It’s supposed to be even darker than Euphoria Season 1.
In summer 2019, HBO enamored audiences—and prompted viewers to wonder if Gen-Z is OK—with the release of Euphoria. The show, from Sam Levinson, son of Barry Levinson, and executive produced by Drake (among others), became an instant hit, praised for its young ensemble cast, led by Zendaya in an Emmy-winning performance as recovering addict Rue Bennett, and raw, unsentimental portrayal of youth culture, addiction, and trauma. Once people got past the pre-release controversy—you know, that now-infamous 30-dick scene—and tapped into the experiences of the classmates in Rue’s network, viewers were hooked (and invested in the teens’ well-being).
Rue, Jules (Hunter Schafer), and their peers have been through a lot in a short amount of time, but there’s clearly more to their stories. Since Euphoria was picked up for a second season back in July 2019 before the first season was even through, below we take a look at where the show stands going forward.
When will Euphoria Season 2 be released?
While many shows were put on hold due to the pandemic, Euphoria was definitely one of the more devastating pauses—not just because of how excited fans are for Season 2, but the fact that the cast and crew were already back on set for table reads before everything shut down. Thankfully, showrunner Sam Levinson and stars Zendaya and Hunter Schafer decided to pursue the two specials—the Rue-focused “Trouble Don’t Last Always” and the Jules-centered “Fuck Anyone Who’s Not a Sea Blob“—that aired in late 2020/early 2021 to tide fans over, since it’s proving to be much longer than fans originally anticipated to check in with the kids of East Highland again.
There’s definitely been months of delays, but you don’t have to fall into an angsty pit of despair because it seems the show is gearing up to finally start filming Season 2. According to a casting call from February 2021, production is scheduled to begin on April 5. So, with the show shooting this spring, it seems possible that we’ll see new episodes hitting HBO sometime in late 2021 or early 2022.
How many episodes will there be in Euphoria Season 2?
An episode count hasn’t been announced, but given Season 1 featured eight installments, that number seems likely for Season 2.
Who in the cast is returning for Euphoria Season 2?
All of the colorful, emotional East Highlanders you know and love (or hate) should be back for more melodrama in Season 2. Zendaya leads the cast as Rue and her narration guides viewers through the lives of her classmates, so obviously she’ll be reprising her role. Plus, since the show is so reliant on its large ensemble cast, and there’s definitely more to everybody’s story, expect to see more of Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer), Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi), Lexi Howard (Maude Apatow), Fezco (Angus Cloud), Kat Hernandez (Barbie Ferreira), Cassie Howard (Sydney Sweeney), Maddy Perez (Alexa Demie), Chris McKay (Algee Smith), Gia Bennett (Storm Reid), Ethan Lewis (Austin Abrams), and Cal Jacobs (Eric Dane).
Will there be any new characters in Euphoria Season 2?
In early 2020, the series put out a casting call for a handful of new characters. Right now, there’s no word on who landed any of the following roles, but here’s who they were looking to fill, which gives a little insight into what’s coming next season:
In terms of the showrunners, who will be back for Euphoria Season 2?
Creator Sam Levinson is largely at the helm of the show—writing, executive producing, and directing much of the first season based on his own life experiences—so he’ll be on for round two. It can also be assumed that Drake, who interestingly executive produced Season 1, will be back, considering the fact that he announced the show was returning (“OBVIOUSLYYYYYYYYY”) on social media. But will Champagne Papi get behind the director’s chair for Season 2? That’s TBD. One thing confirmed,
though, is that buzzy writer Jeremy O. Harris (Slave Play, Zola) has been upped from consultant to co-producer, as reported by Variety. As for who else will be writing/producing/directing the upcoming season, most everything is still very hush-hush.
What will Euphoria Season 2 be about?
Euphoria reached a high in its Season 1 finale—but since highs don’t last forever, it only made sense that the episode arrived at the most inevitable conclusion for Rue when she relapsed. The finale left a lot of questions unanswered, though, but thankfully the two standalone specials released in late 2020/early 2021, which meant to bridge the gap between Seasons 1 and 2, did give a bit of insight into some of those loose ends.
