Huge TV drama’s future 'in doubt' after stars become ‘too big’ to appear
Cult HBO series Euphoria – shown on Sky in the UK – became a huge success when it launched in 2019, and a second season in 2022 proved even more popular. Fans have been waiting for news of new episodes ever since the show was officially renewed for a third season in February 2022, but the latest update is that the series has been put on hold due to the rising star power and busy schedules of two of the show’s leads – Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney.
While work on season three was expected to begin last year, studio bosses are reportedly finding it difficult to coordinate filming to fit in with everyone’s other commitments. There were also delays caused by 2023’s writers’ strike, but the series was finally expected to go into production last December. However, when she was interviewed in March 2024 by MTV, Sydney Sweeney confirmed that production had not yet started but that her next project was definitely to “go into Euphoria.”
Unfortunately, at the end of March, Deadline reported that the series was on temporary – but indefinite – hold. “HBO and [creator] Sam Levinson remain committed to making an exceptional third season,” HBO said in a statement. “In the interim, we are allowing our in-demand cast to pursue other opportunities.”
The third season will pick up the stories of teenagers Rue (Zendaya), Lexi (Maude Apatow), Nate (Jacob Elordi), Maddie (Alexa Demie) and Jules (Hunter Schafer), but there will be one notable character missing – local drug dealer Fez, who was played by Angus McCloud. Angus sadly died of a drug overdose at his family home in California on July 31 last year, aged just 25.
Since season two filmed, both Zendaya’s and Sydney Sweeney’s careers have been on the rise – as have those of their co stars, including Jacob Elordi and Hunter Schafer. Australian actor Jacob, who rose to fame in the Netflix teen movie The Kissing Booth, won praise for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s 2023 movie Priscilla, and for his performance as wealthy Felix in Saltburn, alongside Barry Keoghan. He will next star as Frankenstein’s monster in director Guillermo del Toro’s new adaptation of Frankenstein that is currently filming in Canada.
Hunter, meanwhile, who made her acting debut in Euphoria, has since appeared in last year’s Hunger Games prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and will next be seen in the 2024 horror movie Cuckoo and Anne Hathaway’s next movie, Mother Mary.
Sydney and Zendaya have been even busier and it is their packed schedules that are most likely holding up production on Euphoria. Sydney starred in the successful romantic comedy Anyone But You last year and also the horror Immaculate, and she has two more films in production. Zendaya – who recently wowed on the red carpet in New York at the Met Gala – started the year with her performance in Dune: Part Two, and followed it with the acclaimed sports drama Challengers. She also finds time to be a brand ambassador for Valentino, Bulgari, Lancome and Louis Vuitton.
Despite the delays, Euphoria’s producers are still planning for the third season to be broadcast sometime in 2025.
