The wait for Euphoria continues as production on the third season is delayed — again.
“HBO and [creator] Sam Levinson remain committed to making an exceptional third season,” a spokesperson for the network told Us Weekly on Monday, March 25.
According to the statement, the cast of Euphoria can make plans to work on other projects in the near future. “In the interim, we are allowing our in-demand cast to pursue other opportunities,” the HBO rep added.
The update comes after a report recently surfaced on social media that the show’s third season has been scrapped entirely. Variety noted in their coverage of the news on Monday that scripts for season 3 are still being written.
Euphoria was originally set to air on HBO in 2025. HBO CEO Casey Bloys revealed the network’s upcoming slate of programming during a press event late last year. In a video shown to the crowd, the Euphoria teaser read “coming in 2025.”
The hit show has faced a wide release gap between seasons largely due to Levinson’s commitment to his 2023 series The Idol and lead actress Zendaya’s busy schedule. The delay increased last year during the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which Bloys addressed in November 2023.
“We’ve been through strikes before, you know, they increase the cost,” he said at a press event about potential production costs increasing as a result. “I don’t see a scenario where I go, ‘Well, I was going to make another tentpole show, but now I’m not going to because we have to pay X amount more.’ I don’t think it works like that.”
Euphoria, which premiered in 2019, follows troubled teen Rue Bennett (Zendaya) as she struggles to remain sober while adjusting to her return to high school after rehab. In addition to Zendaya’s character, the series offers a large focus to the entire ensemble cast including Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie, Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, Maude Apatow, Colman Domingo and more.
Earlier this month, Sweeney, 26, hinted that production would be starting back up again soon when she discussed her busy schedule. “I go into Euphoria,” she told Josh Horowitz about her plans after being on back-to-back press tours for Anyone But You, Madame Web and Immaculate.
Sweeney was subsequently asked whether she saw any scripts for the upcoming season, to which she coyly responded, “Maybe. I don’t know.”
The delay comes as season 3 is expected to address the fate of Fezco, who was played by the late Angus Cloud. The second season ended with Fezco’s younger brother, Ashtray (Javon Walton), getting fatally shot by the police.
Cloud died in July 2023 at age 25 following an accidental overdose. Before his death, Cloud was candid about his struggle with mental health and addiction. Levinson later recalled making numerous attempts to help Angus as the actor struggled to stay sober.
“I looked him in the eye and I knew that he wasn’t doing well,” Levinson, 39, told People in September 2023 about helping Cloud enter a 30-day in-patient program. “At the same time, I’ve been in these situations before where you’re trying to get someone clean. And I just said to him, ‘I love working with you and we’ve got this amazing season planned and stuff, but I need you to be sober because I got to be able to rely on you.'”
Levinson was determined to support Cloud amid his battle with addiction. “I could always feel that he didn’t want [sobriety] as much as we all wanted it for him,” the executive producer noted. “That’s where it gets tricky because the whole world can want it for you. But he didn’t want it. It’s just the self-destructive side of addiction and it outweighs everything. But you can’t give up on people. I wasn’t going to let anyone give up on him.”
