Sam Levinson shared the emotional journey to the long-awaited third season as the cast of HBO’s hit show gathered for the third season premiere.
Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in high school anymore.
It’s been four years since HBO’s hit teen drama Euphoria was last on air, and a lot has changed since then. The cast has grown up and a startling number of them—including Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, and Hunter Schafer—have become full-fledged A-list stars.
So it’s no wonder that the world premiere of the third (and likely final) season in Los Angeles on Tuesday night was the hottest event in town. It was the first time we’ve seen this whole cast together in years, and maybe the last (if you don’t count their time onscreen).
The carpet on Hollywood Boulevard was decorated with a Southwestern desert motif that echoes the setting of the first scenes of the new season. Much of the cast—including Elordi, Schafer, and Zendaya—posed for photos and signed autographs for fans (who had been given burgundy hoodies like Rue’s on the show), but skipped doing interviews on the carpet. Still, the cast seemed happy to be there. Schafer even jumped excitedly with Maude Apatow upon arriving.
Though the screening was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., none of the stars of the show even arrived until after that time. The audience started to get a little antsy about an hour later, even attempting to start a chant in the theater to get things going. Zendaya, wearing a stunning backless halter gown by Ashi Studio, was the last to arrive, and flew down the carpet and into the theater around 8 p.m., greeting friends and fans on her way to her seat. Sweeney, wearing a white archival Pierre Cardin dress, also made her way to her own seat, joining her current beau, Scooter Braun, and greeting him with a quick kiss.
“Many of you had to move mountains to make this schedule work,” HBO CEO Casey Bloys said to the stars ahead of the screening. “I want to thank you. Actually, I should thank your agents, lawyers, and managers, who yelled at me several times over the last two years—but it all worked out.”
Euphoria creator Sam Levinson became emotional when he took the stage and spoke about the losses he and the cast and crew have suffered since they filmed season two—in particular, actor Angus Cloud, who died of a drug overdose in 2023. “When Angus died, it was tough. I loved him deeply and I fought hard to keep him clean,” said Levinson. “I learned a whole lot that year, but what I realized more than anything is that death is what gives life meaning. You’re forced to reckon with the fact that life itself is a wonder, a gift, a profound blessing.”
Levinson mentioned that this third season is inspired by the films of Howard Hawks, John Ford, Don Siegel, Sergio Leone, Quentin Tarantino, and his own father, Barry Levinson (who attended the premiere). The new season, which jumps in time five years, follows the characters in their post-high-school lives. Zendaya’s Rue is attempting to pay off a debt as a drug mule. Cassie (Sweeney) and Nate (Elordi) are engaged and living in the suburbs. Jules (Schafer) is in art school, Lexi (Apatow) is pursuing a career as a TV writer, and Maddy (Demie) is working as a talent manager in Hollywood. The tone is a mix of Western, action-adventure, and noir, though it retains the strong visual storytelling that made the first two seasons such a sensation.
In his closing remarks, Levinson dedicated this season—which debuts on HBO on April 12—to those they had lost along the way, including Cloud, producer Kevin Turen, and actor Eric Dane, who died in February after a battle with ALS. “The only way to see great light is to pass through great darkness,” says Levinson. “Well, it feels good to be on the other side.”
Afterward, the cast and other attendees made their way to Chateau Marmont for a packed after-party that featured plenty of notable guests, like I Love LA’s Rachel Sennott, director Jason Reitman, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Natasha Lyonne, and Danielle Deadwyler.
Though the screening was delayed more than an hour, in the end it seemed like a fitting way to finally bring the long-awaited third season of Euphoria to fruition. At the late-night party, everyone in the room seemed to agree that it was all worth the wait.
