For a long time, it looked increasingly unlikely that Euphoria would ever return to our screens. An indefinite production delay was announced earlier this year, which came after the death of one major cast member (Angus Cloud) and the departure of another (Barbie Ferreira). Plus, the show’s remaining actors – Jacob Elordi, Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney and Hunter Schafer – are all so famous now, so booked and so busy, that it was easy to imagine them calling up their lawyers and desperately trying to break out of their contracts. Plus, Euphoria is a show about high-school teenagers, and everyone involved is now well into their mid-twenties (the same being true of a large portion of its original audience).
As the delays continued to mount, the prospect of a third season seemed less and less plausible – at this stage, even Euphoria: The College Years would be a little far-fetched. In any linear reality, these characters are now paying into a pension plan, taking up running, deleting Hinge and considering a move to the suburbs. Episode one would open with a slow-motion shot of Zendaya gliding into a cheese-and-wine bar for a night of responsible drinking and talking about the rental market.
But according to a report by Variety, filming is finally due to commence in January next year and the entire main cast is returning. “I am thrilled that we are ready to begin production on Euphoria in January,” Francesca Orsi, an HBO executive said in a statement. “We could not be happier with our creative partnership with Sam and this incredible cast. We look forward to bringing this new season of Euphoria to life for the fans.” Details of the story remain unclear, but we know that Sam Levinson has previously considered a five-year time jump, a storyline where Rue (Zendaya) works as a private detective, and shooting in locations around the world, including Italy and Singapore.
As someone who enjoys the show, I can’t help but feel that it’s missed its moment, that the zeitgeist has moved on and that the merciful thing to do would be to let it die. Still, I’d be lying if I said that I won’t be seated. The HBO company is not happy with me but that’s OK – I’ll still keep watching that garbage.