Fezco’s Euphoria season 3 return wasn’t handled lightly.
Created by Sam Levinson, the hit HBO series premiered in 2019, chronicling the lives of a group of high school students as they grapple with love, sex, drugs, and friendship. The late Angus Cloud played a crucial role in seasons 1 and 2 as the troubled Fezco, and it’s now confirmed that Euphoria season 3 will feature Fez’s return, despite Cloud’s passing in 2023.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Levinson now sheds light on his decision to bring Fez back in Euphoria season 3, explaining that the character is given a strong arc in the upcoming episodes. “I couldn’t keep him alive in real life but I could keep his character alive in the show,” Levinson explains. “I kept him alive and the character has got a great arc.” He adds: “I think he’d be very proud of it.”
Levinson also reveals that Cloud’s death shaped how he approached the broader story in season 3, explaining that it led him to drill into questions about faith and meaning. As he explains:
“I loved Angus very deeply and I fought very hard to keep him clean while he was here. I think when he passed away, it made me sort of step back and go what is the story I want to tell, what is it I want to say? What matters in life? And if I was going to do another season I wanted to make sure that it spoke to kind of a larger idea about meaning and purpose and who we are. It made me want to kind of tackle the idea of faith and belief in something greater than ourselves.”
The new season picks up a number of years after the Euphoria season 2 ending, with the main characters now out of high school. “I liked the idea of sort of the wild west of adulthood and this frontier feeling where anything is possible,” Levinson says of the change. “That was sort of the backdrop that interested me, is who had these characters become and what are the consequences to those actions?”
Trailers have already revealed where many of the core Euphoria characters have ended up after high school. Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie, for example, is marrying Nate (Jacob Elordi), while Lexi (Maude Apatow) and Maddy (Alexa Demie) have ended up working in Hollywood. Following an emotional story in season 2, Zendaya’s Rue is once again navigating complications relating to her drug addiction.
Season 3 will also feature the return of Hunter Schafer as Jules, and the late Eric Dane as Cal. Dane passed away in February after publicly revealing his ALS diagnosis in April of last year. The upcoming season of Euphoria will mark Dane’s final TV appearance.
Levinson reveals that Dane called him several months before filming started to tell him about his ALS diagnosis. “I just said, ‘Look Eric, I love you and I promise however you show up we’re going to make it work, we’re going to find a way,'” Levinson recalls. “We just tried to create the most comfortable environment and he’s magnificent in this season.”
What remains unclear is whether Euphoria season 3 will be the last. Levinson continues to play coy about whether the story will continue, dancing around a firm answer one way or another:
“I go into every season like it’s the last season, I really do. I write it like it’s the last, when I put down my pencil at the end of the day or when I lock that final sound mix I go is this something I’m proud of? If this was it, am I happy? And I leave the rest on God’s desk.”
Levinson’s non-answer follows a more concrete comment from Zendaya. During a recent visit to the Drew Barrymore Show, Zendaya said, “I think so” regarding whether season 3 is the end. “Closure is coming,” she added.
Though Euphoria’s future remains up in the air, the upcoming episodes will evidently feature Cloud’s character in some capacity. It’s unclear exactly how Fez’s story will unfold, but viewers could be in for an emotional ride.
Release Date
2019 – 2026-00-00
Network
HBO
Showrunner
Sam Levinson
Hunter Schafer
Jules Vaughn