The Ultimate Guide To Younger Season 4: 5 Shocking Twists That Blew Up Liza's Double Life

While the final season of Younger concluded in 2021, the fourth season remains one of the most pivotal and emotionally charged arcs in the entire series. Released in 2017, this 12-episode run fundamentally fractured the core relationships of the show, delivering a wave of consequences after Liza Miller’s (Sutton Foster) long-held secret was finally revealed to a key player. This deep-dive, updated for a modern audience in December 2025, explores the true fallout, the intensifying love triangle, and the publishing drama that defined the season and set the stage for the series’ eventual conclusion.

Season 4, which premiered on June 28, 2017, and concluded with the finale "Irish Goodbye" on September 13, 2017, is the point of no return for Liza. The central tension shifts from "will she be found out?" to "how will she deal with the brutal aftermath?" The narrative is a masterclass in dramatic payoff, forcing Liza to confront the collateral damage of her lie on her career at Empirical Press, her friendship with Kelsey Peters, and her complicated romantic life involving both Josh and Charles Brooks.

The Core Cast and Their Season 4 Profiles

The fourth season saw the main ensemble cast fully established, with their roles and relationships becoming deeply complex. The following are the central figures who drove the drama of Younger Season 4:

• The Unseen Story Jessica Simpsons Battle For Privacy And Body Image In A Digital Age Mlvqa

• Sutton Foster as Liza Miller: The 40-something divorcee pretending to be a 26-year-old assistant. In Season 4, her primary struggle is the devastating loss of trust with Kelsey and the emotional turmoil of watching Josh move on.
• Hilary Duff as Kelsey Peters: Liza's partner at Millennial Print. This season is defined by her explosive reaction to Liza’s betrayal, which shatters their friendship and professional partnership, forcing her to seek comfort in new, risky ventures.
• Nico Tortorella as Josh: The tattoo artist and Liza's ex-boyfriend. Feeling betrayed and hurt, Josh makes a rash decision to move on quickly, leading to an impulsive marriage that puts a permanent barrier between him and Liza.
• Peter Hermann as Charles Brooks: The head of Empirical Press and Liza's boss. His attraction to Liza grows, creating a compelling romantic tension that is complicated by his professional position and Liza's secret.
• Miriam Shor as Diana Trout: The fiercely protective and stylish marketing head. Diana's character arc focuses on her personal life, including a complicated relationship with a younger man, Richard, and his son, which adds unexpected depth to her high-powered persona.
• Debi Mazar as Maggie Amato: Liza's best friend and roommate. Maggie serves as Liza's confidante and voice of reason, navigating her own dating life and providing a vital grounding force away from the publishing world.
• Molly Bernard as Lauren Heller: Kelsey’s publicist friend. Lauren continues to provide comic relief and a true millennial perspective, often getting involved in the publishing house's drama through her PR antics.

5 Explosive Plot Twists and Major Consequences

Season 4 is a non-stop rollercoaster of emotional and professional crises. It systematically dismantled the life Liza had built, forcing her to face the "post truth" reality of her deception, a theme explored heavily in the premiere episode, "Post Truth."

1. The Great Kelsey-Liza Fallout

The season begins immediately after Liza finally reveals her true age to Kelsey. The reaction is not the understanding Liza hoped for; instead, it is a devastating feeling of betrayal. Kelsey feels lied to, manipulated, and professionally undermined by the woman she considered her best friend and mentor. This betrayal fuels a large part of the season’s early narrative, with Kelsey actively snubbing Liza and bonding with Josh over their shared sense of being deceived. Their professional partnership at Millennial Print is put under immense strain, creating a hostile work environment at Empirical Press and threatening the future of their fledgling imprint.

2. Josh’s Impulsive Irish Marriage to Clare

Perhaps the most shocking twist of the season was Josh’s rapid-fire romance and subsequent marriage to the Irish bartender, Clare. Still reeling from Liza’s confession of love and her immediate retraction, Josh decides to move on, and he moves fast. The season finale, aptly titled "Irish Goodbye," sees Josh travel to Ireland and impulsively marry Clare so she can secure her green card. This act is a monumental emotional barrier between Liza and Josh, effectively ending the possibility of their relationship for the foreseeable future and leaving Liza heartbroken and conflicted. It's a classic TV drama move that uses a hasty, permanent decision to raise the stakes for the next season.

• The Untouchable Privacy 7 Secrets Of Rachel Mcadams And Jamie Lindens Life Beyond The Red Carpet E820e

3. The Intensifying Charles Brooks Love Triangle

With Josh out of the picture, the romantic spotlight shifts entirely to Charles Brooks. Throughout Season 4, the professional boundaries between Liza and Charles completely blur. Charles, who is dealing with his own business challenges, finds himself increasingly drawn to Liza’s maturity, intelligence, and passion for publishing. Key moments, such as the business trip to The Hamptons and the episode "A Close Shave," showcase their undeniable chemistry. The emotional connection becomes so strong that Charles begins to consider giving Liza a promotion, further complicating the professional dynamic at Empirical. This season firmly establishes the "Team Charles" versus "Team Josh" divide among fans.

4. Diana Trout’s Unexpected Personal Arc

While the main drama focused on Liza, Season 4 was a banner year for Diana Trout's character development. She moves beyond her role as a high-strung boss and begins to navigate a serious relationship with a younger man, Richard, and his son. The episode "Gettin' Hygge with It" is a notable highlight, riffing on the popular Scandinavian trend and showcasing Diana's attempts to embrace a more cozy, domestic life that clashes hilariously with her high-fashion, high-powered New York persona. Her struggles to share her home and her life with a partner reveal a softer, more vulnerable side that fans had rarely seen.

5. The Publishing World’s Real-Life Guest Stars and Fictional Hits

The season maintained the show's tradition of satirizing the publishing industry and pop culture. It featured notable guest stars and fictional literary entities that enriched the world of Empirical Press. Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth appeared in the premiere, adding a touch of celebrity flair. In the episode "The Gift of the Maggie," beloved character actor Lois Smith guest-starred as Belinda Lacroix, a famous romance novelist. Furthermore, the business of Millennial Print continued with projects like Kelsey’s push for an adult coloring book and the introduction of rival publisher Cheryl Sussman (Martha Plimpton), who knew Liza from her pre-fake-age life and threatened to expose her. The blend of high-stakes publishing and personal drama made the season feel current and relevant.

• Shania Twains Bold Statement Why The Star Chose Nude Photoshoots At 57 Qf9cg

The Lasting Legacy of Younger Season 4

The fourth season of Younger is arguably the most crucial in the series' seven-season run. It's the season of consequences. The lie, which was the entire premise of the show, finally caused irreparable damage, moving the narrative away from a simple comedy of errors to a complex drama about identity, honesty, and professional ambition. The shift in Liza and Kelsey's relationship, the escalation of the love triangle, and the deeper development of supporting characters like Diana and Maggie solidified the show's topical authority and emotional depth.

By the time the final episode, "Irish Goodbye," aired, the audience was left with a completely new dynamic. Liza was now a woman whose secret was known by her closest friends and her primary love interest was married to someone else. This season didn't just tell a story; it reset the board, ensuring that the remaining seasons would have to deal with the messy, complex reality of Liza Miller’s life, not just the fantasy she created.