Third Season of “Euphoria” Delayed Again, Still Aiming for 2025 Release

The HBO hit show is facing yet another delay, though not to the surprise of one of its stars.

The first two seasons of “Euphoria” premiered in 2019 and 2022 respectively.

Filming plans have been put on hold for HBO’s hit show, “Euphoria,” as show creator Sam Levinson still works on the scripts for the third season.

“HBO and Sam Levinson remain committed to making an exceptional third season,” HBO said in a statement to Deadline. “In the interim, we are allowing our in-demand cast to pursue other opportunities.”

Sources close to the show say there isn’t a set production start date for the third season. Though, filming is expected to begin in the next couple of months.

According to Variety, Levinson pitched a vision for the season in winter 2023. The vision featured a time jump of five years in the future for the former students of East Highland High School. The network thought the early drafts of the scripts were a good start.

Once the WGA strike ended, the final scripts began rolling, Though, the show’s star, Zendaya, didn’t particularly like them. Levinson and Zendaya have had a symbiotic creative relationship since the beginning of the show. The creative relationship would later carry on to the Netflix film, “Malcolm & Marie.”

Variety reports that Zendaya cannot veto the scripts, but she offered significant input as executive producer on how she’d like the season to go.

Not only did Zendaya voice her opinion on the season’s direction, HBO are voicing their dissatisfaction. One story arc featured Rue (Zendaya’s character) working as a private investigator, but HBO immediately vetoed the idea. Zendaya also pitched the idea that Rue became a surrogate while being a somber 20-something-year-old.

The delays in the new season didn’t surprise another star of the show, Storm Reid.

“I would hope the viewers, the audience will be able to finish the show,” Reid told Variety. “I think we should handle the show with care. We’ve put our hearts and soul into it.”

When asked if she was surprised about the news of the season’s delay, she said:

”Yes and no. We would all hope to be able to go back tomorrow, but there are logistics that have to be figured out. So even though I’m a little disappointed, I’m not surprised.”

Reid plays Gia, the younger sister of Zendaya’s Rue. The show's third show was delayed already due to both the Hollywood strikes and the death of co-star Angus Cloud. The show is still expected to premiere in 2025.