“Euphoria” returns to HBO on Sunday for its third season, its first new episode in over four years. Plenty has happened in that time.
The delay was partly because of the writers and actors strikes of 2023 and partly because the show’s young stars have been busy taking over Hollywood. Zendaya, who won Emmys for each of the first two seasons, has four films due this year. Jacob Elordi is an Oscar nominee for “Frankenstein” and is coming off a high-profile turn in “Wuthering Heights.” Sydney Sweeney has become one of the world’s most-discussed celebrities, and she helped turn the rom-com “Anyone But You” into a hit and “The Housemaid” into a budding franchise. Maude Apatow directed a movie.
The show also lost two cast members: Angus Cloud, who died in 2023 from an accidental drug overdose, and Eric Dane, who died of complications from A.L.S. in February. The show’s creator, Sam Levinson, made “The Idol” in 2023, one of the most maligned series in recent memory.
So you could be forgiven for being a little fuzzy on “Euphoria” specifics at this point. The new season is set five years after the previous one, taking the characters out of high school and into the real world, where surely even more chaos awaits them. Here’s what to know before diving in.
What is ‘Euphoria’ about?
In short: The misadventures of a group of suburban high school students who have lots of sex, do lots of drugs and wear lots of elaborate eye makeup.
Based on an Israeli series, “Euphoria,” centers on a drug addicted girl named Rue (Zendaya), who narrates the action. In the first season, Rue fell in love with Jules (Hunter Schafer), a transgender girl who was new to school. Jules also hooked up with Cal Jacobs (Dane), the father of the abusive Nate (Elordi). At the outset of the series, Nate was the terrifying boyfriend of Maddy (Alexa Demie), and he also catfished Jules over text.
This toxic friend group included the sisters Cassie (Sweeney) and Lexi (Apatow), as well as Kat (Barbie Ferreira), who became a cam girl for a brief period. In the second season, Cassie started dating Nate, resulting in a lot of tears.
Where did the show last leave everyone?
Season 2 wrapped with a two-episode-long production of a play written by Lexi that dramatized the fractured friendships in her circle. (Maddy’s expletive-laden query as to whether this “play is about us” became an instant meme, and HBO is now selling T-shirts with the line.)
The fallout from Lexi’s frank work was intense. Nate broke up with Cassie and then led the police to his father, who had secretly recorded his trysts with Jules and other underage people. As Nate confronted his father, a frantic Cassie stormed the stage and brawled with Maddy. At the end of the finale, they were seen nursing their wounds together in an uneasy détente.
The evening of theater had a therapeutic effect on Rue, giving her a more charitable understanding of her past actions. It also led to a reunion between her and Jules — they had broken up after Jules told Rue’s mother, Leslie (Nika King), that she was using drugs again. During that intervention, Leslie flushed $10,000 worth of narcotics Rue had gotten from the dealer Laurie (Martha Kelly), intending to sell them. This will come into play during Season 3.
As all the drama was happening at the high school, a SWAT team raided the apartment of the lovable drug dealer Fezco (Cloud), who had a sweet romantic bond with Lexi. Fezco was injured as his child associate, Ashtray (Javon Walton), shot at police. Fezco survived, but Ashtray appeared to have been killed.
Where is everyone now?
At the beginning of the new season, Nate and Cassie have gotten back together and are getting married. (Journalists were provided the first three episodes in advance.) But there is conflict on the horizon: Cassie wants to make sexy internet content, and she seeks help from Maddy, now an assistant to a talent manager. Lexi appears to be thriving with a production gig in Hollywood. Jules went to art school but is apparently serving as a sugar baby, a paid girlfriend for wealthy older men. Cal is around, in one of Dane’s final screen appearances.
Rue is heavily in debt to Laurie because of the flushed drugs; according to Levinson, she is “trying to come up with some very innovative ways to pay it off.” She still hangs out with Faye (Chloe Cherry), one of Fezco’s old pals.
Who is joining the cast?
“Euphoria” has added some high-profile names to its roster, including the Spanish pop star Rosalía, playing a stripper in a neck brace, and Sharon Stone as Lexi’s boss, a television showrunner.
Other notable additions are Natasha Lyonne, Danielle Deadwyler, the former N.F.L. running back Marshawn Lynch, the influencer Trisha Paytas and the director Eli Roth, who appeared in “The Idol.”
The British actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (best known as Mr. Eko in “Lost”) plays a major role as a cowboy-hat-wearing strip club entrepreneur, a new associate for Rue. The British-Australian actor Toby Wallace (“Babyteeth”) has a prominent part as one of Laurie’s henchmen.
Who is not returning?
Ferreira will not be back as Kat. During Season 2, Ferreira was the subject of a Daily Beast report claiming she had disagreements with Levinson. Ferreira disputed some of the article’s details in a podcast and said her departure “was a mutual decision,” adding: “It was absolutely not just me.”
Also missing are Austin Abrams, who played Kat’s former boyfriend, and Storm Reid, who played Rue’s sister.
How will the show deal with Cloud’s death?
It remains to be seen. The laconic but endearing Fezco had become one of the show’s most beloved characters, thanks largely to his unlikely bond with the nerdy Lexi. He was alive during the Season 2 finale but presumably bound for prison.
Cloud’s death was accidental, but his family said in a statement that he had “intensely struggled” after the death of his father. In a statement, Levinson, who has discussed his own past difficulties with drug addiction, wrote that Cloud’s death “deeply affected me in an unexpected way.”
“With addiction, you’re supposed to be prepared for the loss of someone struggling,” he continued. “But his death stirred an anger — not only for him, but for the many young lives in America cut short by fentanyl.” He added: “This season became my way to honor Angus and all the kids who weren’t offered a second chance. I wanted to tell a story where hope and light could still be felt in the darkness.”
Are there any other controversies to know about?
It’s “Euphoria,” so of course there are. “The Idol,” which Levinson created with the pop star the Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye), underwent a creative shake-up during production that spurred plenty of chatter before the show premiered to almost universally negative reviews. The Hollywood Reporter reported that “The Idol” was partly responsible for a rift between Zendaya and Levinson. Zendaya was an executive producer of Season 2 of “Euphoria” but did not reprise that role for Season 3. She told Variety on the red carpet for the premiere of her movie “The Drama” that she was “excited” for the new season. “I hope it turns out beautifully,” she said.
Last summer, the Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer announced he had been brought in for Season 3 to work alongside Labrinth, the composer of Seasons 1 and 2. At that time, Labrinth said in a statement, “So great to join Hans, one of my heroes in film score, and bring some new magic to this new season.” Then in March, Labrinth used an expletive to describe “Euphoria” in a since-deleted Instagram post, writing, “I’m out.”
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