Elite season 4 trailer brings more mysteries, more threesomes, and more beloved characters returning

While half the cast of Netflix's Elite is many of the same faces we've come to love through three electric seasons of the smash hit Spanish teen drama, season 4 introduces four new students to the prestigious Las Encinas private school that bring with them more money, and more problems. EW can exclusively reveal the first official trailer for the new Elite season below, along with word from showrunner Carlos Montero on what love triangles, showdowns, and mysteries lie ahead.

Montero, who co-created the international breakout Netflix series with Darío Madrona, entered the new season wanting "at all costs to keep the DNA of the show" even though many fan-favorite characters like Lu, Carla, Polo, and Valerio had departed it one way or another. The idea became "to try and have a new powerful group facing the old students, and to try to make something powerful there."

Enter the Blanco family, led by tech CEO and new school director Benjamín (Diego Martín). Montero describes them as "even richer than our rich." For the three children, Ari, Patrick, and Mencía Blanco, "that's something that actually defines them. That they are very selfish. They are used to having their way, and I think it's quite an interesting starting point."

While Benjamín immediately sets his attention towards scholarship students Samuel and Omar in ways that reflect his presumed elitism, the showrunner clarifies that "in our show, no one is ever just a villain or just the good guy. We like our characters with many layers and we also like the idea of presenting this character [as] very authoritative, never agreeing with his children, but suddenly you start seeing that he's not like it seems."

The child he butts heads with most is Mencía (Martina Cariddi), the youngest and most booksmart of Benjamín's kids, who brings out something we haven't seen in Rebeka, who's still heartbroken over Samuel. "Because we had shown many gay male relationships, but not female," Montero picked up on a thread from the second season where Rebeka mentioned she's bisexual, and felt it important to explore that side of her through her relationship to the new girl. While Mencía offers Rebeka a chance to get over Samuel, getting close to a former drug queenpin's daughter provides yet another way for Mencía to agitate her uptight dad.

Oldest daughter Ari (Carla Díaz) is much more compliant with their father's wishes. Her filling in both Lu and Carla's shoes, being both rich and mean, makes her a prime target for both Samuel and Guzmán's affections. Of course, this puts a wedge between a friendship that was finally starting to solidify in the final moments of season 3. The showrunner calls their new rift "a conflict of social class, because Guzmán, once again, feels superior and Samuel feels hurt because of this. And this is something that will pile on getting into the show."

One wrinkle in that dynamic however is that Guzmán ended last season still in a relationship with the collegebound Nadia. With the trailer revealing her return, Montero explains "we failed to round up her story and to give it an ending," so bringing her back, even over video chat, gives "the opportunity for Guzmán and her to have this final chance."

Another relationship still going strong at the start of the season is Ander and Nadia's brother Omar. The trailer makes it explicit that newcomer Patrick, Benjamín's only son, will find his way in between the couple affectionately known as "Omander" for what seems to be this season's customary threesome. What makes this triangle of lust different from past attempts at throuples, though, is it being the first time "we're really presenting an open relationship and what it means," says Montero. "It's funny to see because each side has a different perspective or view. And we thought that presenting this conflict was very enriching."

It doesn't hurt too that Patrick is played by the already Insta-famous Manu Ríos, who the showrunner calls "a star," adding "he's handsome, he's intelligent, he's a hard worker, and I'm all the time telling him that Hollywood is going to steal him from us."

The final student making their way to Las Encinas is one representing for the Old Money crowd. Prince Phillippe von Triesenberg (Pol Granch) doesn't have to say a single word to stir up resentment between the rest of his classmates, the stringent security measures he comes with do it for him. His addition to the show comes from the writers contemplating "how a prince would be like today. And because we had no idea, of course, it was fun for us to try and find out how it would be."

Keeping things classical though, the prince has eyes for the pauper, with formerly deceitful cleaning lady Cayetana, who Montero says is in a process of "rebirth," being the one to break through the royal walls Phillippe puts up.

"We thought it would be very interesting to match her up with royalty and what this contrast would mean," notes Montero. "It's the first time she's aware that she's behaving like a groupie— especially with the prince. But once she realizes this she starts changing things."

The Elite co-creator keeps mum on what this season's central mystery is, and whether or not long-gone characters like Christian and Nano may return, but jokes "you cannot always kill someone in order to have the mystery because no one would go to that school."

Reflecting on both the past and what's to come, including an already announced fifth season that will introduce two new characters and conclude the school year that starts this season, Montero states: "I am very proud of this new season, and it was a difficult thing to do because we have lost in the way many important characters, but I think I'm already in love with the new ones. I think we have a very powerful cast and I hope the audience will fall in love as much as I have."

Elite season 4 premieres on Netflix on Jun 18. Watch the exclusive trailer for it above.

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