It seems that many fans have soured on Euphoria — and honestly, they kind of have a point. Has the show run its course — and would it really be that bad if HBO just… called it quits?
When it was first released in 2019, Euphoria was, arguably, groundbreaking. It tread new territory and offered a fresh, daring look inside the lives of Gen-Z teens. But with 2022’s season 2, the show (in many audience member’s eyes) dipped in quality, becoming messy and structure-less. Characters that were previously drawn with precision and care felt more and more like sloppily sketched caricatures.
There’s also the matter of writer Levinson’s dwindling reputation. After Euphoria‘s shaky second season, Levinson brought a new show to HBO – The Idol – which prompted plenty of controversy. As writer Olivia-Anne Cleary noted for GLAMOUR at the time, the pilot episode was often “void of female empowerment” — the show, it could be argued, was “the most misogynistic TV show of the year”. In March 2023, Rolling Stone released a damning report claiming that the series had gone “disgustingly off the rails” and had ventured into “torture porn.”
Then there’s the Euphoria cast. In 2022, after the season 2 finale, Barbie Ferreira, who played central character Kat Hernandez, announced she was leaving the show behind. Then, in 2023, Angus Cloud, who had played drug dealer Fez, tragically passed away suddenly.
Although the other central cast members are, at least in theory, down for a third season, they have all become very, very busy. Thanks to Euphoria, the likes of Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi and Hunter Schafer have all been catapulted to Hollywood superstardom. Zendaya has just starred in the Dune franchise; Sweeney has been busy resurrecting the rom-com with Anyone But You; Elordi starred in not one but two of 2023’s biggest hits with Saltburn and Priscilla; meanwhile, Schafer joined The Hunger Games franchise. It’s hard to imagine pinning down all of the megastars in one place at one time — they have all moved on to bigger and (most agree) better projects.
Then there’s the question of the actual point of it all — what would a season 3 even be about? If we’re talking about a significant time jump, we’re also talking about a show that’s no longer about teenagers. Back in August 2023, Levinson told Elle he planned to write a “film noir” that focused on Rue exploring “what it means to be an individual with principles in a corrupt world.”
Who knows – an eventual Euphoria season three could be brilliant. But with another rewrite currently underway, what will we actually be getting? Sometimes, ending a show sooner rather than later is for the best.
There’s something unsettling and uncomfortable about watching a once-great show peter out with a whimper. These days, it’s rare for a show to be brave enough to ignore positive ratings and end with a satisfying bang — it’s something Succession dared to do last year with its abrupt season 4 ending. Perhaps it’s time for Euphoria to admit that its time has come, too — and to bow out gracefully before it’s officially too late.
