After delays so great, punters genuinely questioned if the final season would ever see the light of day, Euphoria season three is almost here. They finally did the damn thing, bless ’em!
The show, which kicked off in 2019, launched the careers of a bunch of now-massive stars including Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney.
So when the third season was announced at the height of Elordi, Sweeney, and of course queen bee Zendaya‘s popularity, it came as no surprise that the release date kept getting pushed back. But the growing success of its lead cast wasn’t the only reason behind the delays!
Let’s delve into the lore…
Why was Euphoria season three delayed?
Euphoria’s long-delayed third season has been plagued by chaos. After being confirmed in 2022, it was meant to start filming in 2023 before the writers’ and actors’ strikes shut everything down, and the show also suffered two tragic losses that year with the deaths of Angus Cloud and producer Kevin Turen.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, tensions were brewing behind the scenes too, with Zendaya and Sam Levinson reportedly clashing as he pivoted to his doomed HBO flop The Idol. Add Barbie Ferreira’s much-speculated-about exit into the mix (which she insists was a mutual decision), and… yeah. It’s been A LOT.
In March 2024, Deadline reported that filming plans had been put on hold and the cast had been encouraged to accept other acting roles in the meantime.
“HBO and Sam Levinson remain committed to making an exceptional third season,” the network told the publication. “In the interim, we are allowing our in-demand cast to pursue other opportunities.”
Sources told the esteemed entertainment publication that there had been no set production start date for season three, although filming was set to kick off at some point over the next couple of months.
The publication also got wind of the tea that a Euphoria movie was in talks to take place instead of a third season, but they nixed that idea and went back to producing season three.
Then in November of that year, Casey Bloys, the Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, said the plan was for season three of Euphoria to premiere in 2025… which did not happen, as a result of the actors’ booming careers.
During the long break between seasons, some of the actors reached movie star status, including Zendaya (Challengers, Dune), Sweeney (Anyone But You, Madame Web, Christy), and Elordi (Saltburn, Priscilla and Frankenstein).
Then in December 2025, at long last, HBO confirmed that the new season will be dropping in April 2026, four years after the season two finale.
It took a hot minute, but we got there!
What is the drama surrounding season three?
Amid all the delays and behind the scenes drama, Deuxmoi previously shared the tea on her Deux U podcast that Euphoria was on the chopping block due to Sam Levinson’s fraught relationship with HBO.
“Someone sent me an anonymous email that was like, ‘Euphoria is getting scrapped’, and I’m like no way this is true,” she said.
After the episode was published, a second submission about the state of Euphoria came to light on Deuxmoi’s Instagram Story. The source doubled down on the cancellation rumours, saying it’s “100 per cent true”.
“Sam Levinson and one of his producing partners are in very deep trouble at HBO/Warner Bros for breaking multiple protocols while working on both Euphoria and The Idol,” the informant claimed.
“HBO heads have known this for a while and did not care because his show made a lot of money, but now they are just using it as an excuse to cut ties with him.”
While these rumours ended up being false, I have no doubt in my mind that the powers that be at HBO were considering pulling the plug due to all those pesky delays and behind the scenes drama.
But as they say, good things come to those who wait and I’m sure we’re in for a treat with season three!
Have a read of our master yarn for everything we know about the final season.
The post Unpacking The Lore Behind Why Euphoria Season 3 Was Delayed: ‘Very Deep Trouble’ appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
