Sam Levinson said Tuesday night that losing Angus Cloud to an overdose in 2023 was “really hard” for the Euphoria production, and that he used the show’s new season to honor the actor and keep him alive through storytelling. He said he loved Cloud “very deeply” and fought hard to keep him clean.
Levinson made the comments at the Euphoria Season 3 premiere in Hollywood as the new season approaches its April 12 debut on HBO at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The season jumps ahead five years, with Cassie and Nate married and living in the suburbs, Rue working off her debt to drug dealer Laurie, Jules in art school and Maddy at a talent agency in Hollywood.
The remarks give the clearest sign yet that Season 3 has been shaped by absence as much as plot. Levinson said he wanted to wrestle on screen with questions about faith and “a power greater than ourselves,” and added that he writes every season as if it may be the last. Zendaya has also suggested that the third season could be the show’s final chapter, though HBO has not said anything official about future seasons.
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There is still no formal word on a Season 4, and Levinson said he has no plans for one. He said he is cutting episodes seven and eight and putting the finishing touches on the season now, while also making the point that there is “no pressure” as he tries to close the series strong. The production has already had to absorb another loss after Eric Dane died in February of ALS after filming his scenes for Season 3.
For Levinson, the new season is less a reset than a reckoning. He said he wanted to deal with faith, surrender and what it means to hand over control, and his comments suggest the show’s next chapter is designed to carry both the story and the people behind it. When Euphoria returns in April, it will do so with its cast changed, its timeline pushed forward and its creator treating the season like the last one he may ever make.
