Not everyone is so convinced that there’s more Euphoria in store. While HBO released a statement this week claiming that the network is committed to producing a third installment of Sam Levinson’s hit teen drama, at least one cast member has their doubts. According to the Daily Beast, an actor on the show told the outlet that they don’t believe a third season is really in the cards: “I just don’t think it will happen.”
The cast member, who wished to remain anonymous, allegedly exchanged direct messages with the Daily Beast and described their frustration with the prolonged wait between season two of Euphoria, which premiered over two years ago, and the still-unscheduled season three.
“Since January of 2022, we have had a start date of March that turned into June, that turned into January,” said the anonymous actor. “And then they kept pushing every month from then on. It was two full years of HBO telling all the actors we were going back soon, so we couldn’t take some jobs.”
Earlier this week, HBO confirmed that production on Euphoria season three had been delayed and that the buzzy cast would be free to pursue other projects in the interim. This was most likely music to the ears of the highly in-demand cast, which, in addition to Zendaya, includes Anyone but You’s Sydney Sweeney, Saltburn’s Jacob Elordi, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ Hunter Schafer, and recent Rustin Oscar nominee Colman Domingo. While the freedom to pursue other projects must be nice for the more high-profile members of the Euphoria cast, the anonymous cast member has more complicated feelings about this recent turn of events.
“Before last week I couldn’t take any TV jobs,” they wrote. “Since they have put it on hiatus, I can now take any job. But what sucks is that we all had more momentum right when the show came out but now it’s been 2 years of waiting.”
Euphoria has suffered unexpected and devastating setbacks since the end of season two. Last summer, Angus Cloud, who memorably played softhearted drug dealer Fezco on the series, died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 25. Months later, Euphoria producer Kevin Turen suddenly passed away at 44. Per the Daily Beast, the anonymous actor insinuated that Turen “was the driving force behind the show’s momentum.”
Complicating things even further, if Euphoria doesn’t return by 2025, the main cast members—including Zendaya, Sweeney, and Elordi—will be released from their contracts and able to renegotiate salaries—potentially demanding a much bigger payday. Per Variety, the season three scripts are “still being written,” which also doesn’t bode well for a 2025 release. All of these factors reportedly led the anonymous actor to tell the Daily Beast that they do not believe the series will ever return. “Because I’m an actor I will always be excited about any acting work so yes I am looking forward to returning,” wrote the anonymous actor. “I just don’t think it will happen.”
However, there’s one person who doesn’t seem worried about the fate of Euphoria: Sam Levinson. “HBO has answered all those speculative questions and assured everyone of a third season as originally planned in 2025,” said Levinson’s team in a statement to the Daily Beast. So if you’re still in line for season three of Euphoria, stay in line.
Vanity Fair has reached out to HBO for comment.