Sam Levinson is moving the “Euphoria” storyline away from high school into early adulthood, and HBO agreed to give the showrunner more time to get it right, TheWrap has learned.
The racy teenage show — one of HBO’s biggest hits — was already delayed because of last year’s double strikes. But the decision to make the characters older will also serve to make the show’s edgy theme of sex and drugs less risqué.
Levinson’s last show, “The Idol,” was canceled after widespread accusations that it was exploitative rather than just edgy.
An individual close to the production told TheWrap that Levinson’s writing schedule was delayed during the strikes, and the network “wanted to give him more time to break the story, because there’s a lot more back and forth now that the show is changing in this way.”
HBO announced Monday that filming for the anticipated third chapter in the Zendaya-led drama would be delayed from its reported May start time, and gave its star-studded cast permission to pursue other projects in the interim.
The move was prompted by “script issues,” according to a top agency insider who spoke with TheWrap.
HBO denied that the delay was in any way related to the controversy around “The Idol.”
“No one has lost faith in Sam as a creator,” the individual told TheWrap. “He is the driving force creatively on this show, he is still working with the same creative executives that he always has been, but since the show is changing, that process is taking longer.”
Though HBO provided no details on the extent of the production delay, the individual told TheWrap that all parties involved are committed to delivering Season 3 to viewers in 2025.
Umberto Gonzalez contributed to this story.
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