HBO announced this week that Euphoria Season 3 is all set to return in April 2026, and the creator of the show, Sam Levinson, has shared some details on what the characters have been up to.
So why did it take so long? There were a bunch of reasons. Getting everyone’s schedules to line up was tough since the cast got super busy. Levinson also made another HBO show called The Idol during that time. Plus, The Hollywood Reporter wrote last year about some tension between Levinson and Zendaya that needed to be worked through.
At a Content London event, HBO CEO Casey Bloys brought out Levinson to talk about what’s coming. The big change is that everyone’s grown up now. They’re not just out of high school anymore. They’ve finished college, too.
“The one thing we all agreed on is we can’t go back to high school,” Levinson said. “Although many, many shows have had 30 year old high school students, we’re not.”
He explained that jumping five years made sense because if the characters went to college, they’d be done by now.
Zendaya’s character, Rue, has gotten herself into serious trouble. She’s in Mexico owing money to a drug dealer named Laurie, and according to Levinson, she’s “trying to come up with some very innovative ways to pay it off.” That sounds scary.
Cassie and Nate actually get engaged and then married this season. Sydney Sweeney plays Cassie, and Jacob Elordi plays Nate. Levinson promised their wedding would be “an unforgettable night.” When the season starts, they’re living together in the suburbs. Cassie spends too much time on social media, feeling jealous about what her old high school friends seem to be doing with their lives.
Jules, played by Hunter Schafer, is studying art and freaking out about becoming a painter. She’s also avoiding grown-up responsibilities as much as she can.
Maddie, played by Alexa Demie, works at a Hollywood talent agency for a manager and has her own side projects going. Lexi, played by Maude Apatow, got a job as an assistant to a showrunner. That showrunner is played by Sharon Stone, who’s joining the cast.
Levinson talked about how successful everyone got during the break. The whole cast became huge stars, but they all wanted to come back anyway. That meant working out new contracts with everyone. “You want everyone to be there because they want to be there, and they’re passionate about the work and excited about the story that we’re telling,” Levinson said.
There are lots of new faces joining this season. Danielle Deadwyler, Eli Roth, Natasha Lyonne, Rosalía, Marshawn Lynch, Sam Trammell, and Asante Blackk are just some of the new people coming in. Eric Dane is back, too, even though he was recently diagnosed with ALS. Chloe Cherry, Dominic Fike, Nika King, and Colman Domingo are all returning.
Some people won’t be back, though. Storm Reid, Austin Abrams, and Javon Walton aren’t in this season. And sadly, Angus Cloud, who everyone loved as the drug dealer Fezco, passed away in July 2023.
Levinson wrapped up by explaining what the new season is really about. “It’s exciting to write this show because there are aspects that I can draw upon in my own life, but at the end of the day, it’s also about telling the story of what it’s like to be out of the safety net of school and trying to figure out who you are in the world and what matters to you.”
He went on to say that things are more serious now. “The stakes are a bit higher than they were in the past because the consequences are real and no one’s gonna swoop in and save you.”
Levinson sounds confident about what they’ve created. “I feel strongly this is our best season yet,” he said.
After such a long wait, fans will finally get to see how these characters turned out as adults, dealing with real-world problems. The show that started as a story about high school kids is now about figuring out life when there’s no safety net anymore.
