The students of Euphoria High are on an indefinite Spring Break, as new reports emerge that filming for the third season of the Emmy Award-winning drama has officially been put on hold. Euphoria‘s hiatus comes after an extended delay following the release of season two in 2022, the SAG-AFTRA writer’s and actor’s strike and the showrunner, Sam Levinson, focusing his attention on the sleaze-dripped yet critically-panned erotic drama, The Idol.
As per a statement from HBO, the extension allows Levinson to fine-tune the script and direction of the series while allowing the legion of young Hollywood heavyweights cast as main characters to explore other avenues. Series lead Zendaya has had starring roles in Dune: Part Two and Challengers, Sydney Sweeney produced and helmed Anyone But You, Jacob Elordi stole hearts in Priscilla and Saltburn, Hunter Schafer took her first mainstream film role in the Hunger Games prequel, and former cast member Barbie Ferrera won the jury award at SWSX for her upcoming film all in the break between seasons.
“HBO and Sam Levinson remain committed to making an exceptional third season,” representatives confirmed in a statement. “In the interim, we are allowing our in-demand cast to pursue other opportunities,” they concluded.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actors still have not been released from their contracts and the network still intends to get Euphoria back on air by 2025. In 2023, the cast was rocked by the sudden death of Angus Cloud, who played the drug-dealing albeit sensitive school dropout Fezco. As the second season ended with a cliffhanger about his character’s fate, the unfortunate real-life events will certainly sway how season three will pick up.
Plus, with Ferreira’s “Kat” out of the picture and The Idol showing Alexa Demie’s “Maddy” finding solace in the neon lights of the Sunset Strip nightclubs rather than homeroom, the relevance and tone of the upcoming season has already been brought under question. In a profile with Zendaya, Levinson remarked that he envisions the upcoming season as a “film noir” and plans to use her character “Rue” as a vehicle to “explore what it means to be an individual with principles in a corrupt world”.
Multiple publications also claim that filming locations for season three were slated to take place in Singapore, Italy, England, and Ireland alongside the California setting, but the recent update could suggest these plans are off the cards. Could it be time to retire our graphic eyeliner and sultry I AM GIA sets forever? The cast has never, ever been happier.
