‘Euphoria’ Season 2 Won’t Film Until Early 2021, but HBO Confirms ‘Special Covid Episode’
Zack Sharf
Update, October 19: Zendaya confirmed on social media that two new episodes of “Euphoria” will be released ahead of Season 2. The first episode is set to air December 6. The synopsis from HBO reads: “In the aftermath of being left by Jules at the train station and relapsing, the first special episode follows Rue as she celebrates Christmas. Written and directed by series creator Sam Levinson, the episode, titled “Trouble Don’t Last Always,” also stars Colman Domingo, who appeared in season one. The title and date of the second episode are forthcoming. Both special episodes were produced under COVID-19 guidelines.”
Earlier: Nearly everyone in the TV industry was expecting “Succession” and “Watchmen” to be HBO’s Emmy power players in 2021 (and they were, the former winning Best Drama Series and the latter Best Limited Series), but the network’s hyper-stylized high school drama “Euphoria” was no slouch either. The Sam Levinson-created series nabbed three Emmys, including a major prize for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series thanks to Zendaya (now the category’s youngest winner ever). “Euphoria” also won Emmys for Outstanding Contemporary Makeup and Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.
“Euphoria” buzz is surging after the Emmys, but the wait for Season 2 is going to be a long one. The show’s eight-episode first season wrapped its run over a year ago on August 4, 2019, and it doesn’t look like the next run of episodes will be ready to air until well into 2021 or even 2022. HBO president Casey Bloys confirmed to Deadline after the Emmys that “Euphoria” Season 2 is currently targeting a production start in early 2021. The network is gearing up to begin filming “Succession” Season 3 in late fall. Levinson and the cast were gearing up to film Season 2 back in March just days before Hollywood shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
With a production start date being targeted for early 2021, “Euphoria” is likely to be off the air for at least two years in between seasons. Bloys confirmed that to help tide fans over in between seasons HBO is moving forward with a “special Covid episode” of “Euphoria.” The HBO president said nothing more of the episode, but Zendaya teased on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in August that a “special episode” was being considered to act as a connector between the two seasons.
“We might end up doing a little bridge episode,” Zendaya said at the time. “I don’t really know how to describe it, but an episode that we can do with a limited amount of people in a safer environment so we have something to live on until we are able to go into Season 2.”
Zendaya and Sam Levinson are no strangers to filming new content under strict safety guidelines. Over the summer, the two collaborators joined forces along with “Tenet” star John David Washington and a quarantined crew to shoot the relationship drama “Malcolm and Marie.” Footage from the project was screened for buyers earlier this month and led to a $20 million distribution deal from Netflix. The streamer has not yet announced a release date for the project.
