Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
IT’S BEEN FOUR years since the teen drama Euphoria was last on our screens.
In real life the main stars of the HBO series have become fixtures in Hollywood. But what’s in store for their characters in Euphoria’s third season, which kicks off on Sunday?
Let’s take a look.
What’s Euphoria all about?
In a nutshell, Euphoria is about the lives of a group of teens who meet in high school. The first two seasons are set during their high school years, and the third season is set after college.
But in the grand tradition of teen dramas, this isn’t any ordinary group of teens. When the pilot was announced, Euphoria was described by Francesca Orsi, HBO’s Head of Drama as “Kids meets Trainspotting, and what might exist when parents don’t exist”.
Euphoria was adapted by Sam Levinson (son of director Barry Levinson) from an Israeli series of the same name but took inspiration from his own life – he went to rehab in his late teens. That lends a verisimilitude to the show, despite the fact it can be quite flashy, slightly surreal and over-the-top in its depiction of teen lives.
Alongside the first two seasons, there were two special episodes in 2020 and 2021.
The series covers serious topics like sexuality, gender, drug addiction, abusive relationships, and parental violence. Flashbacks and time jumps help fill in the background story as to why the teens are dealing with specific issues.
The series is mostly filmed on soundstages, and it rarely uses handheld cameras. Levinson has said he’s more interested in emotional realism than actual realism. This tells us a lot about the show’s stylised tone and look.
Who stars in the show?
Only some of the biggest stars in Hollywood right now (for some of them, in large part due to this show).
Zendaya stars as drug-addicted Rue; Jacob Elordi as abusive and troubled Nate; Sydney Sweeney as social-media addicted Cassie; Hunter Schafer as trans teen Jules; Alexa Demie as Nate’s on-off girlfriend Maddy; and Maude Apatow as ‘good girl’ Lexi.
The show opens in season one with Rue in a rehab centre, and from there we learn about what led her to this point. We also discover Nate’s anger issues and parental dramas; how Cassie is slut-shamed; how Maddy is assaulted and in a terrible relationship with Nate; Jules’ tough childhood; and the character Kat’s (Barbie Ferreira) struggles with fat-shaming.
All of the above return for season three, except for Ferreira. Sadly another major star of Euphoria, Angus McCloud, who played drug dealer Fez, died tragically in July 2023.
Also returning in season three are the late Eric Dane, Martha Kelly, Chloe Cherry, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Toby Wallace. Guest stars will include Colman Domingo (in a returning role), Sharon Stone, Rosalía, Danielle Deadwyler, and Natasha Lyonne. It’s a jam-packed cast.
What do we know about season three?
Season three moves five years into the future. We know that Rue is still addicted to drugs, in Mexico and in debt to a drug dealer. Cassie and Nate are engaged, but Cassie is addicted to social media. Jules is in art school and trying to avoid responsibility, Maddie is working at a talent agency, and Lexi is working as an assistant to a showrunner (played by Sharon Stone).
If you were wondering as to whether Levinson is trying to make a grand statement about young people with this show, he says he isn’t.
Levinson told the Hollywood Reporter:
It’s interesting, I don’t think I ever set out to take a picture of this generation as much as I was interested in individuals. I wanted to create a mosaic of these outsider characters and people who were on the fringes, who were dealing with addiction and insecurities.
I heard there was some drama around Euphoria?
Well, the series has certainly not been free of drama. For starters, it covers a lot of controversial topics and it doesn’t shy away from sexual scenes and nudity. Though the actors aren’t teenagers, this in itself was controversial.
In addition, Levinson has been described as someone who “loves to push boundaries”.
He was also beyond the widely-panned series The Idol, which was supposed to be the musician The Weeknd’s big screen break. It was speculated that the delay on season three of Euphoria was in part down to Levinson concentrating on The Idol’s scripts.
Also not helping The Idol was a Rolling Stone report which claimed the production had “gone off the rails”.
There’s also been some drama around the series’ score. For season three, the music was set to be made by the iconic composer Hans Zimmer, alongside Labrinth who had scored the previous two seasons. But in recent weeks Labrinth posted to Instagram that he was “done with this industry”, namechecking Euphoria.
Yet even if there is behind-the-scenes drama, viewers have been loving what Euphoria is doing. Season two was just behind Game of Thrones in terms of HBO viewers, making it a massive hit for HBO, with more than 16 million viewers per episode.
Its success certainly contributed towards the stars of the show’s careers exploding too. Zendaya, Elordi and Sweeney in particular have starred in several big movies over the last few years. Though Zendaya was the most established of the cast already, Euphoria saw her play against type which also benefited her career.
Will there be more seasons?
Zendaya indicated on The Drew Barrymore Show that this is likely to be the final Euphoria season. Of her character Rue, she said:
“Euphoria cracked my heart open. Rue taught me so much about life … that crew has also seen me grow up. I owe so much to that show. Rue taught me so much about empathy and about redemption. She taught me a lot, and I’m very grateful for all of it.”
Euphoria might have its controversies and dramas, and it’s certainly not a series you’d turn to for an accurate representation of modern teenagehood. But with its incredible visuals and cinematography, its no-holds-barred approach to plot, great soundtrack and compulsive storytelling, it’s created quite the cultural footprint.
Season three of Euphoria begins streaming on HBO Max on Sunday.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say