HBO Says 'Euphoria' Season 3 Will "Ideally" Premiere In 2025

Cue the Labrinth score, Euphoria's getting a season 3. HBO has renewed its hit drama, created by Sam Levinson and starring Emmy-winner Zendaya and Hunter Schafer, midway through a dramatic and record-breaking second season.

Arriving two years after its breakout debut in 2019, the season 2 premiere drew in 14 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max, doubling its average audience of 6.6 million in season 1. The premiere was also the No. 1 most social premium cable episode since the Game of Thrones finale, per Variety. Both the audience and the social engagement have kept up over the four episodes so far, thanks in part to popular clips and memes.

"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," HBO's EVP of programming, Francesca Orsi said in a statement. "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."

Details about season 3 are largely unknown, though its likely that Zendaya and Schafer will return, along with cast members Jacob Elordi, Alexa Demie, Sydney Sweeney, Maude Apatow, Angus Cloud, Storm Reid, and Colman Domingo. The plot of season 3, as well as the returns of newcomers Dominic Fike and Chloe Cherry, largely depend on the events of the rest of season 2, which still has four more episodes to go, with the season finale scheduled to air on February 27.

When will season 3 air?

There won't a confirmed date for Euphoria to return to our screens for a while, since the writers' strike has paused production industry-wide and Levinson is currently focused on his and The Weeknd's upcoming show The Idol. Though Collider previously reported that the creator had began work on season 3, HBO's head of drama Francesca Orsi has since given an update, telling Deadline that Euphoria isn't likely to return for at least two years.

"Euphoria is one of those that we had begun writing in tandem with post-production on Idol but at this point, we don’t have countless scripts," Orsi told the outlet. "We can’t start shooting, so the delivery of that show — ideally in 2025 — will be determined on when we can pick back up with Sam, who at this point is all pencils down and just finishing posts on Idol."

Which cast members will return?

It's safe to predict that the show's biggest stars — including Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Maude Apatow and Storm Reid will reprise their characters for the show's next season. Barbie Ferreira, who portrays Kat in the series, announced on Instagram however that she would not be reprising her role.

“After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character Kat, I’m having to say a very teary-eyed goodbye," wrote the actress, per Variety. "I hope many of you could see yourself in her like I did and that she brought you joy to see her journey into the character she is today. I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it. Love you Katherine Hernandez.”

It's unclear whether or not we'll see more of Cal Jacobs (Eric Dane) since in the season 3 finale he was turned into the police by his son. Ashtray (Javon Walton) could also only return by way of flashbacks or dream sequences since his character was killed in a police shootout in season 2's final episode.

Will there be more "Fexi"?

According to Maude Apatow who portrays Lexi on the series — hopefully! The blossoming friendship (and maybe romance) between Fez and Lexi became a fan favorite storyline this season. Per Entertainment Weekly, Apatow herself also wants to see the "innocent and sweet" relationship explored further next season.

“I think Angus is such a great actor, and we just have so much fun working together," the actress told the outlet. "So for selfish reasons, I hope we get to do more scenes together because it's fun.”

Will the characters still be in high school?

Many of our questions about East Highland High have gone unanswered (When do these kids go to class? How big is the drama club's budget?), but season 3 will at least lead the characters toward graduation. Zendaya hinted to The Hollywood Reporter that season 3 could explore the characters' lives beyond high school, either as seniors looking toward the future or graduates.

"I think it’ll be exciting to explore the characters out of high school," she told the outlet. "I want to see what Rue looks like in her sobriety journey, how chaotic that might look. But also with all the characters, in the sense where they’re trying to figure out what to do with their lives when high school is over and what kind of people they want to be."

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