Penn Badgley has been the face of the Netflix series You as the charismatic but highly-murderous Joe Goldberg for four seasons now. Over the course of the thriller series, Badgley’s character has been travelling across the US (and now, the world) taking on new identities.
In each season, Joe Goldberg’s romantic life comes under attention, and he either ends up killing, or threatening to be killed by, whoever becomes his next partner. Not the ideal boyfriend, then. During each new romance, You has become well-known for not shying away from having intimate sex scenes, and they’re a frequent occurrence on the addictive drama series.
However, for You season 4 that’s set to change, and Penn Badgley has spoken about the one demand he had before going into the new season of the TV series. Speaking on his Podcrushed podcast, Badgley said “I asked Sera Gamble, [the] creator, ‘Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?’. This was actually a decision I had made before I took the show. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things is: Do I want to put myself back on a career path where I’m always [the] romantic lead?”
He continued “Fidelity in every relationship — especially in a marriage — is important to me. It got to a point where [I thought], ‘I don’t want to do that.’ So I said to Sera, like, ‘My desire would be zero [intimate scenes], to go from 100 to zero.’”
So, Badgley’s one sex scene demand for You season 4 was very straightforward: he didn’t want any. And, his explanation for that request seems to be twofold: first, so as not to be typecast in romance-adjacent projects in the future, and second, due to his own romantic commitments within his own marriage and wanting to preserve the sanctity of that.
His request has rightly been taken seriously, and You season 4 has lacked the sex scenes of past seasons (not that it’s been to the series’ detriment). It also might signal that once his time on You is up, Badgley might be looking for an altogether different kind of role to sink his teeth into.
For more on You, check out our handy guides to everyone who dies in You season 4 part 1, the identity of Joe’s stalker and the Eat the Rich killer, and answered burning questions like what happens to Joe’s son, what happened to Marienne, and whether we’ll see Love return in You season 4. And if all that isn’t enough, you can also check out our guide explaining when you can watch You season 4 part 2.