Posted in: HBO, Max, Preview, TV | Tagged: euphoria, HBO, max, preview, season 3

Euphoria: Colman Domingo Defends Levinson: "Advocate for His Actors"

Euphoria star Colman Domingo addressed reports claiming the series has a difficult filming schedule, defending series creator Sam Levinson.

Earlier this month, HBO & Max CEO and Chairman Casey Bloys had some good news to share regarding when the third season of series creator Sam Levinson's Zendaya & Hunter Schafer-starring Euphoria would be hitting screens. Okay, it was good news for patient fans of the series, with Bloys rolling out a "sizzle reel" of upcoming projects during a press event – with the third season included under the banner "Coming in 2025" – along with The Last of Us Season 2, The White Lotus Season 3, and "It" prequel series Welcome to Derry. Now, we're getting a chance to hear from Colman Domingo (AMC's Fear the Walking Dead), who plays Rue's (Zendaya) sponsor, Ali, about the award-winning series and the rumblings that Levinson's creative process & filming schedule are having a negative impact on the set during a recent interview with The Independent. in support of his Netflix film Rustin.

"No. Not one bit. I'm not gonna invalidate [anyone's] experience. But working in television is long hours. Sometimes you work up to 14 hours a day. And then you have to go home and prep. You have to really live and work in a very methodical way. A lot of young actors may not be up for the task or have that same work ethic," Domingo responded when asked if he's experienced the kind of on-set difficulties that others have claimed. Domingo continued, "I've been in this business for 32 years. I know what hard work is. So when I heard those 'reports' [signals air quotes], I thought, 'where is this coming from? That's just a normal work day.' Be a professional." And Domingo's praise extends to Levinson himself, with the actor adding, "There's no one that's going to mistreat you on the set of 'Euphoria.' Sam Levinson is joyful and collaborative and could not be a bigger advocate for his actors."

Euphoria: HBO's Francesca Orsi on Season 3 Delays

During a wide-ranging interview from May of this year, HBO's head of drama Francesca Orsi explained that the combination of Levinson's work on the upcoming HBO series The Idol, Zendaya's increasingly busy career schedule, and the WGA/AMPTP writers' strike (this was prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike) had stalled the third season. "'Euphoria' is one of those that we had begun writing in tandem with post-production on [The] 'Idol,' but at this point, we don't have countless scripts. We can't start shooting, so the delivery of that show — ideally in 2025 — will be determined on when we can pick back up with Sam, who at this point is all pencils down and just finishing posts on 'Idol.'" Now here's a look back at the tweet from the HBO series' official account from August 2022 (almost a lifetime ago, it feels at this point), confirming that Zendaya will be spending some time behind the camera during the upcoming season:

"Sam, Zendaya, and the entire cast and crew of 'Euphoria' have taken Season 2 to extraordinary heights, challenging narrative convention and form while maintaining its heart. We couldn't be more honored to work with this gifted, wildly talented team or more excited to continue our journey with them into Season 3," shared Orsi in a statement when the news of a third season was first announced. Now here's a look back at the second season trailer:

Returning for the second season of Euphoria to join Zendaya were Hunter Schafer, Eric Dane, Angus Cloud, Jacob Elordi, Algee Smith, Sydney Sweeney, Alexa Demie, Barbie Ferreira, Maude Apatow, Javon Walton, Dominic Fike, Storm Reid, and Austin Abrams. Created and written by executive producer Levinson, the award-winning HBO series also has Ravi Nandan, Kevin Turen, Will Greenfield, Drake, Adel "Future" Nur, Zendaya, Hadas Mozes Lichtenstein, Ron Leshem, and Daphna Levin executive producing. Kenneth Yu is set to produce, with Ashley Levinson, Harrison Kreiss & Julio Perez set as co-producers. Produced in partnership with A24 and based on the Israeli series of the same name, which was created by Ron Leshem and Daphna Levin from HOT.

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