The HBO coming-of-age drama Euphoria is giving viewers an early present by gifting them with a newly released trailer for an upcoming special Christmas episode. Described as bridge episode, it will serve as a way to fill in the gaps between seasons one and two and will air December 6 on HBO at 9 p.m. PT via Indiewire.
The finale of Euphoria’s first season aired all the way back in August of 2019. With all the scripts written for season two, the cast and crew were days away from beginning to shoot the next installment when the majority of Hollywood TV and film productions shut down due to COVID-19. Now, the series is aiming to give patient viewers something to hold onto while they wait for season two.
*Contains spoilers for season one*
Zendaya (The Greatest Showman, Spider-Man: Homecoming) stars as Rue, a quiet sixteen-year-old loner who’s a recovering addict. Her love interest is the new girl in town, Jules, portrayed by newcomer Hunter Schafer. Season one left off with many questions hanging in the air, including the status of Rue and Jule’s relationship. But the most pressing question fans have is what happened to Rue after she relapsed and started using again.
HBO released an official synopsis for the upcoming episode which was picked up by Indiewire: “In the aftermath of being left by Jules at the train station and relapsing, the first special episode follows Rue as she celebrates Christmas. Written and directed by series creator Sam Levinson, the episode, titled “Trouble Don’t Last Always,” also stars Colman Domingo, who appeared in season one. The title and date of the second episode are forthcoming. Both special episodes were produced under COVID-19 guidelines.” Season two is expected to begin production sometime in early 2021. As the synopsis hinted, there will be a second bridge episode airing sometime after the Christmas special.
Accompanied by the pained, lovesick song “Cigarettes and Coffee” sung by Otis Redding, the newly released trailer entitled “Part 1: Rue” paints a sad portrait. After leaving Jules at the train station, Rue sits deflated at a diner seemingly lost. But she’s not alone as Ali, a friend from AA who’s portrayed by Domingo, sits with her.
Zendaya posted the trailer to her Twitter account Tuesday with the caption “Part 1: Rue December 6 9 pm.” See the post below:
Schafter also posted to her instagram with the caption “Part 1: Rue.” She shared an official poster advertising the upcoming special episode, with an emphasis that it’s not season two. Along the poster, she also shared a behind-the-scenes picture of her with co-star Zendaya. See her post below:
Euphoria is coming off a big year. Zendaya made history at the 2020 Emmy Awards by becoming the youngest woman ever to win Best Actress in a Drama Series. The show also won Outstanding Contemporary Makeup and Outstanding Music and Lyrics for the song “All for Us” written by Labrinth and performed in the season one finale by Zendaya.
Watch the trailer for the upcoming episode “Trouble Don’t Always Last” below: