Euphoria season 3 delay explained

Hunter Schafer (left) and Zendaya in “Euphoria”

Eddie Chen/HBO

when trance Finally returning for its third season, Rue and his friends will no longer be in high school.

Sources say Hollywood Reporter There are multiple factors behind HBO's decision to delay production on the third season of the Zendaya-starring drama, particularly conversations between the network and creator Sam Levinson about where the action will be set after the characters leave high school. Production was initially scheduled to begin in the coming months, but has now been forced to pause while the creative team and network explore the new world.

Sources close to the series say Levinson's plan is to feature a time jump when Season 3 eventually returns — ideally in 2025 but no longer guaranteed. It's also unclear how many episodes will make up Season 3 as Levinson and HBO go back and forth on the arcs of Rue (Zendaya), Nate (Jacob Elordi), Jules (Hunter Schafer), and Cassie (Syndey Sweeney).

HBO said Monday in a statement that it has allowed its star-studded cast to “pursue other opportunities” even as all parties remain “committed to delivering an exceptional third season.” HBO declined further comment beyond its initial statement.

The show helped launch Zendaya's hot film career (Sand dunes), Sweeney (Anyone but you(And Elordi)Saltburn), but the cast remains in first place trance. This means that if a cast member is preparing a new movie or TV project, they may have to pause it when the cameras are ready to roll tranceOr film both projects simultaneously. Production can also work around their schedules, which will be another factor in being prepared when filming begins again. With actors in high demand and a desire to work, sources say HBO felt it was unfair to prevent them from taking on roles in the meantime.

Season two of trance, which aired in early 2022, saw many of its characters as juniors or seniors in high school. The season 2 finale made no mention of graduation and instead featured a play gone off the rails and a fatal shooting that led to Javon “Wanna” Walton (Ash) being written off and saw the late Angus Cloud's character Vass arrested. Barbie Ferreira (Kat) also revealed last April that she and Levinson had made the mutual decision that she would not return. “I don't think there was room for [my character] she said at the time.

Sources say Levinson is a well-known trading writer. In late February interview with gq, Emmy Award-winning guest star Colman Domingo (Rustin) attempted to explain the delay to Season 3, describing Levinson as someone who “writes and rewrites and writes and rewrites again” and says the creator is “interested in the existential question of who we are now. Our souls. That's what he wants to explore in Season 3.”

Levinson also spent a few years juggling trance With HBO's ill-fated musical drama idol. The series, which was announced in June 2021, faced a creative overhaul a year later, before eventually airing as a five-episode order (one fewer than originally envisioned) in summer 2023. HBO canceled the show in August 2023. It also lost a significant portion of 2023 due to a writers' strike, which also contributed to the delay.

High School Group Offers – Think Glee, Beverly Hills 90210 And He was saved by the ringing of the bell – has historically struggled to develop as narratives move beyond The Graduation, adding rare pressure to the next season of the hit series.