‘Euphoria’ creator makes ultimate decision as season 3 finale leaves fans emotional

Euphoria is officially over after running for seven years and a total of 26 episodes divided into three seasons.

Sam Levinson, the HBO show’s creator, writer and director, made the announcement on Popcast, New York Times’ music podcast, speaking with its hosts Joe Coscarelli and Jon Caramanica, confirming the that Euphoria’s season 3 is it’s last.

Thus, the season 3 closer, titled In God We Trust, was actually its series finale.

However, this news is not a surprise as the series main character, Zendaya, who plays the role of a struggling drug addict Rue, previously stated that she believed Euphoria was ending at season 3.

Fan were left devasted after watching the finale of Euphoria where the most sentimental scene was without a doubt, the death of Rue.

In some ways, it did seem like the whole series had been building up to this (in fact, this isn’t even the first time we’ve asked “Is Rue dead?” during this season), but that doesn’t make it any less devastating.

Emotional fans reacted to Rue’s death on different social media platforms with one X user writing, “sam levinson really made rue’s season 3 of euphoria arc just her becoming a christian just to kill her at the very end like oh my god.”

“Rest in peace to my girl. I knew she wasn’t gonna make it but rest in peace,” another tweeted.

A third user expressed, “WAIT… so Rue was already dead from the overdose this whole time? And her reuniting with her mom was just her imagining one final goodbye before dying??? nah this ending completely shattered me.”

It has long been understood that the HBO drama wouldn’t continue; a full four years went by between seasons 2 and 3, and Zendaya and several of her co-stars became full-fledged celebrities with schedules full of blockbuster films during that time.

For that reason and others, production on season 3 faced major delays, as Variety reported in 2024.

Speaking with Coscarelli in an interview with the Times before the season premiered, Levinson said he writes “every season like it’s the last,” and hesitated when asked about a fourth season. “I don’t know,” Levinson said. “As of right now, all I want to do is hang out with my wife and kids and read some Elmore Leonard and watch Mrs. Miniver again.”

Euphoria, per the official logline, followed “a group of high school students as they navigate drugs, s*x, identity, trauma, social media, love and friendship.”

In season 3, after a time jump of almost 7 years, they “wrestle with the virtue of faith, the possibility of redemption and the problem of evil.”

In Euphoria, along with Zendaya, the cast included Hunter Schafer, Eric Dane, Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow, Martha Kelly, Chloe Cherry, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Toby Wallace and Colman Domingo.