Zendaya’s alleged feud with Sam Levinson explained – and how it affected ‘Euphoria’ season three
Euphoria season three has been confirmed to start filming in January 2025, with its entire main cast – including Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney – to return.
However, with rumours that there is a feud between Zendaya and the show’s creator, Sam Levinson, what could this mean for the impending season?
In a statement issued earlier this month (July 12), HBO’s head of drama, Francesca Orsi, says she was “thrilled” to reveal that the show will begin shooting this coming January.
“We could not be happier with our creative partnership with Sam and this incredible cast. We look forward to bringing this new season of Euphoria to life for the fans,” the statement reads.
However, a new report from The Hollywood Reporter suggests there has been a rift between Zendaya and Levinson that is still in the process of being repaired.
Why has the third season been delayed so far?
The announcement of the new season followed numerous reports about the delay of its third season – the show’s critically-acclaimed second season concluded over two years ago in early 2022.
Season three was already on hold as show creator Sam Levinson worked on the controversial show The Idol. Orsi told Deadline in May 2023 that Levinson’s work on that, plus Zendaya’s schedule and the then-ongoing writers’ strike, would likely push back the premiere to 2025.
The show also reportedly faced more delays following the sudden death of Euphoria star Angus Cloud in August last year.
Why are there rumours of a feud?
In a detailed new Hollywood Reporter investigation into Euphoria’s third season, sources claim the relationship between Zendaya and Levinson became strained as he moved away from Euphoria to focus solely on The Idol – a show that was universally panned by critics and cancelled after just one season.
The report claims: “Zendaya, once such a close Levinson acolyte that she frequently hung out at his house, had cooled toward the mercurial filmmaker.” Another insider told the publication that “as she pulled away, Levinson began to resent her.”
The report claims that delays to delivering the season three Euphoria scripts caused Zendaya to feel “frustrated”. It explains: “Levinson had not yet delivered scripts for Euphoria‘s third season — scripts that are still a work in progress more than two years after viewers watched the last episode of season two.”
According to the report, Zendaya, who won two Emmys for her performance as Rue Bennett in the show, was so “perturbed” she called for a meeting with head HBO executives Casey Bloys and Orsi to question why they would work on The Idol at a time when Euphoria remained unfinished. The report also claims there were further concerns from Zendaya about the storylines of The Idol, which received heavy criticism in the press.
The outlet claims a meeting happened between HBO executives, Levinson and Zendaya to discuss “creative issues”. However, this did not go to plan, The Hollywood Reporter suggests. They wrote: “HBO execs who hoped the gathering would help bring about a reconciliation between director and star wound up disappointed. ‘They went from being so close, and they couldn’t fix it,’ says a source involved with the show.”
The report also goes on to claim that there were further issues when Levinson’s wife Ashley was brought in to take on the executive producer duties of Levinson’s former work partner Kevin Turen, who died in 2023 aged 44.
Where do things stand between the pair now?
According to the publication, HBO reportedly tried to patch things up between the pair via another meeting.
HBO sources told The Hollywood Reporter that “there is finally the beginning of a thaw between writer-director and star, and an inkling of an idea that will work” for the new season.
Up to now, filming for Euphoria’s third season is scheduled for 2025 with the full cast on board and relations between the pair reportedly beginning to improve.
NME has reached out to representatives of Zendaya and Levinson for comment.
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Elizabeth Aubrey
NME
