Everything We Know About ‘Euphoria’ Season 2: Returning Cast, New Faces and More

Credit: Xavier Collin/Picturegroup/Shutterstock

Everything We Know About 'Euphoria' Season 2: Returning Cast, New Faces and More

It's been a long wait for Euphoria fans, but season 2 of the hit HBO series is finally in the works. Season 1 premiered in June 2019 to instant critical acclaim and widespread popularity. Loosely based on an Israeli series of the same name, the show follows a group of high school students as they navigate friendship, love, sex and drugs. Despite some backlash about what some critics considered to be excessive sexual content, season 1 was largely praised for its mature depiction of the lives of teenagers. In addition to racking up industry accolades, Euphoria inspired plenty of fan tributes to the characters' vibrant makeup looks. The show also earned Zendaya her first Emmy nomination — and later, win — for her portrayal of Rue, who struggles with drug addiction. "It’s like one of those out-of-body things, where it’s like, is this even really happening to me?” the former Disney star told Deadline in August 2020 of learning she'd scored an Emmy nod. “It still feels very, very surreal. I don’t know if it will feel like it’s real life. ‘This isn’t happening to me. This is happening to somebody else.’” Though some parents worried about the edgy behavior on display in the show, the Spider-Man: Homecoming actress pointed out that the characters aren't designed to be role models. “My job is to tell stories, and I definitely don’t think that Euphoria is meant as a guide to tell people to follow a moral high ground of any sort, or what the right thing and the wrong thing is to do," she told Deadline. "That’s definitely not what our show is here for. It’s really just to tell stories, and hopefully somebody out there can connect to it and see themselves within it.” HBO renewed the hit series in July 2019 before the season 1 finale even aired, but production on season 2 was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Two one-off specials about Rue and Jules (Hunter Schafer) debuted in December 2020 and January 2021, respectively, but a season 2 premiere date has yet to be announced. “I suppose one of the few beneficial side effects of this f–ked-up year is the distance between season 1 and season 2," creator Sam Levinson told GQ in December 2020. "It’s really difficult to insulate yourself from the response and write from the same place of creative freedom, because you know what people liked, or didn’t like. I just hope we can continue to explore and stay curious and experiment, so the show can grow in whatever way it does.” Keep scrolling for everything we know so far about season 2 of Euphoria: [podcast_block]

Credit: Photograph by Eddy Chen/HBO

The Returning Cast

Zendaya and Schafer will be back, as will Storm Reid, who plays Rue's little sister, Gia. Sydney Sweeney (Cassie), Barbie Ferreira (Kat), Jacob Elordi (Nate), Alexa Demie (Maddy), Angus Cloud (Fez) and Maude Apatow (Lexi) are all expected to return as well.

Credit: Photograph by Eddy Chen/HBO

The Premiere Date

HBO confirmed in November 2021 that Euphoria season 2 will premiere on Sunday, January 9.

Credit: Courtesy Dominic Fike/Instagram

New Faces

In August 2021, Variety reported that Minka Kelly, Dominic Fike and Demetrius "Lil Feech" Flenory Jr. were cast in season 2. Fike described his character as a "homie" who spends time with Rue and Jules, but added that he's also a "degenerate." Kelvin Harrison Jr., who was originally supposed to star in season 1, will also join the ensemble in the new episodes. One person who won't be appearing is Lil Nas X, who was offered a role but turned it down to focus on finishing his album.

Credit: Photograph by Eddy Chen/HBO

What It's About?

Not even the cast know the answer. “I have no information, other than my character is supposed to be developing and becoming her own," Reid told Entertainment Weekly. "So I am very excited about that.” She later added that Gia will become a stronger presence in season 2, telling Elle: “I feel like this season we'll really get to see who she is outside of just being Rue's little sister. She will really become her own person and her own character and she really is growing up in the show, which I love.”

Though some fans thought that Rue died in the season 1 finale, Levinson confirmed that she didn't. "I think Rue has a big journey ahead of her, and a tough one," he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019. "It's not something I want to cut short because of who Rue means to me as someone who has battled with addiction and come out the other side, and because I think that there's a lot more to delve into and unpack in terms of the effects of addiction on Rue and on her family and those around her."

Sweeney, meanwhile, teased that there's a lot to come for her character, Cassie. “I can tease that, when you ask about season 2, my heart drops,” she told Stylecaster in April 2021. “In a 'you guys have no idea what you're going to watch' way. Cassie really needs to get her s—t together. I can’t say anything else. Cassie has a crazy storyline in season 2 that I did not expect. Every time I read a new episode that Sam writes, my jaw is on the ground and I can’t believe this is something coming out of someone’s mind.”

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Brace Yourself

In an August 2021 interview with Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Elordi promised that the new episodes would be mind-blowing. “We’re shooting right now," he said. "I was filming yesterday, I’m filming tomorrow. It’s insane. It’s just, it’s insane, but it’s like a completely different show.” Compared to his role in The Kissing Booth 3, he added, he is "not so clothed."

Credit: YouTube

The Trailer

With the premiere date announcement came a short video that started with Rue dancing to Frank Sinatra’s “Call Me Irresponsible" before taking a dark turn. The season 2 teaser showed brief flashes of all the teens in some stressful situations.

"When you're younger, everything feels so permanent," Rue tells the audience. "But as you get older, you begin to realize nothing is — and everyone you love can drift away."

The trailer ends with someone asking Rue if she's high.

Credit: Euphoria/YouTube

The 2nd Trailer

While the initial teaser video didn't give away much about the plot, the second trailer hints at much more. Rue is seen bringing a carry-on suitcase with her all over the place, including to a narcotics anonymous meeting. She claims she "came up with an amazing plan" recently, but the trailer makes it seem as though life will remain difficult for the teen addict. Jules confronts Rue about keeping secrets and her relapse, and there's plenty of tension between the two.

Credit: Courtesy of HBO

New Poster

The HBO series released a new poster for the upcoming season in December 2021 featuring Zendaya standing alone with her eyes closed. The poster also features a new tagline: “Remember this feeling.”

Credit: Eddy Chen/HBO

Love Triangles

Ahead of the second season's return, Zendaya and Schafer teased what fans can expect from the love triangle between their characters and Elliot (Fike).

“There were a lot of conversations over the years about where the show was going to go and what it was going to evolve into, and I remember when [creator] Sam [Levinson] first kind of talked about the idea of this Elliot character, I wasn’t feeling it — as someone who ships ‘Rules’ to the bitter end,” the Marvel star told Variety in January 2022. "But, in retrospect, and also as someone who understands where the show needs to go and what needs to happen for these characters, it’s crucial that Elliot exist and that he be the person that is honestly the catalyst for a lot of things that just have to happen.”

Schafer, for her part, noted, "As we saw more of what it brought into the story and the script, it became a more interesting and exciting prospect, and once Dom came on board, he made it a lot of fun.”

Credit: Xavier Collin/Picturegroup/Shutterstock

A Musical Addition

The second season of the HBO hit featured an unexpected musical collaboration with Lana Del Rey. The songstress debuted a new single, “Watercolor Eyes,” during a January 2022 episode.