Euphoria’s Season 3 is underway but delayed, HBO told Variety.
An HBO spokesperson told the outlet that Season 3’s scripts were under construction. Still, the series’ in-demand stars, Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi, are in a position to pursue other opportunities.
“HBO and Sam Levinson remain committed to making an exceptional third season,” an HBO spokesperson said. “In the interim, we are allowing our in-demand cast to pursue other opportunities.”
Elordi, Zendaya and Sweeney’s rank climb and busy schedules due to more offers are some of the reasons the show’s third season was delayed, but other factors also played a role.
For starters, the delay was driven by the death of castmate Angus Cloud, who portrayed drug dealer Fez, in July 2023, but so was the Hollywood writers’ strike.
Season 2 premiered in January 2022, and fans wondered why the third season hadn’t come to fruition, leading to rumors about the cancellation of the series. In November 2023, HBO shut down all the cancellation speculations, confirming that Season 3 was on the way and is expected to premiere in 2025.
Euphoria viewers weren’t alone in wondering about Season 3. Actress and comedian Nika King did a comedy set in which she declared that Season 3’s uncertainty caused her to be six months behind on rent.
“Season 3 is coming out. I don’t fucking know. Don’t ask me. I don’t know,” King, who played Rue’s (Zendaya) mother, said, according to MadameNoire. “I don’t know. It’s one of those things. People are like, ‘We need Season 3.’ I’m like, fuck, I need Season 3! I haven’t paid my rent in six months. Zendaya’s over in Paris at Fashion Week, and I’m like, ‘Bitch, come home! I need you! Mama needs you.”
Although King’s comments elicited laughter, she claimed her financial struggles weren’t a laughing matter.
“I haven’t booked nothing since Euphoria. This is some bullshit. I thought my career was on the rise after Euphoria. I thought I was good,” King said. “It don’t work that way. I called Taraji [P. Henson] and she was like, ‘Bitch, get used to it.'”
King played Rue Bennett’s mother, who struggled to parent her drug-addicted teenager. But reports surfaced claiming Levinson has plans to set Season 3 in the future since much time has passed, meaning the teenagers would be experiencing early adulthood to make the sex and drugs theme less risqué.
So far, there’s no specific release date.
