Fans of the HBO hit series Euphoria need a little pick-me-up after the disheartening news that Barbie Ferreira won't be returning as Kat Hernandez for the show's third season. According to some exciting news from Production Weekly, plans for Sam Levinson's glittery drama are underway, and will begin filming in February 2023 for Season 3. Production is set for a year after the devastating Season 2 finale aired, a whole year to let us simmer over the enormity of the events that transpired in that final episode.
For those of us missing Angus Cloud's live tweeting, we know you're tired. Hold on a little longer, friends. According to Euphoria's makeup artist Donni Davy, each hour-long episode takes approximately a month to film and perfect. Levinson's show is jam-packed with drama, both in the heavy script as well as its dramatic cinematography, and the previous two seasons have both been eight episodes long. On top of that, it's been said before that Euphoria has no writers' room, and the days of filming are long. In an interview with Vulture, Cloud, who plays Rue's (Zendaya) soft-spoken and sage drug dealer Fezco, confirmed that the heartbreaking shootout scene "...took like a solid three 12-hour days," to complete.
Following the finale of Season 2, some fans found the final episode left a lot to be desired. The season ended on a cliffhanger, with a SWAT team storming Fezco's house and Ashtray (Javon Walton), Fez's ruthless and protective kid brother, possibly meeting an incredibly violent end. A few major plot points felt as though they'd fallen to the wayside, like Rue's $10,000 suitcase worth of drugs owed to kingpin Laurie (Martha Kelly). Don't even get us started on what went down between Nate (Jacob Elordi) and his father, or where Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Maddy (Alexa Demie) will stand when, and if, the smoke clears. While Zendaya may want to know where these characters are post-high school, fans are still reeling, and hoping for those loose-ends to be tied up. Following Ferreira's exit, it's possible the show will pick up quite a ways into the future.
Considering the star power of the show's cast, other projects have most certainly been a contributing factor to any production delay. Alongside Ferreira, Zendaya and Cloud, Euphoria's cast includes Sweeney, who will be joining Dakota Johnson and Emma Roberts in the Spider-Man spinoff Madame Web; Storm Reid, who plays Rue's stressed younger sister Gia, who will be playing Riley in the highly-anticipated series adaptation of The Last of Us; Hunter Schafer who is playing Tigris Snow in the Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes; Elordi, currently filming Emerald Fennell's sophomore feature film Saltburn; Demie, Maude Apatow and more. Emmy-nominated actress Zendaya, who is also a producer for the HBO drama, is currently filming for Dune 2 and recently wrapped filming for Luca Guadagnino's (Call Me By Your Name) upcoming dramedy romance Challengers, opposite The Crown's Josh O'Connor. Euphoria is written by showrunner Levinson, who both directs many episodes and serves as executive producer.
The previous projection for a 2024 premiere seems likely at this point, though whether we'll be finding out whether Levinson wraps up Laurie's plotline in January like Season 2 or in the summer like the first season is still up in the air. Both Season 1 and 2 of Euphoria are available to stream on HBO Max, as well as the two special episodes.