Sam Levinson Teases ‘Euphoria’ Season 3 as a ‘Film Noir’ Set in a ‘Corrupt World’

Little is known about the upcoming third season of HBO’s “Euphoria,” which has been long-delayed by scheduling conflicts and now hangs in limbo due to the actors and writers strikes. But in a new Elle cover story on Zendaya, series creator Sam Levinson offered a few crumbs of information.

Levinson told Elle he views Season 3 of “Euphoria” as a “film noir,” teasing that, through the eyes of Zendaya’s Rue, he will “explore what it means to be an individual with principles in a corrupt world.”

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Speaking about his leading actor, whose character’s struggles with addiction are loosely based on Levinson’s own experiences, the showrunner said, “She’s the most competitive person I know, in a good way. She’s constantly growing as an artist and always seeking a challenge. She’s never complacent.”

“Euphoria” aired its Season 2 finale on Feb. 27, 2022, with its third season renewal announced by HBO three weeks prior. The series was set to shoot this fall, but the labor disputes in Hollywood have put production on the back-burner. After the second season, Levinson teamed up with Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye for the scandalous HBO series “The Idol,” which stars Lily-Rose Depp as a troubled pop star.

The end of Season 2 of “Euphoria” offered a glimmer of hope, as Zendaya is clean from drugs and reaches out to Lexi (Maude Apatow). Meanwhile, cops raid the home of Fezco (Angus Cloud) and Ashtray (Javon Walton), the latter of whom is seemingly shot and killed after he wounds an officer. Nate (Jacob Elordi) attempts to right his wrongs, turning his dad Cal (Eric Dane) into the police, and Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Maddy (Alexa Demie) deal with the fallout of their friendship.

In August 2022, Barbie Ferreira (who plays Kat Hernandez) announced on Instagram that she would be leaving “Euphoria,” writing, “After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character Kat, I’m having to say a very teary-eyed goodbye.”

Cloud, who played the charismatic drug dealer and Rue’s friend Fezco, died at 25 in July.

In its second season, “Euphoria” became HBO’s second-most watched show behind “Game of Thrones,” with episodes averaging 16.3 million viewers. The series was also the most-tweeted about show of the decade, with 34 million tweets.

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