic lead?”

“Fidelity in every relationship, including my marriage, is important to me. It’s got to the point where I don’t want to do that. So I said to Sera, ‘my desire would be zero, to go from 100 to zero.'” Badgley adds.  “But I signed this contract. I signed up for this show. I know what I did. You can’t take this aspect out of the DNA of the concept. So how much less can you make it, was my question to them.”

Badgley goes on to say, “She didn’t even bat an eye. She was really glad that I was that honest. She was sort of almost, I want to say empowered, it had a really positive response. They came back with a phenomenal reduction.”

What Comes Next for Penn Badgley After You Season 5?

As far as what might lie away for Penn Badgley after You Season 5. The actor told GQ that he could see himself working behind the camera at some point.

“Maybe because I’ve done this now for so long, directing and writing and producing are all far more interesting to me,” he adds.