Euphoria, the dark and lush series produced by Sam Levinson has kept watchers at rapt attention since the first episode came out.
Aside from giving audiences a fresh perspective on pressing issues for young people, the show elevated the careers of stars like Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney and Hunter Schafer.
Since the newest season of the show began production, press releases have come out saying that many cast members will not be returning for season 3. Actors on this list are: Storm Reid (Gia), Nika King (Leslie), Algee Smith (Chris), Austin Abrams (Ethan), and Barbie Ferreira (Kat). Angus Cloud (Fezco) passed away in 2023, which was a death that rocked the cast– it is unclear if his character will be recast.
Fans of the show feel that many characters on the list are important to the show’s future.
“I would bring back Kat. I think her story is interesting, they could have done more with it,” says Makayla Johnson, senior management information systems student.
Euphoria originally premiered in 2019, and the last season ended in 2022. Years have passed since viewers have been sucked into the drama of these characters, and some fans were skeptical that the show would ever come back for another season.
The upcoming installment of the teen drama is said to include a time jump, so the main characters will most likely have graduated from high school and are in the process of developing their careers or jobs.
Although a percentage of the original cast of the hit show will not be returning, there are confirmations of new faces who have been selected to bring a fresh look. Joining the Euphoria family includes familiar names: Grammy award winner Rosalía, former NFL player Marshawn Lynch, A Different World star Kadeem Hardison along with Toby Wallace, Dominic Fike, Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Priscella Delgado, James Landry Hébert and Anna Van Patten.
“I think that it’s going to get a bunch of hype and then it’s going to be disappointing. Simply because I feel like a lot of the actors and actresses they chose for this season aren’t necessarily actors and actresses,” said Sylisa Artis, a junior journalism and mass communication student.
When the show originally aired it had the ability to resonate with different people, especially Gen Z, due to its way of portraying the lives of high school teens who struggle with drug addiction, sexuality, and different mental health issues.
Artis later said, “I feel like people won’t necessarily be connected with the actors as much as they were in the previous seasons because these aren’t actual actors.”
Levinson took experiences from his own life and was praised for his unique visual representation of the hard topics in the first two seasons. Viewers have attributed this to the specific actors and their talents in having an organic connection with each other on screen. With so many of the original cast viewers fell in love with not returning people are uncertain if the show will have the same effects.
“I think it’s going to be a completely different show,” Johnson said.Whether this next season of Euphoria completely blows the viewer’s expectations out of the water, or causes the show to fade into obscurity, Aggies will definitely be along for the ride.
