‘Euphoria’ Season 3: Rosalía, Marshawn Lynch, Kadeem Hardison Join Cast As Others Exit Series
The core cast members returning to Euphoria as the series begins production on its much-delayed third season are welcoming some new faces into the fold of the madness. Zendaya will reprise her lead role as Rue alongside Hunter Schafer‘s Jules, Jacob Elorid’s Nate, Alexa Demie’s Maddy, Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie, Eric Dane’s Cal, and Maude Apatow’s Lexi. Joined the cast are an eclectic mix: musician Rosalía, professional athlete-turned-actor Marshawn Lynch, and actor Kadeem Hardison, per Deadline.
Dominic Fike, whose character Elliot left us with that maybe-too-long performance of the acoustic ballad “Elliot’s Song” in season two, will also return, per Variety.
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Scheduled to premiere in 2026, Season Three is expected to implement a time jump to account for the three years that have passed since season two premiered. There’s no way these teenagers are still in high school, an element of the series that was already fairly outlandish from the beginning. But as we catch up with the chaotic cast they properly become adults, we’ll be saying farewell to a number of characters.
Nika King and Storm Reid, who played Rue’s mother and sister, respectively, will not return. Reid revealed in November that she wouldn’t be reprising her role as Gia, but noted that she was grateful to be part of the “cultural phenomenon” that the series has become. Barbie Ferreira, who played Kat, also stepped away from the series over creative differences with director Sam Levinson.
Before officially departing, King sounded off about the delayed return in March 2024 during a standup set. “People are like, ‘We need Season 3,’” she said. “I’m like, ‘Bitch, I need Season 3. I haven’t paid my rent in six months.” She added: “I thought my career was on the rise after Euphoria. I thought I was good. It don’t work that way. I called Taraji [P. Henson] and she was like, ‘Bitch, get used to it.’”
Also departing Euphoria is Algee Smith, whose character Chris McKay hasn’t had a storyline in the show since the second episode of the season season.
As the latest musician to join Euphoria, Rosalía has already contributed music to the series. In 2021, HBO premiered two special episodes of the series to bridge the gap between season one and season two. One focused on Rue deep in conversation with her sponsor and mentor Ali, played by Colman Domingo, who confirmed plans to return for season three in July 2024. The other focuses on Jules and features an original song from Rosalía and Billie Eilish titled “Lo Vas a Olvidar.”
There haven’t been any special episodes to check in with the characters in between seasons, leaving a million questions unanswered about where season three could possibly go. The end of season two left a few loose ends untied after Ashtray (Javon Walton) dies in a police shootout, after which his brother Fezco (Angus Cloud) is hauled out by officers. In July 2023, while the series was on pause due to the Hollywood strikes, Cloud died at the age of 25 from an accidental overdose.
This post was updated on Feb. 14 at 4:00 p.m. EST to include Dominic Fike’s planned return to Euphoria.
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