Euphoria Season 3: Everything we know so far

❘ Updated: 2024-12-04T16:51:18

HBO

The wildly popular HBO teen drama Euphoria is set to return, so here’s everything we know about Euphoria Season 3, from cast updates to plot speculation.

Euphoria’s messy and, at times, confronting portrayal of teenage life and the complexities of addiction took the world by storm when the first two seasons dropped. It’s one of the best TV shows of recent years, largely due to the compelling performances of its lead actors.

In particular, Zendaya found massive success in the main role of Rue, a troubled teen suffering from drug addiction. The Disney star has earned multiple awards for her part in the Euphoria cast, including a Golden Globe.

While the third season of the show is still likely to be a while away, here’s everything we know so far about what to expect from Euphoria Season 3.

Is there a Euphoria Season 3 release date?

HBO is looking at a 2026 release for Euphoria Season 3, but there’s no official date at the time of writing.

It was previously believed the third chapter would arrive in 2025, but in December 2024, Variety reported that Warner Bros. Discovery global streaming chief JB Perrette is anticipating the following year instead.

This isn’t too surprising given reports have revealed filming won’t begin until January 2025. There’s no indication of how long filming will take, but actors have been allowed to take on other roles, so it will have to be done in a way that accommodates their schedules.

A Vogue interview with Euphoria star Maude Apatow reported that Euphoria Season 3 was initially set to begin shooting at the end of 2023. Those plans were ultimately held up by the Hollywood strikes.

Which of the cast will be returning for Euphoria Season 3?

It has been confirmed that the key stars will all return, including Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Sydney Sweeney, Maude Apatow, and Jacob Elordi.

HBO executive Casey Bloys told Variety that the core cast will all be back in an interview in June 2024.

Here’s the cast for Season 3:

Zendaya as Rue
Hunter Schafer as Jules
Jacob Elordi as Nate
Alexa Demie as Maddy
Sydney Sweeney as Cassie
Maude Apatow as Lexi

However, one cast member confirmed to be not returning is Barbie Ferreira. Ferreira — who played Kat Hernandez — revealed that she would not be coming back in Season 3, due to not wanting to become just the “fat best friend.” She made the announcement via Instagram in August of this year, writing out a message to her followers.

“After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character Kat, I’m having to say a very teary-eyed goodbye,” she said.

“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 that she is today. I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it. Love you Katherine Hernandez.”

Other actors who will not be returning for Euphoria Season 3 include Javon Walton, whose character Ash Tray met a violent end at the finale of Season 2. Fezco is also not returning for Season 3 after the tragic death of actor Angus Cloud in July 2023.

Additionally, Storm Reid won’t be back as Rue’s sister Gia, although the reason why is yet to be revealed.

Euphoria Season 3 plot

All we know about Euphoria Season 3 is that it will involve a time jump that takes the characters out of high school.

In that same interview with Variety, Bloys said: “There’s been a lot of back and forth… One of the issues I think that Sam is thinking about is that he doesn’t want to have it in high school anymore. That’s where it was set and what made sense then.

“So when you take it out of that, there’s a lot of back and forth about where to set it and how far in the future to set it and all that stuff. But I think he’s got a take that he’s excited about, and he’s busy writing.”

The finale of Season 2 was an explosive cliffhanger, leaving many of the pre-existing relationships between the characters shattered or damaged. For Rue, Season 3 will likely follow her journey now that she is longer in a relationship with Jules.

One of the biggest changes to a character in Season 2 was Cassie, marking her decline from her happy-go-lucky attitude into a more obsessed and selfish person. While the end of Season 2 seemed like breaking point for the character, actor Sydney Sweeney has said she hopes to continue exploring the dark side of Cassie in Season 3.

“There was a bit of Cassie that I got to play with when she started saying that she’s crazier than Maddy in a scene with Nate. And she kind of got a little more evil and dark and serious, and not so frantic. I would love to play with more of that streak within herself,” she told Variety.

“I like playing characters that are complex and have multiple layers. And people wonder if they’re evil or good, and pure or not. I like playing characters that make people think and make me think. Cassie, especially in the beginning, I never thought of her as scary. I just think of her as a really fragile, damaged girl.”