As the high from the heartbreaking and hilarious second season of Euphoria wears off, soothe yourself with the news that the drama about raucous teens at East Highland High (and sometimes their parents or drug dealers) has already been renewed for a third season by HBO.
The second season drew criticism for leaving too many storylines unfinished and underusing fan-favorite actors, but it also told gutting, honest, and beautiful narratives about the ups and downs of addiction, teen love, and grief leading it to skyrocket in popularity. According to Variety, viewership nearly doubled from season 1, and Euphoria season 2 became HBO’s second-most watched show since 2004, following only the juggernaut Game of Thrones.
With Euphoria season 3 on the horizon, here's what we know about it.
How did 'Euphoria' season 2 end?
Season 2 had a bittersweet ending: we saw the second act of Lexi’s brilliant play (including a riveting intermission, thanks to a rogue Cassie and Maddy); watched Nate turn his father over to the police; saw Rue come to terms with her grief and close chapters on her relationships with Elliot and Jules; and saw Fezco and Faye be arrested while Ashtray was killed in a shootout with a S.W.A.T. team.
Will 'Euphoria' return for season 3?
HBO announced in February 2023 that Sam Levinson’s hit drama had been renewed for a third iteration. At the time, the network didn't provide details on when the new season would premiere or what it would focus on.
“Sam, Zendaya, and the entire cast and crew of Euphoria have taken season 2 to extraordinary heights, challenging narrative convention and form, while maintaining its heart,” Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming, said in a statement when the news was announced. “We couldn’t be more honored to work with this gifted, wildly talented team or more excited to continue our journey with them into season 3.”
Zendaya may direct at least one episode of the third season. Speaking to Vogue Italia in July 2022, she said, "It’s funny. I was actually supposed to direct episode 6, but then I had to act in it. I didn’t have enough time, so, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to this time around. I wanted to have enough time to do it the right way. So, next season, probably."
Who is in the cast of 'Euphoria' season 3?
Many of the Euphoria stars' careers have taken off exponentially since the drama premiered, and even in the time since season 2 wrapped up—namely Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer, and Sydney Sweeney, who all led blockbusters and critically acclaimed projects in 2023 and 2024. Because of that, many fans have wondered whether they have grown out of the series or their schedules would be too busy to return. In a June 2024 interview, though, HBO ended that speculation.
When asked by Variety if Zendaya, Elordi, Schafer, and Sweeney would be back, Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, confirmed "it’s the same core cast" in season 3.
With the A-list leads returning, it's expected that others in the ensemble like Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow, Nika King, Storm Reid, Eric Dane, and Dominic Fike will also reprise their roles.
Following Angus Cloud's death, it's unknown whether season 3 will continue to trace Faye's (Chloe Cherry) journey after her arrest in the season 2 finale.
Dane, for his part, told Esquire of Cal's journey: "Last season we see Cal, there's obviously a big dip in his journey back to consciousness, right? But I'm pretty sure we don't see Cal behind bars, or he is not having a relationship with Nate behind glass."
In August of 2022, Barbie Ferreira, who plays Kat, confirmed that she would not be returning for season 3 of Euphoria. "After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character Kat, I’m having to say a very teary-eyed goodbye," she wrote on Instagram. "I hope many of you could see yourself in her like I did and that she brought you joy to see her journey into the character she is today." The announcement came after months of rumors of a falling-out between Ferreira and show creator Levinson.
Meanwhile, Kathrine Narducci, who played the young version of Fezco's grandmother, told ELLE: “I hope I go back. I got to come out of that dang coma. I told Sam [Levinson] I want to come out of the coma, and go after Laurie."
It's always best not to get too attached to Euphoria characters, however; Dominic Fike, who plays Elliot, has noted that Levinson told him he could leave the show at any time to pursue his music.
When will 'Euphoria' season 3 be released?
Even though Euphoria has been renewed for season 3, fans have had to anticipate a long wait between seasons for quite some time. The first time HBO gave an update on when new episodes would arrive came over a year after season 2 aired in May 2023 when HBO's head of drama told Deadline that the release date had been pushed back to at least 2025. At the time, Orsi explained that the delay was due to Levinson's focus on finishing up The Idol, which aired from June to July 2023.
Several months later at a November 2023 press event, the network chief officially confirmed that Euphoria will not return for season 3 until 2025.
As of June 2024, it's been confirmed that Levinson is busy writing the next installment. In a conversation with Variety, Bloys shared, "[Creator and writer] Sam [Levinson] is working on it. There’s been a lot of back and forth."
He also explained that the delay is partially because the showrunner is still working out what he wants to do with the season, including potentially aging up the characters. Bloys explained, "One of the issues I think that Sam is thinking about is that he doesn’t want to have it in high school anymore. That’s where it was set and what made sense then. So when you take it out of that, there’s a lot of back and forth about where to set it and how far in the future to set it and all that stuff. But I think he’s got a take that he’s excited about, and he’s busy writing."
Bloys' June 2024 comments follow a March 2024 report from Variety that stated the show was experiencing delays but was not being scrapped entirely, despite speculation.
"HBO and Sam Levinson remain committed to making an exceptional third season,” an HBO spokesperson told the outlet. “In the interim, we are allowing our in-demand cast to pursue other opportunities.”
The cast has also weighed in on the long-awaited third season. Zendaya addressed the delays while speaking to Variety at the Los Angeles premiere of her film Challengers in April 2024. Though she serves as an executive producer on the series, the star admitted that she doesn't know whether season 3 will happen, saying that she's "not in charge" of the series' fate.
While she said she would "of course" want a third season to happen "if it's right for the characters and everything thurs out the way it should," she added, "But it’s beyond me."
In early March, Sweeney also discussed a possible return to filming in an interview with MTV's Josh Horowitz. She said that she was set to "go back to Euphoria" after promoting her latest film, adding that she was "excited" to go back. “It’s like home when I go back to it," she said of the series. "I like it. I’m excited, it’s like family.”
However, at a later event at 92nd Street Y, she hinted that she may have spoken too soon. When discussing what she could and couldn't say about season 3, she joked, "Honestly, it’s, like, as scary as talking about Marvel. I said one thing, and it went everywhere."
She went on to reiterate that she's "excited" about the new season. "I love Cassie. Cassie truly is a dream to play and as an actor, I’m so fortunate that I’ve had a character like her at such a young age," Sweeney added. "And, of course, I wanna keep living her crazy (life). I love it."
What is the plot of 'Euphoria' season 3?
In an August 2023 interview with ELLE, creator Sam Levinson described Season 3 as a "film noir," adding that, through Rue's storyline, he plans to "explore what it means to be an individual with principles in a corrupt world."
Several of the show's stars were asked about the future of the series in various interviews throughout 2022. Speaking to Variety, Zendaya said of Rue: "Rue wants to be here and it’s up to her now. I really hope that we can explore her life in the future, closer to the other side and her sobriety journey.”
But for now, it sounds like the cast is in the dark about what's next, plot-wise: "I know nothing. I’m so curious," Apatow said in an interview with Variety. "We’ve heard whispers but barely anything.”
“I feel like my whole life is a secret," Sweeney joked to Variety in November 2022. "It’s really hard.”
