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Like Skins before it, Euphoria caused controversy for its depiction of a high school world filled with sex, drugs, and violence when it arrived on screens in the US in June 2019. But while it shocked some, it also became an instant hit, its explorations of issues like addiction, sexuality, and abuse given space to be raw, gritty, and real. Long before season one’s cliffhanger ending unfurled, the Zendaya-starring series was confirmed to be returning for another season. Here’s everything we know about Euphoria season two so far.
When will Euphoria season two be released?
Although a second season was confirmed by HBO, no official release date has been announced due to production delays owing to the coronavirus. HBO originally said it would be released in 2020 [via Teen Vogue].
However, an episode may be coming sooner than we thought. Zendaya revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night (August 20) that a possible “bridge episode” could be on the way, whilst the cast and crew wait for filming to resume.
Zendaya said: “We’re trying to figure out how to eventually be able to create a season 2 that we’re all really proud of and get all the best out of it that we want but also still being very safe. So, we might end up doing a little bridge episode. I don’t really know how to describe it, but an episode that we can do with a limited amount of people in a safer environment that can, I don’t know, give people something.”
Where will Euphoria season two be shown in the UK?
The details have yet to be confirmed but expect it to be much the same as season one, i.e. on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.
Have we seen a trailer yet?
Sort of – a first look at season two of Euphoria was shared as part of HBO’s big 2020 preview trailer. Annoyingly, it’s since been removed offline.
Still not quite an official trailer, but star Sydney Sweeney teased the return of a handful of key characters at the Golden Globes on Instagram. No Zendaya in sight, but there’s still high chances she’ll be on board.
Will Zendaya be in the new season?
It certainly looks like it. After Euphoria’s renewal was announced, the actor and musician tweeted: “Literally just got the call. Can’t say thank you enough for the support we’ve seen, wow…” Her reaction probably wouldn’t be quite so enthusiastic if she had been told she wouldn’t be involved in season two.
Literally just got the call. Can’t say thank you enough for the support we’ve seen, wow… https://t.co/XJtdQaWaL9
— Zendaya (@Zendaya) July 11, 2019
There’s the question of how her character Rue would feature in the next batch of episodes, though. The season one finalé of Euphoria was certainly ambiguous and left a lot of viewers with the impression that she’d overdosed and died. However, creator Sam Levinson has confirmed she’s very much still alive and “has a big journey ahead of her”.
Who else will return for season two?
Again, there’s no official confirmation of exactly who will return just yet but, apart from Zendaya, it seems likely that most, if not all, of the main characters will be present in season two. We’ll definitely be seeing more of Fezco, with Levinson telling The Hollywood Reporter: “His story didn’t belong in season one, it belongs in season two.”
“Going into season two, we know who all of these characters are, so the possibilities of it become pretty exciting from a writing and filmmaking standpoint,” the show’s creator added, dropping another hint that we’ll see the first season’s characters opened up even more.
Will there be any new characters?
Yup! A casting call for season two has revealed a new set of Euphoria characters (and you could have auditioned for them, too). Check out the details of the characters below.
DARIAN: Male. 18+ to play 17. Any ethnicity. An outsider. Sensitive. Vulnerable. Mischievous. Could struggle with addiction. Definitely not the cool kid at school but one of the more interesting kids.
RAY: Male. 18+ to play 17. Any ethnicity. Attractive in a real and accessible way. Working class. Pure heart. Might be going nowhere in life but has a smile so genuine it’s not depressing. Scrappy but a fighter. Not verbose or educated – has all the words he needs.
AMI: Female. 18-20’s. Drug addict. Stripper. Hates her boyfriend. Talks shit. Can’t read a room. Can make a bad situation worse.
SERENA: Female. 50’s+, Caucasian. Sassy and tough. A real character. The kind of women who partied her whole life and attended every White Snake concert and now she has several different hustles just to make a living.
Has production started on season two?
Yes. In March 2020, Euphoria‘s official Twitter account shared a photo of Zendaya (Rue) and Angus Cloud (Fezco – Rue’s friend and former dealer) at what looks like a table read.
here we go !!!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/Qyf0fzEAdk
— euphoria (@euphoriaHBO) March 11, 2020
However, production halted early-on due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Cassie Howard actress Sydney Sweeney explaining that they are hoping things will start up again in the summer.
“They’re taking everything very seriously,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “They don’t want to put their crew or their cast or anyone involved in harm. So they just want to make sure they’re staying safe and healthy. And waiting for all of it to calm down.”
“I think everyone is hoping that [production] will be back sometime this summer, but they also don’t want to rush anything just in case. It isn’t safe, so I don’t think they wanna get too much hope in our minds and then have to push it longer. So we’re kind of just waiting and seeing right now.”
Some good news, though. In August 2020, Zendaya told Teen Vogue that the show’s cast and crew are still hoping to provide fans with some Euphoria material while a full return to remains on hold.
“There is an idea to do a couple of bridge episodes that can be shot safely but aren’t necessarily part of season two,” she said. “So hopefully, we will be able to do those in the coming months. I can’t wait.”
Fingers crossed.
What’s going to happen in Euphoria season two?
Mostly, your guess is as good as ours right now, but there are some storylines we can see continuing into the second season. It would be incredibly bizarre if the new episodes didn’t handle what happened to Rue after season one’s end. There are also plenty of narrative arcs – Nate’s sexuality, Cassie and McKay’s relationship, Gia’s growing rebelliousness, Kat and Ethan’s future together and whether Kat is still working as a camgirl, and what happened to Jules after Rue left her on the train – that haven’t been rounded off yet. Season two could also explore the stories of some of the lesser-seen characters like Lexi, BB, and Ashtray.
What have the cast said about season two?
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Jacob Elordi (who plays Nate Jacobs) said he doesn’t mind what happens to his character in the next season. “Whatever it is, I want him to have a life and I want it to be honest,” he said. “I truly don’t have any qualms about which direction it goes. I mean, obviously, it would be a lovely story if he turned out to be a real sunflower and lit up the world. But I definitely want it to be just true and real to his experience and I want it to kind of make sense. And I’m not sure what that looks like.”
Hunter Schafer (Jules), meanwhile, told Variety she’s hoping for some things to get worked out in season two. “I feel like there’s been a lot of turmoil that’s been simmering below a lot of these characters’ surface so I hope a lot of this turmoil can be resolved,” she said.
Sydney Sweeney (Cassie Howard) has told Entertainment Tonight that “literally everything” about season twowill be “darker”, especially as the group are growing up and “getting into more intense situations.”
She also hinted her character’s storyline in season two is quite unexpected, saying: “You won’t even be able to guess what’s coming… I couldn’t even guess it. Creator Sam [Levinson] called me over the summer, going, ‘So what do you think Cassie’s going to do next season? Where do you think she’s gonna go?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know, maybe she does this or that.’ He’s like, ‘Ahh yeah. No!’
“And then he read me a little bit, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, wait!’ I couldn’t even guess it, so if anybody’s able to guess it, you’re very good. It’s just shocking. I mean, everything with life as a teenager is shocking, so you never know what to expect.”
In another interview with Paper, Sweeney also revealed that in her portrayal of Cassie, she “refused to sugarcoat anything” and wanted to make her “as close to the generation that we’re portraying as possible.”
She also gave some hints as to the direction her character may go in the next season. Sweeney added: “Cassie is a very real, relatable girl. There’s so many aspects of her storyline and life that different girls and people can relate to, whether it’s a broken home, alcoholic parents, relationships with boys, slut-shaming…she’s still trying to figure out who she is as a person, and I think that as time goes on you’ll slowly see Cassie figure herself out – or figure herself out less.”
How many episodes will there be in season two?
An exact length of season two has yet to be confirmed by Levinson or HBO, but it seems safe to assume it’ll be a similar length as season one – eight episodes.
Will Drake be involved in season two?
Drizzy served as one of Euphoria’s executive producers on season one, but it’s unclear at the moment whether he’ll be involved in the follow-up series or not. He hasn’t mentioned the show on his social media accounts since the finale aired, but it seems like he enjoyed the experience so it’s possible he’ll return to the team. “To the entire cast and Sam you are truly a group I am in complete awe of,” he wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for these incredible creations and performances.”
How many more seasons will there be?
There could be more beyond the second season but don’t expect Euphoria to trundle on for ages. Levinson told THR he doesn’t have a set number of seasons in mind and noted there are always ways to expand the show, be that new characters or new plots.
But HBO president Casey Bloys told TVLine he did see there being some boundaries to it. “Well, [the characters] are in high school, so there are only so many seasons it can go,” he explained. “There’s a time limit.” We can imagine filming will continue to be based around the school then, which in reality, is California’s Ulysses S Grant High School.
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