Spoilers for season two of Euphoria ahead.
Though it got off to a slightly slow start with season one, HBO Max’s hit teen drama Euphoria shot to the top of the streamer’s most-watched lists with 2022’s season two. After becoming an international cultural phenomenon (who can forget the delightful chaos of Euphoria Sundays on Twitter?), the show that won Zendaya her first Emmy and launched a thousand think pieces will return for its third installment. Here’s everything we know about Euphoria season three so far:
What is the plot of Euphoria season three?
The plot of Euphoria season three is still largely under wraps, but that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate. There are a few details we do know, specifically about when the third installment takes place.
Speaking to Elle in August 2023, creator Sam Levinson said that he sees the season as a “film noir,” adding that through Rue he plans to “explore what it means to be an individual with principles in a corrupt world.”
Meanwhile, the show’s costume designer Heidi Bivens told Vogue back in April that season three might take place five years after season two. “There is talk of it being approximately five years in the future, and that they’re not in high school anymore. Dorothy’s not in Kansas anymore. I mean, it might be a total trip. Who can say? But knowing Sam’s brain, it’s gonna be exciting, and he will challenge all of us, because he won’t want to repeat himself. It’ll be something new for the audience to discover.”
Zendaya seemed to confirm the time jump as well, telling The Hollywood Reporter in 2022, “I think it’ll be exciting to explore the characters out of high school.” She also spoke on her character Rue’s continued development, saying, “I want to see what Rue looks like in her sobriety journey, how chaotic that might look. But also with all the characters, in the sense where they’re trying to figure out what to do with their lives when high school is over and what kind of people they want to be. What was special about [season two] was that we got to dive into [the other characters] in a much deeper sense. I think we can do that again with the third season. There’s so much talent, you want to make sure everybody has the chance to have that.”
There are IMDB notes that indicate Euphoria season three will be filming in multiple countries; in the past, the show has only taken place in the fictional town of East Highland. It seems production for season three will take place however, in Singapore, Italy, England, and Ireland in addition to the USA.
Beyond that, we don’t know much except that oft-controversial creator Sam Levinson has plenty of surprises in store. Speaking to Hypebae after his first Emmy win, Colman Domingo (who plays Narcotics Anonymous sponsor Ali to Zendaya’s Rue), said, “Sam Levinson and I had some really deep conversations as of last weekend actually. Where he’s talking about the arcs of all the characters and what he wants to do to expand that, to actually re-examine at times. It’s an organism and he wants it to keep shifting it in many ways and I think he’s going to take some really big swings actually with season three.”
Which cast members will return?
It’s likely most of the main cast will return for season three, including Zendaya as Rue Bennet, Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard, Alexa Demie as Maddy Perez, Hunter Schafer as Jules Vaughn, Maude Apatow as Lexi Howard and Jacob Elordi as Nate.
In February 2022, season two breakout Dominic Fike told Jimmy Fallon that his character, the moody, guitar-playing drug addict Elliot, would “absolutely” be part of season three.
Actor Eric Dane, who plays Nate Jacob’s duplicitous father Cal, has also confirmed his return. At the end of season two, Cal was arrested after Nate turned him into the police with damaging evidence of his underage relationships. Speaking to Variety, Dane addressed his character’s possible arc: “There’s gonna be redemption. That’s the trajectory he’s on. I can’t imagine Cal’s life from solitary confinement. It’s tough to work Cal into the storyline when he’s behind bars.”
Images of Elordi training for his role as Nate also recently hit the internet, seeming to confirm his return:
One character who definitively won’t be returning is Kat Hernandez, played by Barbie Ferreira. Kat’s character sparked tons of discourse, given her treatment as the show’s sole plus-size character, in addition to endless rumors about behind-the-scenes drama between Ferreira and Levinson.
On August 24, 2022, Ferreira announced with an Instagram Story post that she would not be returning to Euphoria season three. “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. “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. I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it. Love you Katherine Hernandez.”
Angus Cloud’s tragic death at the age of 25 on July 31, 2023 means that the character of Fezco will obviously not be returning. Given that his sidekick, Ashtray (played by Javon “Wanna” Walton) seemed to have been killed in the season two finale, it’s unlikely he will be returning either—but you never know.
When will Euphoria season three be released?
There’s no official (or even tentative) release date yet. When the series was renewed for a third season in February 2022, Zendaya agreed with fans who speculated that it would return by 2024. “I think that might be true,” she said in April 2022. However, that was before production on Euphoria, like many shows, was halted due to the SAG-AFTRA strike in August of this year. Even before that, in May, HBO’s Head of Drama said that due to Levinson’s work on The Idol, Euphoria would be stalled until 2025. All this to say, it’ll likely be at least two years before we see Rue and the gang back on our screens.
Is there a Euphoria season three trailer yet?
There’s no trailer for Euphoria season three yet; stay tuned for updates.
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