Plot, Cast, Release Month and News

Euphoria season 3 is finally on the way — and now, fans finally have the first details about what to expect when the show returns in the spring.

At the end of season 2, which aired in 2022, lead character Rue Bennett (played by Zendaya) left viewers with these words: “I stayed clean through the rest of the school year. I wish I could say that was a decision I made. In some ways, it was just easier.”

Rue’s struggle with drugs is far from over, but Zendaya hopes season 3 brings “a little bit of happiness and a little bit of joy” after a tumultuous second season.

“I would like to explore Rue’s sobriety and that journey for her,” she told Extra. “We see her in the midst of it. It would be nice to see her closer to the other side.”

While Euphoria was renewed for a third season in February 2022, new episodes won’t be released until April 2026. Filming was originally slated to begin in the first half of 2024, but ultimately, production didn’t kick off until February 2025.

“We shoot these episodes in like a month each. It takes a while,” said Colman Domingo, who plays Rue’s NA sponsor, Ali Mohammed, during his own interview with Extra. “It takes so long because there are a lot of frames. If you look at the show, there are a lot of tiny, tiny scenes. [Creator] Sam [Levinson] is very meticulous in such a gorgeous way. It’s gonna be worth the wait.”

From the returning and new cast to potential storylines, here’s everything we know about Euphoria season 3.

How did Euphoria season 2 end?

Fans were left with a lot of cliffhangers at the end of season 2. Here’s a quick recap:

After going through a painful detox, Rue goes on an apology tour — hoping to make amends with her sponsor, Ali, and her friends Lexi Howard (Maude Apatow) and Elliot (Dominic Fike). Rue also had a brief but silent interaction with Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer) in the auditorium that gave viewers hope for their relationship.

In the final two episodes of season 2, Lexi’s play upsets a lot of people — more specifically, her sister, Cassie Howard (Sydney Sweeney), who is depicted as a self-centered teenager, and her boyfriend Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi). Halfway through the play, Cassie confronts her sister onstage. It goes from bad to worse when Maddy Perez (Alexa Demie) steps in.

While Cassie is having a mental breakdown in front of the entire school, Maddy decides it’s the perfect time to punish her former best friend for hooking up with her ex-boyfriend, Nate. An inevitable physical altercation ensues between Cassie and Maddy.

Nate, who stormed out of Lexi’s play and seemingly broke up with Cassie in the process, makes a shocking decision to turn his dad, Cal Jacobs (Eric Dane), over to the police.

The most devastating part of the final episode had to be the fatal gunfight between the police and Fezco’s adopted brother, Ashtray (Javon Walton). All dressed up and ready to attend his crush Lexi’s play, Fez (Angus Cloud) discovers that the police have flipped his friend Custer and are going to storm through the door at any moment.

Ashtray makes the rash decision to stick a knife in Custer’s neck — and all hell breaks loose. Despite Fez’s best efforts to intervene, the police kill Ash.

What is Euphoria season 3 about?

Creator Sam Levinson shared the first details about Euphoria season 3 as part of an HBO Max presentation in December 2025 while also confirming the five-year time jump.

“Five years felt like a natural place because if they’d gone to college they’d be out of college at that time,” he said, via Variety. “We basically pick up Rue south of the border in Mexico, in debt to Laurie, trying to come up with some very innovative ways to pay it off.”

He added that Cassie and Nate get married in the new episodes, and when the show catches up with them in the future, they’re living in the suburbs and Cassie is “very addicted to social media and envious of what appears to be the big lives that all of her high school classmates are living at this point in time.”

And as for the rest of the cast? “Jules is in art school, very nervous about having a career as a painter and trying to avoid responsibility at all costs,” he said. “Maddy is working in Hollywood at a talent agency for a manager, she’s obviously got her own side hustles going. And Lexi is an assistant to a showrunner played by Sharon Stone, who is just absolutely delightful and a true icon.”

While Fez’s fate was still hanging in the balance during the season 2 finale, the actor who portrays him died in September 2025 after an accidental overdose. So far, it’s unclear if that means that Cloud’s character didn’t survive the finale, or if his absence will be explained in another way.

Which cast members are returning for Euphoria season 3?

Fans can expect the top of the call sheet to return for season 3, this includes Zendaya, who plays Rue, and her love interest Jules Vaughn, played by Schafer.

During a Euphoria cast Q&A in December 2022, Schafer shared that Jules will likely continue to seek a relationship with Rue.

“She’s looking for closeness with other people and [to feel] affirmed in that closeness,” Schafer said, per The Hollywood Reporter. “She knows it’s there with Rue.”

Fike, who plays Elliot and dated Schafer in real life, is slated to return. Viewers can also expect to see more of Dane, who portrays Cal Jacobs.

“There’s gonna be redemption,” Dane told Variety, referring to Cal’s explicit activities. “I mean, that’s the trajectory he’s on. I can’t imagine Cal’s life from solitary confinement. It’s tough to work Cal into the storyline when he’s behind bars.”

Apatow will continue to play Lexi and more Cassie drama is coming fans’ way, courtesy of Sweeney. In a March 2024 interview with MTV’s Josh Horowitz, she confirmed that she was about to head back to the Euphoria set.

Though she wouldn’t say whether or not she’s seen a script for the upcoming episodes, she did say that she was looking forward to filming again. “I always feel like I go home,” she said. “It’s like home when I go back to it. I like it.”

Elordi is also on board for another season.

“I’d like to see [Nate] come of age,” he told Variety in April 2022. “I fear I’m growing too old for high school.”

In a separate interview with Deadline, Elordi shared that Levinson is often an unpredictable writer, adding that he’s unsure what Nate’s trajectory will be in season 3.

“I trust Sam. He’s a bit of a mad genius. Wherever he takes it, I’m happy to go,” he said.

HBO Max announced more returning cast members in October 2025 in an Instagram post, revealing that Sophia Rose Wilson, Alanna Ubach, Daeg Faerch, Zak Steiner, Melvin Bonez Estes, Nika King and Paula Marshall will all reprise their roles.

Which cast members are not returning for Euphoria season 3?

For those wondering if Ash is really dead after his encounter with the police, the answer is “yes.”

In August 2022, Walton spoke with Entertainment Tonight about saying goodbye to the hit TV show. “I do think Ash is dead,” he said. “As much as I loved Euphoria, I’ve moved on.”

The show also said goodbye to Barbie Ferreira’s character, Kat Hernandez. In August 2022, the actress announced her departure from Euphoria.

“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 wrote on Instagram. “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 she is today. I put all my care and love into her and i hope you guys could feel it.”

Which new cast members are joining Euphoria season 3?

When HBO announced the returning cast members, they also shared a slew of newcomers to the cast for the upcoming season.

The new cast will include influencer Trisha Paytas, along with Natasha Lyonne, Eli Roth, Sam Trammell, Bella Podaras, Matthew Willig, Bill Bodner, Rebecca Pidgeon, Madison Thompson, Cailyn Rice, Colleen Camp, Danielle Deadwyler, Kwame Patterson, Gideon Adlon, Hemky Madera, Homer Gere, Jack Topalian and Jessica Blair Herman.

When will Euphoria season 3 be released?

Euphoria season 3 was set to begin filming in the spring or early summer of 2024. However, due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes and script delays, production was unable to begin until early 2025. In a post on X shared on Feb. 10, 2025, HBO confirmed that the show was officially in production.

HBO has not released an exact premiere date, but in December 2025, the network confirmed that the show will return in April 2026.