Zendaya dishes on Euphoria season three and confirms storyline time jump: ‘Only so much high school drama you can deal with’

Rue, Cassie, Lexi, Maddy and the rest of Euphoria’s young crew leave high school behind as the hit HBO drama series finally returns for its highly anticipated season three.

Leading lady Zendaya confirmed the previously reported news that the show will time jump with the storyline, bringing the core group to life after high school.

“It’s important because there’s only so much high school drama you can deal with,” the actress told Entertainment Weekly’s The Awardist Podcastbefore adding a little sarcasm. “And then she cheats on her boyfriend again!”

Although Zendaya (born Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman) is limited in what she can reveal publicly about what fans can expect in the new episodes, she said it will be exciting.

“I don’t really know much about what’s happening,” the 28-year-old actress said, despite being an executive producer on the series. “I don’t know exactly what the season will look like yet, but I do know that the time jump will happen.”

“It’s important because you can only handle so much high school drama,” the actress said of the time jump on Entertainment Weekly’s The Awardist podcast, before adding a bit of sarcasm. ‘And then she cheats on her boyfriend again’

The actress, who played queer teen Rue, a high school student struggling with drug addiction, sounded as excited as fans to hear what’s in store for the young group now that they’re officially adults.

“It’s going to be fascinating to see and understand these characters outside of the context of high school and how all the stuff that we saw when they were kids and in high school, the maturity that they have and who they become in a affects much larger world. the Oakland, California, native said. “I’m also curious to see what happens.”

HBO announced the news of the time jump, which would take the young character past high school, and the return of most of “the same core cast” in June.

‘[Creator and writer] Sam [Levinson] It’s a work in progress,” HBO boss Casey Bloys said at the time. “If you take it out [high school]there’s a lot of back and forth about where to put it and how far into the future to put it and all that kind of stuff. But I think he has an idea he’s excited about, and he’s busy writing it.”

Along with Zendaya, the cast for the first two seasons included Maude Apatow, Angus Cloud, Eric Dane, Alexa Demie, Jacob Elordi, Barbie Ferreira, Nika King, Storm Reid, Hunter Schafer, Algee Smith, Sydney Sweeney, Colman Domingo, Javon Walton , Austin Abrams and Dominic Fike.

But two of the stars from the past will not be returning, including Barbie Ferreira, who shared her emotional farewell to her role as Kat Hernandez after the season two finale, and the late Angus Cloud, the actor who played everyone’s favorite drug dealer Fezco, who passed away suddenly suffered an accidental drug overdose in July 2023.

This recent delay is just the latest in a series of problems and accidents that have halted production and pushed back release dates.

Euphoria, a raw story about teenage addict and her peers as they navigate tensions of love, loss, sex and addiction, premiered on HBO in June 2019.

The first delay occurred in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in production being halted, leading to the decision to create two one-hour specials in December 2020 and January 2021 to give fans something new until the new episodes were ready. .

Finally, after shooting during all those health measures and protocols, the second season premiered in January 2022.

The following February, the series was renewed for a third season, but filming was halted due to the 2023 Hollywood labor dispute and the unexpected deaths of Cloud and executive producer Kevin Turen.

“It’s going to be fascinating to see and understand these characters outside of the context of high school and how all the stuff that we saw when they were kids and in high school, the maturity that they have and who they become in a affects much larger world. Zendaya said. ‘I’m also curious about what happens’

Euphoria, a raw story about teenage addict and her peers as they navigate tensions of love, loss, sex and addiction, premiered on HBO in June 2019

The show has suffered several production shutdowns and delays dating back to the COVID-19 pandemic after season one and the 2023 Hollywood labor dispute; stars Jacob Eldori and Alexa Demie are depicted in the scene as Nate and Maddy

There were also delays ahead of season three due to the unexpected deaths of Angus Cloud (Fez) and executive producer Kevin Turen.

Barbie Ferreira also won’t be returning to Euphoria after sharing her emotional farewell to her role as Kat Hernandez following the season two finale

The third season was initially expected to go into production in December 2023, but was ultimately postponed indefinitely.

It was eventually confirmed that the show would resume work on the third season on June 13, as the story’s time jumped out of the high school setting.

The series has received numerous accolades, including Zendaya receiving two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Critics’ Choice Television Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance as Rue.

Sweeney, Colman Domingo and Martha Kelly have also received Emmy nominations for their acting, with Domingo winning for his performance as Ali.