'Euphoria' Delays and the Brewing Resentments Between Zendaya and Sam Levinson

By Dustin Rowles | TV | July 23, 2024 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | July 23, 2024 |

Euphoria aired its last episode two-and-a-half years ago, and it’ll likely be at least another year — or more — before a third season materializes. The Hollywood Reporter did a deep dive into why, and it’s not just the usual issues that come with a Sam Levinson series. There’s plenty of blame to go around, but the acrimony, resentment, and splintered creative partnerships all seem to converge around Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, though he’s not specifically to blame.

Here’s the gist: Before he’d even wrapped up the second season of Euphoria, Levinson’s attention had already shifted to The Idol, that HBO series he was only supposed to write the pilot for. But Levinson — a one-man writing room who’d pushed out other directors on Euphoria in favor of himself — quickly became obsessed with The Idol. He fired Amy Seimetz as the series director, rewrote the entire season, and took over directing duties. The result? Not just a disaster of a series, but a hate-watch and laughingstock of the network. Some (me) even consider it HBO’s worst series of all time.

By pouring so much time and energy into The Idol, Levinson shoved his hit Euphoria to the back burner, much to the dismay of the series’ star and Levinson’s former creative partner, Zendaya.

“Zendaya, once such a close Levinson acolyte that she frequently hung out at his house, had cooled toward the mercurial filmmaker,” writes Kim Masters in THR. “Another insider says that as she pulled away, Levinson began to resent her.”

And Euphoria, a show that snagged Zendaya two Emmy awards, wasn’t just another gig for the actress. She was so “frustrated” with the lack of progress on the third season that she called a meeting with HBO’s execs “demanding to know why the network allowed Levinson to turn his attention to another show — an HBO show, no less — with Euphoria hanging in the balance.” That frustration only grew when Zendaya’s reputation got dragged by association after articles surfaced detailing the chaotic and allegedly toxic environment surrounding The Idol. The disastrous reception didn’t help matters.

Zendaya’s frustrations eventually evolved into creative differences. She took issue with Levinson’s plans for the third season. “Levinson’s first crack at an idea for the new season, in which Zendaya was to be a private detective, was rejected by both HBO and Zendaya. Zendaya’s idea that she could play a surrogate mother also was a nonstarter.” Clearly, Zendaya’s not just interested in showing up and performing what’s on the page. She’s an active producer on Euphoria who doesn’t want her reputation to take the kind of hit that befell those heavily associated with The Idol.

The two eventually found “an inkling of an idea” and began to work together again, with the other major cast members (Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi) re-upping and agreeing to return for season three.

The other, sadder subplot in all of this was the falling out between Sam Levinson and his longtime business partner, Kevin Turen. Reportedly, it was over Turen producing another project with The Weeknd, a film starring the singer and Jenna Ortega that’s been gathering dust in post-production for over a year. Levinson seemingly felt so betrayed that his business partner would make a movie starring the same actor that he ended the partnership. Turen, under considerable financial pressure after the dissolution of their partnership, worked himself so hard that he ultimately died of a heart attack at the tragically young age of 44.

Turen has been replaced as a producing partner by Levinson’s wife, Ashley, who, instead of reining in Levinson, has been protective of her husband. Zendaya, meanwhile, has insisted that another executive producer — someone who can manage Levinson — be on hand to provide a voice of reason should season three ever get underway. A proposition of which I remain skeptical.

Source: THR