HBO Reveals Whether 'Euphoria' Will Be Renewed For A Third Season

On Friday (February 4), HBO revealed Euphoria will return for a third season. The news comes just halfway through the series' sophomore season, which follows "the intertwining lives in the town of East Highland" with a particular focus on Zendaya's character, 17-year-old Rue, as she attempts to "find hope while balancing the pressures of love, loss, and addiction."

Euphoria is created, written, directed and executive produced by Sam Levinson and is based on the Israeli series of the same name. In addition to starring on the show, Zendaya also serves as executive producer alongside Levinson, Kevin Turen, Ravi Nandan, Drake, Adel “Future” Nur, Will Greenfield, Ashley Levinson, Ron Leshem, Daphna Levin, and Hadas Mozes Lichtenstein.

“Sam, Zendaya, and the entire cast and crew of EUPHORIA have taken Season 2 to extraordinary heights, challenging narrative convention and form, while maintaining its heart," Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming said in a press release. "We couldn’t be more honored to work with this gifted, wildly talented team or more excited to continue our journey with them into Season 3."

The news that Euphoria will return for a third season isn't too surprising, as the season two premiere episode debuted as the most viewed episode of an HBO series ever on HBO Max with more than 14 million viewers across platforms. This astonishing number puts Euphoria at more than double its average audience of Season 1. Not only that, but the season two premiere was also the most social premium cable episode since the Game of Thrones finale in May 2019, according to the press release.

Ahead of the series second season premiere, Zendaya took to social media to offer a content warning to her fans. “I know I’ve said this before, but I do want to reiterate to everyone that Euphoria is for mature audiences," she wrote in a note to fans. "This season, maybe even more so than the last, is deeply emotional and deals with subject matter that can be triggering and difficult to watch. Please only watch it if you feel comfortable. Take care of yourself and know that either way you are still loved and I can still feel your support. All my love, Daya”

During a recent interview about her work on Euphoria, Zendaya opened up about the challenges of portraying Rue.

“This is a very difficult show to act in,” she said. “And it can be quite painful because your body doesn’t really know that any of it is not real, even if your mind does. And honestly, if you really care about the characters, which I know we all do, you just want them to make the right decision and be OK."

“For me, that’s a painful kind of battle that you wage inside you, where you must do something you wish they wouldn’t do," she continued. "It’s something you’d never say in real life, which is difficult when it’s with people you deeply care about! You want to tell them, ‘I’m so sorry for doing this … I don’t mean any of it! This is just a character, so please forgive me after this.’"

“But what made it special was the fact that we were in a safe environment, inhabited by people from the top and down to the crew. I felt very protected to be able to do my best work," she added. “I was in good hands, so I knew that I could go to the places I needed to go because I had the support I needed to pull it off. They had my back, and that’s the only way you can operate with something as intense as this.”

Euphoria airs at 9 p.m. EST on Sundays on both HBO and HBO Max.