{"id":390137,"date":"2026-04-09T16:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T16:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/390137\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T16:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T16:37:12","slug":"euphoria-creator-sam-levinson-on-season-3-angus-cloud-eric-dane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/390137\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Euphoria’ Creator Sam Levinson on Season 3, Angus Cloud, Eric Dane"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSam Levinson<\/a> has never let ambition stand in his way. A month out from the April 12 premiere of Euphoria<\/a>, the show\u2019s creator, writer, and executive producer is at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California, bouncing between multiple editing bays and screening rooms, providing feedback on everything from color correction to sound design. He marvels at the show\u2019s wide aspect ratio, which allows for more expansive, detail-rich scenes, and the season\u2019s score, by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer, with its cinematic swells.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cA lot of people start out with grand ambitions, but the process can easily wear you down,\u201d says Levinson after a quick golf-cart ride to see a cut of Episode Four with the music placed. \u201cAs a team, whether it\u2019s editorial or cinematography, we won\u2019t stop until we get the best version of something. The audience can feel it. They know whether or not you\u2019re trying.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tStill, the road to Season Three was long and arduous. Putting aside the controversies surrounding his most recent project, HBO\u2019s one-and-done series The Idol<\/a> \u2014 which lost its director halfway through filming, spurring a rethink, rewrite, and costly reshoots \u2014 the four-year gap since Euphoria was last on air brought challenges both personal and professional. For Levinson, the son of noted filmmaker Barry Levinson (Diner, Rain Man), the spotlight was harsh and unforgiving. And though some of Euphoria\u2019s ensemble players \u2014 Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney<\/a> \u2014 saw their acting careers catapult to new heights, others simply didn\u2019t make it. In July 2023, Angus Cloud<\/a>, who played the gentle drug dealer Fezco, died of an accidental overdose (toxicology reports revealed methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and benzodiazepines in his system). After filming, Eric Dane, who brilliantly portrayed tortured parent Cal Jacobs, succumbed to the effects of ALS in February of this year.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCloud, left, and Dane both died tragically between the second and third seasons.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEddy Chen\/HBO, 2<\/p>\n

\n\tThrough mourning came creative fuel for Levinson, who shares EP duties with his wife Ashley. The couple had grown close to Cloud, and last saw him introducing their then-newborn son. \u201cThe grief with Angus deeply informed the season,\u201d says Levinson, choking back tears. \u201cHe was someone I loved very much. And someone I fought very hard for. Look, I\u2019ve dealt with addiction. I\u2019m well-versed in it. So you\u2019re always kind of prepared, but losing Angus really shook me and made me angry for a lot of reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n

\n\tThese emotions make their way to the screen in the form of Season Three\u2019s storyline, with fentanyl in a starring role. \u201cIt\u2019s [a] leading cause of death for people under the age of 45,\u201d says Levinson, who got sober at age 19 following struggles with drugs and alcohol. \u201cThat\u2019s where I started this season \u2014 exploring fentanyl, how it gets into this country, why [we have a problem with it here].\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe season opens at the Mexico border. It\u2019s been five years since high school, and Rue (Zendaya) is still paying down her debt to Laurie (Martha Kelly) by working as a drug mule. As Christopher Cross\u2019 \u201cRide Like the Wind\u201d blasts from her Jeep speakers, she\u2019s racing through the desert singing along like she means it.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s one of the best songs of all time,\u201d says Levinson of the 1980 hit. \u201cI was listening to it on repeat. I loved the lyrics and thought, this is what I want the season to feel like. It\u2019s a good way of announcing that we\u2019re back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMuch of the action finds the gang surrounded by sand dunes and Joshua trees. The border wall \u2014 reconstructed for the show in a 15-foot chunk \u2014 looms large, both metaphorically and physically, as Euphoria\u2019s motley crew (which includes the lippy Faye, played by Chloe Cherry, understated drug lord Laurie, and menacing newcomer Alamo, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) navigate adult issues and turf wars.<\/p>\n

\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n

\n\tBut it\u2019s not all darkness and crime. Jules (Hunter Schafer), now a working artist with a sugar daddy, remains a scene-stealer. In the first three episodes, her story seems tangential, but her sparkling aura takes over every frame she\u2019s in. And unlike previous seasons, which only hinted at Los Angeles, the show leans into the Hollywood glitz, shooting one scene at industry mainstay the Peninsula Beverly Hills, where Maddy (Alexa Demie) and Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) go to see and be seen.<\/p>\n

\n\tDane appears in several episodes \u2014 diminished as dad to Nate, and now living as a registered sex offender \u2014 soft-spoken, funny, and introspective. He filmed his scenes seated. \u201cEric called me before we started shooting and told me about being diagnosed with ALS, and we had a long talk,\u201d Levinson recalls. \u201cI said to him, \u2018However you show up, I\u2019ll make it work.\u2019 He had a lot of grace. He was a beautiful person \u2014 intelligent and soulful \u2026 and able to find the beats of humor and tragedy [in Cal]. I loved him deeply. I got to say goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd Fezco remains a character \u2014 in prison for taking the fall in the Pulp Fiction-like shoot-out that ended Season Two \u2014 though we only imagine him there, on the other side of a phone call with Rue. \u201cKeeping Angus alive in the story,\u201d says Levinson cautiously, \u201cit was like, if I couldn\u2019t control it in life, at least I can control it in the work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRosal\u00eda shows up this season as an exotic dancer.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEddy Chen\/HBO<\/p>\n

\n\tMUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN about production during Season Two of Euphoria, with reports of long hours, last-minute script changes, and at least one on-set injury contributing to an avalanche of press and social-media scrutiny. (HBO maintained that \u201cthe well-being of cast and crew on our productions is always a top priority\u201d and that the show was \u201cin full compliance with all safety guidelines and guild protocols.\u201d) Complicating matters was a change of corporate ownership, as the network was absorbed first by AT&T, then Discovery, Netflix for a minute, and now, Paramount (pending government approval). At each mega-merger, Euphoria was viewed as prime IP for HBO, and not to be tampered with.<\/p>\n

\n\tLevinson doesn\u2019t make much of the headlines. Acknowledging the impact of Covid while filming Season Two, and the shift in air date from early 2020 to January 2022, he notes that his \u201cproduction process always remained pretty dialed in.\u201d Having worked with the same assistant directors for 10 years helped, he adds.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut you could infer there was drama behind the scenes as Levinson and the cast came to terms with Cloud\u2019s addiction struggles. Before shooting started, Levinson says he asked the young actor for a meeting at the production office. Levinson describes seeing a \u201creally skinny\u201d Cloud. \u201cHis pupils were pinned, and I said, \u2018Angus, I have a feeling you\u2019re doing a lot of opiates.\u2019 It took a few minutes for him to admit to it, and I said, \u2018Look, I want to make this season with you. I love you as a person. I can get HBO to pay for a place to help get you clean, because you deserve to have a great life.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn fact, Levinson says, he and the network did facilitate a stay in rehab, which pulled Cloud out of shooting for \u201ca few months.\u201d It was one of the reasons for the production delays. \u201cWe had to work the schedule around that,\u201d says Levinson. \u201cAngus left the clinic, and he was doing well for a period. And then during shooting, he relapsed again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tA second intervention and rehab stint followed. \u201cI remember calling my wife and saying, \u2018Have the car waiting, because I think I got a shot at getting him back into a facility,\u2019\u201d Levinson shares. \u201cAnd we had to change the schedule again. But HBO was very understanding and we were able to move things around. I really wanted to protect what he was going through. [Still], I couldn\u2019t explain to the crew or the cast why Stage 11 was just sitting there for a month when we were supposed to wrap it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCloud battled migraine headaches due to a previous injury, which Levinson suggests was partly to blame \u2014 and perhaps an easy excuse \u2014 for his dependence on painkillers. \u201cHe was in pain, so it was always a tricky balance of, how does he deal with the migraines without resorting to opiates? And then he would fall into the cycle again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter the season wrapped, Levinson says he \u201chad a feeling that Angus wasn\u2019t doing well,\u201d suspicions that were well-founded. \u201cI tried everything to convince him to get clean again. I would tell him, \u2018Alright, so Fez is in prison, so he\u2019s gotta have a prison body. He\u2019s gotta be working out, so you gotta be in the gym every day!\u2019 He was a beautiful soul, and I loved working with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAS \u2018EUPHORIA\u2019 HAS MATURED, it\u2019s gotten more, dare we say, linear. This is especially true of Season Three, which interweaves plot lines of formerly supporting players into their own self-contained arcs within a larger story \u2014 like Lexi, played by Maude Apatow, whose Diane Keaton-inspired hipster look pairs perfectly with the Melrose Place-like apartment complex \u201cthat is quintessential West Hollywood,\u201d says Levinson, citing one of his \u201cfavorite shows of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s also more comical \u2014 Cassie in particular shines as a bridezilla whose wedding-day dreams are dashed in splattered blood and tears. \u201cIt\u2019s hysterical,\u201d says Levinson. \u201cShe\u2019s a very cunning, interesting, ambitious character. She\u2019s never satisfied and perpetually searching for more.\u201d Sweeney, he adds, \u201cis a joy to work with. [She] can literally do anything. \u2026 Sometimes I\u2019ll give her a take to just go off: \u2018Whatever you want to do, just make sure it\u2019s nutty.\u2019 Then this whole other performance will come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen he began putting this season together, Levinson says that he \u201cintentionally wanted to do something different\u201d in terms of structure. In the first two seasons, he was going for something \u201cmore musical and propulsive.\u201d This season, he thought: \u201cWell, why don\u2019t I try doing it as a television show, where there\u2019s more dialogue, where you get to live with the characters a bit more, and it\u2019s not so frenetic and speedy?\u201d With that thinking, he says, \u201cthe humor started to poke its way through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLevinson\u2019s creative process is also inspired by what he\u2019s listening to. In its first two seasons, Euphoria featured more than 300 needle drops, making music as essential to the series\u2019 storytelling as its glittered, psychedelic visuals. It was intentional from the start, with Levinson and his music supervision team weaving in a host of genres \u2014 hip-hop, gospel, Eighties pop, opera \u2014 and pricey placements by the likes of Beyonc\u00e9, Drake, and Judy Garland. The smooth-sailing vibe of yacht rock was also a go-to, despite the chaos playing out onscreen: Gerry Rafferty\u2019s \u201cRight Down the Line,\u201d Steely Dan\u2019s \u201cDirty Work,\u201d and the Doobie Brothers\u2019 \u201cWhat a Fool Believes\u201d made key appearances, and Levinson makes no apologies for the dichotomy. \u201cIf I really love a song, I want to let it play, and to sculpt the scene to it,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tHans Zimmer took over from Labrinth as Season Three composer.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPedro Becerra\/Redferns<\/p>\n

\n\tLabrinth, the British singer and songwriter, also helped shape Euphoria\u2019s musical identity as its primary composer on seasons one and two. But this season, his name will no longer be listed in the credits. Levinson is tight-lipped about the split, which Labrinth posted about publicly on March 12, writing on social media<\/a>, \u201cI\u2019m done with this industry. Fuck Columbia. Double fuck Euphoria. I\u2019m out. Thank you and goodnight.\u201d Asked what happened, Levinson tells Rolling Stone, \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d adding, \u201cHe\u2019s an incredible collaborator and someone who really built the foundation of the sound of Euphoria.\u201d (A rep for Labrinth, who remains on the Columbia Records roster, declined to comment.)<\/p>\n

\n\tLevinson is unambiguous, however, about why Zimmer was the right call to step in, crediting the two-time Oscar winner\u2019s scores for influencing his vision for the screen. \u201cOn Euphoria, each character\u2019s storyline is like its own film in a way,\u201d Levinson says. \u201cIn general, I was less interested in needle drops and more interested in something that guided us through this world. \u2026 They\u2019re out of high school, so the pop roots of it have faded away. I see them in these landscapes, dealing with good and evil, the choices you make, the consequences, and the freedom of being older. How I imagined it visually, I wanted to lean into an old-fashioned Hollywood Western score.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile writing Season Three, Levinson had two Zimmer scores playing: Interstellar and True Romance. \u201cThere was something about the Americana of True Romance \u2026 It felt like driving across the country and traversing time. There was a romanticism and optimism to it that I really loved,\u201d he says. \u201cThen Interstellar had this wonderment and an underlying religious quality to it that I felt worked well for this season.\u201d He sent Zimmer the scripts, and they sat down for a long talk. That\u2019s when Levinson noticed a giant poster on Zimmer\u2019s wall for Once Upon a Time in the West, the 1968 Sergio Leone spaghetti Western with Claudia Cardinale and Henry Fonda. The film also happens to have Levinson\u2019s favorite score. \u201cI said, \u2018Wouldn\u2019t it be exciting to find out what your version of Once Upon a Time in the West would be? \u2026 Because I mean it. I want a Western score,\u2019\u201d Levinson says. \u201cAnd he got excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat Zimmer brings to the sensory experience of the show is grand. Where a lot of modern scores are minimalistic, Levinson says, \u201cI wanted to go the other way. I wanted to push the emotion of it and allow it to reflect the characters\u2019 dreams and hopes and anxieties and wishes. \u2026. The depth of Hans\u2019 work is pretty shocking. When we would get the stems sent over, there were instruments I\u2019ve never even heard of\u2026 It\u2019s been one of the most thrilling collaborations of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe score-to-synch ratio is a noticeable change in Season Three, but there remain some curious song placements: The 1953 Patti Page novelty hit \u201c(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?\u201d is paired with Cassie\u2019s titillating attempts at virality. Working her assets for validation on social media and extra income (she and Nate, played by Jacob Elordi, remain a couple), the song \u201copened the door for a conversation about it lyrically,\u201d says Levinson. \u201cI thought it was a rich and fun way to explore the dynamic between Nate and Cassie. But who\u2019s the doggie?\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\n\tLater in the show, new cast member Rosal\u00eda contorts at strip club the Silver Slipper \u2014 wearing a neck brace, no less \u2014 to \u201cCold as Ice\u201d by M.O.P., the Y2K hardcore rap banger which signaled a split from hip-hop\u2019s shiny suits and bling era to something much grimier.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere remains one elusive needle drop, however. \u201cI\u2019ve tried to use it in everything I\u2019ve made, and haven\u2019t found the right place,\u201d says Levinson of Danzig\u2019s \u201cMother.\u201d Understandably, it\u2019s a tough fit, but might he get another chance with a Season Four? Levinson will neither confirm nor deny. \u201cWith every season, I look at it again and think about it once I\u2019m done with it,\u201d he says. \u201cBut yeah, Season Three is a unifying piece, and I\u2019m proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sam Levinson has never let ambition stand in his way. A month out from the April 12 premiere…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[55708,93,44225,61,60,55714,2124,282],"class_list":{"0":"post-390137","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-angus-cloud","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-euphoria","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-sam-levinson","14":"tag-sydney-sweeney","15":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}