At the season three red carpet premiere of Euphoria at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Tuesday night (April 7), creator Sam Levinson dedicated the upcoming season of the show to “those who we lost,” including late stars Angus Cloud and Eric Dane and producer Kevin Turen.
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“Some people ask why it took so long between seasons two and three,” he said, according to Deadline. “There were obvious factors — the strikes, trying to make a schedule work with our very in-demand cast, but the real time was in trying to figure out how to find a way to pay respect to those who we lost.”
Specifically, he mentioned Cloud, 25, who played the open-hearted drug dealer Fezco on the first two seasons of the show. Cloud died in 2023 from acute intoxication and Levinson said the loss hit him and the rest of the production really hard. “When Angus died, it was tough. I loved him deeply, and I fought hard to keep him clean,” said Levinson. “The year he died, in 2023, he was one of 73,000 people in America who died of a fentanyl overdose. I learned a whole lot that year, but what I realized more than anything is that death is what gives life meaning. You can’t be arrogant about existence. You’re forced to reckon with the fact that life itself is a wonder, a gift, a profound blessing.”
For that reason, Levinson said he wanted the upcoming season of the show — which debuts on HBO and Max on Sunday (April 12) — to be “the meaning beyond the absurdity.”
Veteran actor Dane, who played tormented Cal Jacobs, the father of Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi), was able to return for the third season before his death in February due to respiratory failure following a long battle with ALS. Speaking to Variety at the premiere, Levinson said when Dane showed up on set he noticed that the actor’s speech was “a little slurred … he was a bit self-conscious, and I said, ‘This works perfectly. We’re gonna put five beer bottles in front of you, and you’re about to say all of the s–t you would never say if you were sober.’ And we just had a blast shooting. We had 28 cast members on Saturday for the wedding. There’s all these people around, and he just showed up with such grace and dignity. He’s a consummate professional all the way through, and I miss him.”
As for star Zendaya‘s earlier suggestions that the upcoming season could be the final one for the often controversial series, Levinson said he writes “every season like it’s the last season,” and currently has “no plans” for a season four. “I want to finish this as strong as I can. I’m cutting [Episodes] 7 and 8 still,” he said. “I’m putting some finishing touches. I just want to deliver a f–king slam dunk season.”
After a four-year hiatus, the new season jumps ahead five years as Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) is now married to Elordi’s Nate and living in the suburbs, while Zendaya’s Rue is trying to pay off her debts to drug dealer Laurie (Martha Kelly). In addition, Jules (Hunter Schafer) is in art school and Maddy (Alexa Demie) is working at a Hollywood talent agency. Also returning are Maude Apatow (Lexi), Colman Domingo (Ali Muhammad), Chloe Cherry (Faye), Dominic Fike (Elliott) and Nika King (Leslie Bennett), along with new cast members Sharon Stone, Natasha Lyonne, Eli Roth, Rosalia and former NFL star-turned-actor Marshawn Lynch, among others.
Watch Levinson’s tribute here. Euphoria premieres on HBO at 9 p.m. ET/PT on April 12 and the season is set to wrap up on May 31.
