The talk of TV this week has been the delay of “Euphoria” Season 3, and many questions about the HBO series abound. When will the upcoming season start shooting? Will Sam Levinson‘s updated script keep the five-year time jump that brings his characters out of high school? And with its stars becoming increasingly in-demand, will a new season of “Euphoria” even happen at this point? And could HBO continue the series without Levinson at the helm?
READ MORE: ‘Euphoria’: Sydney Sweeney Says S3 Delays Will Allow “So Much Room For Growth” & Promises A “Very, Very Wild” Arc For Cassie
Variety has an update on all of these matters and more. First up: Levinson’s scripts for Season 3. Levinson’s original pitch to HBO in winter 2023 jumps ahead five years, with “very compelling” arcs for Sydney Sweeney‘s Cassie and Jacob Elordi‘s Nate. But when the actors got their hands on full scrips after the WGA strike, they didn’t fly with Zendaya. And while the actress doesn’t have the power to veto script, she is the show’s Emmy-winning star and an executive producer, so she offered input to Levinson, who overhauled Rue’s storyline. And that was okay with Levinson, since he was already reworking the scripts due to the death of Angus Cloud last July and “Euphoria” producer Kevin Turen passing away last November.
But after Levinson finished his updates to the S3 scripts, another party wasn’t happy with them: HBO executives. They didn’t like Rue’s new arc, which relegated the character to the sidelines as she works as a private detective. HBO vetoed the overhaul, which sent Levinson back to the writing desk with several new ideas pitched to him, including Zendaya’s proposition to make Rue a pregnancy surrogate. According to Variety, insiders say the updated scripts also didn’t tonally feel like “Euphoria,” which means Levinson will have to revise them again.
So where does that leave S3 now? HBO has reportedly explored several options, including Levinson stepping away from the show. But Levinson won’t like giving up a show where he has complete creative control. Other ideas from HBO include a “Euphoria” movie or specials, like the two HBO aired during the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2020 and January 2021. With “Euphoria” Season 2 now over two years old, another couple of one-off special episodes may not be a bad idea. But whatever HBO decides to do, they’re committed to seeing Season 3 through, with Levinson at the helm, and with the show’s stars returning, as they’re contracted to do.
But even with that conviction, there will be adjustments for “Euphoria” going forward. With Sweeney and Elordi’s Hollywood stars rising, and Zendaya’s already fully ascendant, expect all three actors to receive major salary bumps. That already happened for the cast for Season 2, but it’s a different landscape now, and with all three stars in high demand, they’d make more money doing movies than a TV series, no matter how hyped-up that series is. And that may happen, as HBO has freed the cast from any commitment to the show for the rest of the year.
HBO has told the “Euphoria” cast that they’ll get an update about Season 3 on October 1, along with a plan for filming in 2025. The shoot for S3 will last 25 weeks, meaning the new episodes may not reach audiences until 2026, four years after the show’s previous season. Will HBO be cool with that, and will “Euphoria” still be in vogue two years from now? Given the star power of its cast, that’s likely, but Sam Levinson is on shaky ground with HBO after what a debacle “The Idol” was last year. In other words, these new scripts of his better be amazing (and completely finished), or the future “Euphoria” may be no more. And even if those scripts are amazing, Season 3 of “Euphoria” will most certainly be its last.