Penn Badgley Reacts to Cardi B’s ‘You’ Obsession (Exclusive)
Warning: This story contains spoilers from You season five, episodes one through six.
Beck is back.
Although serial killer Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) murdered his bookish girlfriend Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail) in season one of You, the actress returned for the series finale to expose a dramatic secret that connects one new character back to the first installment.
In episode six of season five—out on Netflix April 24—Beck returns in a flashback scene, revealing that Joe's new muse Louise aka Brontë (Madeline Brewer) actually knew Beck personally. Beck had been her writing TA, encouraging her work and even gifting her a personalized copy of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, seemingly inspiring her nickname.
"You have this way of digging into your characters' psyches, even the ones that seem irredeemable," Beck tells Louise in the scene. "It's like radical empathy. It's really impressive."
After Louise calls the praise "too nice," Beck doubles down, saying, "No, don't do that thing where you undercut my compliment. Just sit in it and accept that I think you're really good at this."
"Nobody's ever championed me as a writer like you have," Louise responds. "Before we met, I thought I was making a big stupid mistake moving here, doing creative writing and I really thought about quitting, but you saw me and I just want you to know that it means a lot."
She then confesses that she's dropping out of school to return to Ohio to take care of her ailing mom, but says she will never forget about Beck's support.
"Do what you gotta do for your family, but you have to hold onto your love for this," Beck says. "I see the way you come alive when we're here working. I would hate for you to lose that."
The writer inscribes her copy of Jane Eyre for Louise, quoting the classic, "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will, which I now exert to leave you."
Netflix
Once Beck's death eventually makes national news, Louise has a hunch that the author's boyfriend Joe had been involved, prompting her to join forces with other internet sleuths to try to uncover his murderous past.
Lail's return in season five thus reveals a major secret about Louise's motivations: She didn't meet Joe at Mooney's bookstore by chance, but instead plotted with her online friends—including the son of Dr. Nicky (John Stamos), who Joe framed for Beck's murder—to track Joe's actions over the course of the entire series with the goal of bringing him down.
Will she succeed? You season five is now streaming on Netflix.
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Ready for your next TV obsession? Read on for more shows hitting screens this year.
National Geographic/Disney
Secrets of the Penguins (National Geographic) - Apr. 20
Executive produced by National Geographic Explorer-at-Large and Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Cameron, this latest installment in National Geographic’s Emmy-winning “Secrets of” franchise takes viewers of all ages to the farthest corners of the world to witness penguin behaviors captured on film for the first time—showcasing the cute and fluffy flightless birds as they brave some of the most extreme environments on Earth.
Lifetime/A+E Networks
Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out (Lifetime) - Apr. 21
Lifetime sets all-new series with the “pop”-ular dermatologist in Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out beginning April 21. Dr. Sandra Lee, better known as Dr. Pimple Popper, returns with more bursts, oozes, and pops only on Lifetime. For the first time, Dr. Lee will be inviting several proteges, the next generation of dermatologists, into the operating room with her to pass on her unique knowledge and skill set.
Disney+
Andor (Disney+) - Apr. 22
Season two will see the characters and their relationships intensify as the horizon of war draws near and Cassian becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance. Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound.
Netflix
Race for the Crown (Netflix) - Apr. 22
Race for the Crown takes you deep into the action-packed world of professional horse racing. With exclusive access to jockeys, trainers, and owners, this series offers an inside look at the high-stakes quest to win across the prestigious Triple Crown circuit. Meet the big personalities that drive the sport, and experience the passion, strategy, and drama as these dedicated individuals strive for victory.
Netflix
Battle Camp (Netflix) - Apr. 23
In Battle Camp, the greatest stars from across Netflix’s broad slate of reality and doc-series return to face the ultimate physical and mental competition, where a giant spinning wheel randomly decides who stays and who goes. In order to keep your name off that wheel, our returning fan favorites need to be unbeatable in high octane challenges, unbreakable in grueling punishments and, last but certainly not least, unhateable in camp, as everyone has a vote. The player who achieves all three, becomes the ultimate Netflix reality competitor and takes home the $250,000 prize.
Hulu/Disney
Vanderpump Villa (Hulu) - Apr. 24
Get ready to sip some tea because Lisa Vanderpump is back, along with Stassi Schroeder and a mix of familiar faces and new staff at Castello Rosato in the countryside of Italy. Hulu’s original series Vanderpump Villa is serving up a hot second season with all ten episodes dropping on April 24, 2025.
AMC Networks
Black Snow (AMC+) - Apr. 24
In season two, Travis Fimmel reprises his role as Detective Cormack as he tackles two separate missing persons cases. One is professional, as he investigates the disappearance of Zoe Jacobs (Jana McKinnon), from her own 21st birthday party in 2003. And the other is personal, as Cormack searches desperately for his own younger brother, who went missing when they were children.
Prime/Amazon MGM Studios
Étoile (Prime Video) - Apr. 24
The original new series is set in both New York and Paris, and follows the dancers and artistic staff of two world-renowned ballet companies as they embark on an ambitious gambit to save their storied institutions: swapping their most talented stars.
Hulu/Disney
Jessica Kirson: I'm the Man (Hulu) - Apr. 25
Jessica Kirson: I’m the Man is a fast-paced and sharp-tongued special that showcases Kirson’s searing perspective on everything from TikTok girls to her bizarre time at a trauma center.
AppleTV+
WondLa (AppleTV+) - Apr. 25
This futuristic coming-of-age story follows sixteen-year-old Eva 9 as her epic journey continues, and she uncovers startling truths about her past and the world she calls home.
Picking up from season one’s shocking cliffhanger, Eva is drawn toward the promise of home—but new discoveries only lead to more unanswered questions. As she searches for the truth, Eva finds herself pursued by a relentless force that believes she holds the key to something far greater than she ever imagined. In a season brimming with revelations, sacrifice, and an existential fight for survival, Eva must choose where she truly belongs.
Discovery Channel/Warner Bros.
Gold Rush: White Water (Discovery Channel) - Apr. 25
Last year, Dustin Hurt's crew struck a 6-ounce, $70K nugget—the biggest in Gold Rush history. This season, he's risking everything for more. It's all or nothing—a gamble that could make them millions or end their mining careers forever.
In the season premiere, Dustin and his loyal crew head deep into the remote Alaskan wilderness on their most ambitious, difficult, and dangerous season ever, as they risk their lives in the raging creeks of Alaska searching for a life-changing pile of gold nuggets.
TLC/Warner Bros. Discovery
PolyFamily (TLC) - Apr. 25
TLC's latest ducoseries dives deep into the world of polyamory and non-traditional family structures. The show follows two married couples, Alysia & Tyler and Sean & Taya, who have chosen to live together as a closed quad. In this unconventional family set up, Tyler is dating Sean’s wife, Taya, and Sean is dating Tyler’s wife, Alysia. With four children already and another on the way, the quad is redefining what it means to be a family
Bravo
Bravo's Love Hotel (Bravo) - Apr. 27
Real Housewives Luann de Lesseps, Gizelle Bryant, Ashley Darby and Shannon Beador look for love on Bravo's new dating show.
Oxygen/NBCUniversal
Southern Fried Lies (Oxygen) - Apr. 27
The tw-hour special travels to Camden, Ark., a quiet bucolic town where the only thing thicker than the humidity is the gossip. However, when one of Camden’s richest men dies mysteriously, a web of lies overwhelms this tightknit, rural community, leaving families destroyed and the town forever altered.
NBCUniversal
Yes, Chef! (NBC) - Apr. 28
José Andrés and Martha Stewart are inviting a crop of skilled chefs from all over the country to join them on NBC’s new competition series, Yes, Chef! From big egos and hot tempers to confidence issues, these chefs have all been nominated by colleagues and loved ones who are hoping this competition will soften their sharp edges and help them reach their full potentials.
HGTV/Warner Bros. Discovery
Castle Impossible (HGTV) - Apr. 29
High school sweethearts and married couple Daphne Reckert and Ian Figueira will abandon their plans of living in a California tiny home when Daphne inherits her late grandfather’s 500-year-old chateau on a 130-acre estate just outside of Paris, France, in the new HGTV series, Castle Impossible.
YouTube/Warner Bros. Discovery
Red Bull Soapbox Race (Discovery) - Apr. 29
High-octane races filled with outrageous obstacles unfold when Discovery Channel and Red Bull join forces for the all-new series. Hosted by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and motorsports announcer Mike Bagley, the series features amateur teams as they design and build one-of-a-kind, gravity-powered soapbox racers that compete – and crash – on intricate, downhill courses.
AMC Networks/IFC
In the Kitchen With Harry Hamlin (AMC+ and IFC) - Apr. 30
In each episode, Harry Hamlin and his chef niece Renee Guilbault cook up savory stories and craft and curate gorgeous, and reasonably easy, dinner parties for their celebrity friends. Special guests this season include Ben Feldman, Kevin Rahm, Angela Kinsey, Kate Flannery, Joel McHale, Aisha Tyler and many more.
Karolina Wojtasik/HBO
Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life (HBO) - April 2025
The Ted Lasso star brings the laughs this April with his new comedy special.
Netflix
The Four Seasons (Netflix) - May 1
Six old friends head for a relaxing weekend away only to learn that one couple in the group is about to split up. The three couples, Kate (Tina Fey) and Jack (Will Forte), Nick (Steve Carell) and Anne (Kerri Kenney-Silver), and Danny (Colman Domingo) and Claude (Marco Calvani), are completely upended by the news. Over the course of a year, we follow the friends on four vacations, and watch how this shake-up affects everyone’s dynamic—sending old issues and new bubbling to the surface. The Four Seasons is a hilarious and heartfelt love letter to long marriages and old friendships. Based on the 1981 feature film of the same name.
HBO/Max
100 Foot Wave (HBO/Max) - May 1
100 Foot Wave returns for a third season to chronicle the globe-trotting adventures of big wave surfer Garrett McNamara, his wife Nicole and their young family, as well as those of fellow surfers Andrew “Cotty” Cotton, CJ Macias, Justine DuPont, Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca, Nic von Rupp, Kai Lenny, Pedro “Scooby” Vianna and more. Season three expands from the cliff tops of Nazaré, Portugal, where McNamara first set a big wave world record in 2011, to exciting new locales such as Cortes Bank in the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean, Safi, Morocco, Montaldo, Italy, and O’ahu, Hawaii for the rarely held Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. The adrenaline-filled series closely follows these extreme athletes’ drive and passion, with cameras by their side for the highs and lows of their lives - the doubts and tragedies, the euphoria and triumphs, the life -changing decisions, the fears that haunt them and the challenges that fuel them.
PBS
Lucky Chow (PBS) - May 1
In this five-part season, host Danielle Chang immerses herself in the vibrant food and culture of her homeland, Taiwan, spotlighting indigenous boar hunters, cutting-edge bubble-tea makers, late-night seaport dives and Buddhist temples where vegetarian cooking is turned into high art. Join Danielle on a season-long tour of this island crossroads, where ancient folkways co-exist with the world's most futuristic technologies, and see Taiwan as you've never seen it before.
AMC Networks
The Walking Dead: Dead City (AMC) - May 4
The Walking Dead: Dead City follows the popular Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) characters traveling into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan, long ago cut off from the mainland. In season two, in the growing war for control of New York City, Maggie and Negan find themselves trapped on opposite sides. As their paths intertwine, they come to see that the way out for both is more complicated and harrowing than they ever imagined.
Clifton Prescod for Netflix
Conan O’Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (Netflix) - May 4
On Sunday, March 23, the 26th Mark Twain Prize for American Humor celebrated Conan O'Brien at the Kennedy Center. Lineup of leading performers included Nikki Glaser, Will Ferrell, David Letterman, Kumail Nanjiani, Tracy Morgan, Adam Sandler, John Mulaney, Sarah Silverman and many more.
The program paid tribute to the humor and accomplishments of O’Brien and featured a host of his admirers, friends and collaborators. The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Conan O'Brien will premiere Sunday, May 4, only on Netflix.
Investigation Discovery/Warner Bros. Discovery
The Playboy Murders (Investigation Discovery) - May 5
The third season is set to return as Holly Madison reprises her role as host and executive producer, recounting the shocking intersections of murder and mystery within the world of the iconic adult men’s magazine, Playboy. Madison, renowned for her intimate knowledge of the Playboy empire and her compelling storytelling, brings a unique perspective to the series, providing an empathetic voice to the untimely deaths of those connected to the brand.
Prime Video/Amazon Studios
David Spade: Dandelion (Prime Video) - May 6
With signature sardonic takes on the perils of flying, charity auctions and the evolution of porn, David Spade is sharper and funnier than ever in his new comedy special Dandelion.
Peacock/NBCUniversal
Poker Face (Peacock) - May 8
Charlie Cale is back on the run, and in season two we’ve taken her journey to the next level one murder mystery at a time. From minor league baseball to big box retail, from funeral homes to alligator farms and even a grade school talent show, Charlie navigates her crime solving existential road-trip with deadpan wit, human empathy, and her signature uncanny lie-detecting ability.
Netflix
Forever (Netflix) - May 8
Judy Blume's groundbreaking 1975 novel, Forever, is being reimagined for a new generation by Mara Brock Akil. It’s an epic love story of two Black teens exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.
Netflix
Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful (Netflix) - May 8
Karol G was told her dream was too big, that she was the wrong gender, and from the wrong place, to ever be a global star. But only fools bet against a Bichota. Karol G: Tomorrow was Beautiful, a documentary from This Machine and director Cristina Costantini, traces Karol’s rise from humble beginnings in Medellín, Colombia, to international stardom, as she proves the critics wrong with an electrifying, record-breaking stadium tour. It’s a rare look at the unique determination, raw talent, and relentless work ethic that has launched Karol G to superstardom and paved a path for future generations of Latinas.
Xavier Guerra/World of Wonder/Paramount+
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (Paramount+) - May 9
In this new season, there will be 18 All Stars, the largest in the franchise’s herstory, returning to compete in the ultimate competition for the crown.
For the first time ever, season 10 will introduce a brand-new format across 12 episodes: the Tournament of All Stars. The queens will be divided into three groups of six, each competing in their own bracket across three episodes. At the end of each bracket, the top three queens with the highest point totals will advance to the semi-finals where they’ll go head-to-head with the top queens from the other groups in another round of fierce competition over two episodes. The tournament will then culminate in an epic Lip Sync Smackdown for the Crown grand finale episode, where the finalists will battle it out for a grand prize of $200,000 and a place in the coveted Drag Race Hall of Fame.