Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: euphoria

Euphoria Creator on Developing HBO Adapt, Expanding Series Globally

Euphoria creator Ron Leshem spoke with Bleeding Cool about Sam Levinson's adaptation, the HBO series' future, expanding globally, and more.

As Ron Leshem was coming up in the entertainment industry, he always found himself regulated to action and spy thrillers. It wasn't until he developed the original Euphoria for Israeli television, co-creating the series with Daphna Levin, that more people started opening their eyes, especially when the majority of Hollywood studios and networks rejected his American version. Thanks to the efforts of HBO and creator/showrunner Sam Levinson, the coming-of-age drama series became a megahit as it enters its third and final season. The series follows Rue Bennett (Zendaya), a drug addict fresh from rehab, who's struggling to maintain her sobriety while contemplating her future as her life changes after meeting Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer), a trans girl who recently moved to town following her parents' divorce. Leshem spoke to Bleeding Cool about his initial ambitions and influences as a writer, why he's more interested in expanding Euphoria to other countries and embracing their respective cultures than an American series spin-off or sequel, and differences in working in American and Israeli markets.

Euphoria Creator Ron Leshem on Series Legacy and Expanding Internationally

Bleeding Cool: You've come such a long way since you started back in 2007 with 'Beaufort,' to developing the original 'Euphoria' for Israeli TV. How have you felt like you've grown as a creative all this time?

Wow, that's the toughest question, because when I started, I was typecast as the guy who writes about espionage and wars, but that was never my intention. My dream as a teenage writer all my life was to write something like, 'Trainspotting' (1996), Gas Van Sant's 'Elephant' (2003), (Larry Clark's) 'Kids' (1995), so it was always about…and I was struggling a lot, because of every time you know how Hollywood typecasts whenever I was stepping into an office. Then I spent years as an executive both in studios and broadcasters, and again, Hollywood remembered me as the guy who picked up and oversaw the development of 'Homeland.'

Again, when everyone was stepping into a room, people were asking me, "What's the next espionage show?" I found myself fighting seven years for 'Euphoria' (in the US) when 100 percent of the networks and executives said, "No" with detailed explanations as to why 'Euphoria' would never happen, and it became my obsession. When this battle was finally over, I was able to start choosing what I wanted to write about.

You had 'Euphoria' adapted as your second project for American television, with the first being 'Allegiance'. Were there any plans initially to expand you beyond this third and final season, perhaps a feature or spin-off series that you guys talked about with HBO?

I don't know yet about other adaptations. It would be mostly on Sam's [Levinson] shoulders to feel what else he has to say and wants to explore. When we started the first 'Euphoria,' it was a proof-of-concept ride, and we weren't able to achieve a lot of the things we wanted to. When we're doing shows overseas, and I do shows in Europe and in other places like the Middle East, the budgets would vary. The budget of one HBO episode sometimes equals five seasons overseas. It's insane.

A lot of things you want to achieve, and you write in your Bible and cinematic vision, you cannot achieve, so you fight to recreate the show somewhere else. I've been adapting my shows in (South) Korea, Russia, and all over Europe. What I was hoping originally is that 'Euphoria' will get an adaptation in other countries by writers who each bring his/her own interpretation as to what being 17 means. When Sam finalizes his journey with the HBO series, we might see a few other adaptations in different languages. Next year, we'll have a German version of 'Euphoria' premiering, and it will be quite different.

You've got other adaptations across different countries. Was there any talk that maybe some of the Israeli cast might appear in the American version in the final season, or was it just something you wanted to keep the adaptations within their respective countries?

Yeah, ideologically, even what I think as an executive producer, especially when you have a brilliant genius filmmaker as a showrunner (with Sam), my role is to make sure the showrunners get zero noise from anywhere, and we were never trying to force him into anything. It was all about trying to make him the best environment to create his own interpretation. A lot of our original Bible was built on things like using non-actors, which he did in the first season. It was very challenging and interesting, but it created this vibe. It was so many years ago, the changes are partly because being 17 changes every two years, like what it means to be 17, and every two years is a new generation with the environment of technological space you are growing into. Being 17 in 2012 when we did the first 'Euphoria' and being 17 now is a completely different (experience).

How do you compare working in the Israeli versus the American market? I know you touched upon budget earlier, but are the cultural sensibilities to keep in mind as well?

Every single territory we're creating a show in is so different. Israel and a lot of the places we're working in that are a complete mess, and in a good way. The reason that the Israeli content was successful back then is because the Israeli audience is so neurotic, but still attracted to the campfire and mainstreamish type, so you're doing edgy mainstream, and it was an interesting vibe.

Unfortunately, since your budget is so low, you're filming across the board. You're not filming episode by episode, so imagine the actor has to come in the morning and he's filming a scene from episode 12, then a scene for episode one, then a scene from episode six. The actor doesn't have the ability to develop with the character. There are so many set challenges. Now, we're filming in Europe. There's something very strict and heavy in the way this machine works, but I've wrapped a show now filming in Morocco and with filmmakers from 10 different countries.

I love creating sets where you have filmmakers from ten different countries, because each of the personalities brings such a different way of creating a show. At the end of the day, you always dream of being on a Warner lot on a stage that had been there for 100 years that served 'Casablanca' (1942), 'ER,' and now 'Euphoria.'

Euphoria, which also stars Jacob Elordi, Maude Apatow, Alexa Demie, Sydney Sweeney, Eric Dane, Austin Abrams, Colman Domingo, Dominic Fike, Chloe Cherry, and Alanna Ubach, is available to stream on HBO Max with season three premiering in 2026 on HBO.

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