Will Detective Rue Bennett be on the scene for the third season of Euphoria? According to a new Variety story, the drama’s now delayed next installment is in the midst of complete creative chaos. Euphoria creator Sam Levinson reportedly pitched a five-year time jump between seasons two and three of the series, and certain details of that idea were apparently not well-received. At different stages, the scripts he turned in were allegedly rejected by both HBO and two-time Emmy winner Zendaya, whose Rue Bennet would have started working as a private investigator in one rejected idea.
Levinson reportedly pitched early drafts of his concept for the third season of Euphoria to HBO in the winter of 2023. The network found the pitch—which involved “very compelling” arcs for stars Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi—to be “a strong start,” sources told Variety. But the auteur later hit a road block with his muse Zendaya, who reportedly thought the full scripts he turned in “didn’t pass muster,” in Variety’s words. (Vanity Fair has reached out to Zendaya for comment).
Levinson retains complete creative control of Euphoria, having written every episode of the series. But Challengers star Zendaya reportedly offered “significant input” for where she’d like to see Euphoria go in season three. According to the outlet’s sources, Levinson was already in the process of overhauling his concept for season three after the death of Angus Cloud in the summer of 2023, as Cloud’s gentle drug dealer was a major player in initial drafts.
According to Variety, Levinson returned to HBO with scripts for a revised concept for season three in late 2023 and early 2024. In the earlier scripts, Zendaya’s Rue Bennett apparently took a back seat, somewhat randomly finding work as a private detective. HBO had reportedly nixed the idea immediately. Zendaya herself apparently pitched an arc for her character in the revisions: A now sober, 20-something Rue working as a pregnancy surrogate. But HBO apparently decided that that idea, along with the other new ideas, didn’t feel like a fit for the show tonally, and sent Levinson back to the drawing board.
The creative turmoil reportedly led HBO to consider multiple paths forward for the series, including filming a Euphoria movie or special à la the two special episodes that aired during the pandemic, and even pressing forward without Levinson. But Variety reports that the Euphoria cast—even its biggest breakout stars Zendaya, Sweeney, and Elordi—is committed to completing the series with Levinson at the helm and filming a full third season, even if doing so would mean making less money than they could by starring in feature films.
Rumors have swirled this week that the third season of Euphoria is DOA, with an anonymous cast member telling the Daily Beast that they believe the third season is unlikely to happen. But according to Variety, a third season “could very well come together.” In a statement made earlier this week, HBO said that while production is delayed and the highly in-demand cast is free to pursue other projects for the time being, the network is “committed” to making a third season of Euphoria. Per Variety, HBO has promised to come back to the cast on October 1 with “a solid plan” for season three, with shooting to begin in 2025; if the plan comes to fruition, the cast would be occupied for 25 weeks, and the third season would most likely be cut down from eight episodes to six.
While much of Euphoria’s fate remains up in the air, one thing is concrete, according to Variety: HBO will not move forward with a season three until they receive scripts they are happy with. Just last year, HBO placed a big bet on Levinson and his ill-fated series The Idol, which went into production without approved finished scripts. The gamble famously did not pay off. The series, which followed a pop star who gets embroiled in an LA-based sex cult, was a critical and commercial disaster, receiving mostly negative reviews and dwindling ratings over the course of its five-episode run. Even before The Idol premiered in June of 2023, it was plagued with rumors of on-set toxicity, with Rolling Stone reporting that scenes from Levinson’s series devolved into “sexual torture porn.”
On top of that, Rolling Stone reported at the time that The Idol would cost the network anywhere between $54 million and $75 million. The Idol’s price ballooned after original director Amy Seimetz exited the series and Levinson took the reins, reshooting large swaths of the series. Given that calamity, it’s no surprise HBO decided not to move forward with a second season of The Idol. But it’s still anyone’s guess whether the auteur will be able to stick the landing with Euphoria season three.