‘Euphoria’ Season 3: Whatever Happened To Zendaya's HBO Series?

"Euphoria" Season 3 is definitely happening. At least that's what HBO assured fans. However, there's no word yet on when the hit teen drama will officially return to the small screen.

When "Euphoria" Season 2 wrapped up in February 2022, the show left more questions than answers with several cliffhangers within the individual character arcs, save for Zendaya's Rue, maybe. The lead character finally remained clean and even asked for apologies from her loved ones and granted them forgiveness as well.

While Season 1 made viewers feel that the series centered on Rue, the follow-up installment shed light on what Sam Levinson had really planned for the show, which was to put the all-star cast under the spotlight. Alongside Zendaya, "Euphoria" features Hunter Schafer as Jules, Jacob Elordi as Nate, Alexa Demie as Maddy, Sydney Sweeney as Cassie, Maude Apatow as Lexi and Angus Cloud as Fez.

Season 2 was packed with many intriguing storylines, including the backstories for Fez's entry into the drug-dealing world and Cal's (Eric Dane) closeted teenage years. Elsewhere, Rue and Jules got entangled with Elliot, a drug-abusing teen played by singer Dominic Fike in his first main acting role. And who can forget the Maddy-Nate-Cassie love triangle that played out in several episodes and culminated in a messy fight during Lexi's school play?

Despite some lackluster moments, Season 2 delivered outstanding scenes and performances from the ensemble cast, which also translated to higher viewership compared to the first season. Based on the figures reported by Variety, Season 2 averaged 16.3 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max. This meant a huge jump in viewership compared to the 6.6 million average viewers of Season 1 in its first 90 days.

Interestingly, despite the show's success, "Euphoria" appeared to have struggled to get out of limbo and once again grace the small screen. Earlier this year, Deadline reported that filming plans for the third season had been pushed back because Levinson was still working on scripts. But on July 12, the outlet received official word on when production would begin for the highly anticipated sequel.

"I am thrilled that we are ready to begin production on 'Euphoria' in January. We could not be happier with our creative partnership with Sam and this incredible cast. We look forward to bringing this new season of 'Euphoria' to life for the fans," Francesca Orsi, EVP of HBO programming and head of the network's drama series and films, was quoted as saying by Deadline.

"Euphoria" was one of the projects affected by the writers and actors strikes in 2023, forcing producers to put it on an indefinite hiatus. Production also took a hit due to the unexpected passing of Cloud and executive producer Kevin Turen. Apart from these, Vulture listed the cast's busy schedules as among the reasons for the delays. After all, the show catapulted most of the actors to fame and boosted the popularity of the likes of Zendaya.

Following the setbacks, however, "Euphoria" Season 3 is on track to becoming a reality, especially for fans who have been patiently waiting for the past two and a half years. In a recent appearance on "Watch What Happens Live," Colman Domingo, who guest starred as Rue's sponsor, Ali, confirmed that filming will "get started early next year."

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Zendaya, Hbo