Filming for the third season of HBO’s Euphoria has been temporarily halted, with the cast being allowed to pursue other acting roles while creator Sam Levinson (The Idol, Malcolm & Marie) continues to work on scripts for the show, according to Deadline. Sources claim that while a definitive production start date for season three had not been announced, filming was anticipated to get underway in the coming months. The show’s second season ended in February of 2022 with the third season return being up in the air.
The network informed Deadline in a statement: “HBO and Sam Levinson remain committed to making an exceptional third season, In the interim, we are allowing our in-demand cast to pursue other opportunities.”
When questioned about taking a break following the debut of her new horror film, Immaculate, at South by Southwest earlier this month, Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You, The White Lotus) responded, “I go into Euphoria.”
The cast of the critically acclaimed drama, whose second season aired more than two years ago, saw their careers take off, according to Deadline. In addition to Storm Reid (Missing, A Wrinkle In Time), who won an Emmy for The Last of Us earlier this year, it stars a number of movie stars, including Zendaya (Dune: Part One, The Greatest Showman), Sweeney, Jacob Elordi (Priscilla, The Kissing Booth), and Colman Domingo (Candyman, The Color Purple), a recurring player who recently received an Oscar nomination. Due to high demand for all of them, HBO decided to let them take on other projects during the production delay.
According to Deadline, the possibility of making a movie instead of a third season was reportedly also considered, but the emphasis eventually returned to developing a new season.
Season three of Euphoria was supposed to debut in 2025, according to remarks made in November by Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content. That is still the objective.
In an August interview with Elle, Levinson commented that Zendaya’s character, a recovering addict, would: “explore what it means to be an individual with principles in a corrupt world” while calling season three a “film noir.” While discussing the delay, Domingo recently revealed a tease for the upcoming season.
Domingo stated in a GQ interview: “[Sam is] a person who writes and rewrites and writes and rewrites again, because I think he’s wrestling with what’s important, He’s responding immediately to what the ills of the world are. I know that the one thing I can tell you is that he’s very much interested in the existential question of who we are right now. Our souls. That’s what he wants to figure out with season three.”
Between season two and three, producer Kevin Turen (Arbitrage, That Awkward Moment) and star Angus Cloud (Abigail, Your Lucky Day) had passed away, according to Deadline.
Those in the fictional town of East Highland, California, where Euphoria is set, struggles with addiction, love, and loss while searching for hope. The show’s inspiration comes from an Israeli program of the same name that Ron Leshem (Valley Of Tears, Red Skies) and Daphna Levin (Peaches and Creams, Miguel) created.
Deadline reports that the show has won nine Emmys award category for its first two seasons, including one for Domingo and two for Zendaya, who becomes the youngest two-time winner of the Lead Actress in a Dramatic Series Emmy.