- Warning: There are some spoilers ahead for season four of the Netflix series "You."
- Speaking on "Podcrushed," Penn Badgley explained why he requested fewer sex scenes.
Season four of "You" was released on Netflix on Thursday and viewers that have already hit play may notice that the new episodes have turned the tables on Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) as this time around, he becomes the victim of a mysterious stalker.
However, it's not the only way that the show's fourth season differs from its predecessors as there are fewer intimate scenes this time around, something lead star Badgley said he pushed for.
"I asked Sera Gamble, the creator, 'Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?'" he recalled to his "Podcrushed" cohost Nava Kavelin in a bonus episode of the Stitcher Studios podcast released on Friday.
Badgley explained that doing fewer sex scenes was "actually a decision I made before I took the show," in 2018.
Prior to that, Badgely played "Lonely Boy" Dan Humphrey in "Gossip Girl" and also starred in another teen drama, "The Bedford Diaries," both of which had required him to strip off multiple times.
"I don't think I have ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things was, do I want to put myself back on a career path where I'm always the romantic lead?" he questioned.
The 36-year-old actor added that his marriage to Domino Kirke, sister of "Girls" star Jemima Kirke, also factored into his decision. The couple, who wed in 2017, have one child together, a son named James, 2.
"Fidelity in every relationship, including my marriage, is important to me," he explained. "It's got to the point where I don't want to do that."
Badgley recalled that he told Gamble that his "desire would be zero" sex scenes in the new episodes, but said he was aware that Joe's romantic entanglements form a huge part of the drama's appeal to audiences.
"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," Badgely said. "'So how much less can you make it?' was my question to them."
However, he was surprised that Gamble "didn't even bat an eye" at his request.
"She was really glad that I was that honest. She was sort of almost, I want to say empowered, she had a really positive response," he recalled.
"They came back with a phenomenal reduction," he said, resulting in the fourth season of "You" featuring Joe getting trapped in country manors for the weekend, rather than failed foursomes with his neighbors.