The second season of the American psychological teen drama television series Euphoria, inspired by Ron Leshem's miniseries of the same name, premiered on HBO on January 9, 2022. Series creator Sam Levinson serves as showrunner for the season. The season centers on addict teenager Rue Bennett as she navigates difficult choices. Zendaya stars as Rue alongside an ensemble cast consisting of Hunter Schafer, Nika King, Eric Dane, Angus Cloud, Jacob Elordi, Algee Smith, Sydney Sweeney, Alexa Demie, Barbie Ferreira, Maude Apatow, Storm Reid, Austin Abrams, Javon "Wanna" Walton, and Dominic Fike.
In July 2019, Euphoria was renewed for a second season. Filming commenced in April 2021 and wrapped in November. The season consists of eight episodes, and generally received critical acclaim. At the 74th Primetime Emmy and Creative Arts Awards the season was nominated sixteen times and received nine statues. Most notably Zendaya won a second Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and the series gained an Outstanding Drama Series nomination. The season was followed by a third and final season released in 2026.
Cast and characters
Main Zendaya as Rue Bennett Hunter Schafer as Jules Vaughn Nika King as Leslie Bennett Eric Dane as Cal Jacobs Angus Cloud as Fezco O'Neill Jacob Elordi as Nate Jacobs Algee Smith as Chris McKay Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard Alexa Demie as Maddy Perez Barbie Ferreira as Kat Hernandez Maude Apatow as Lexi Howard Storm Reid as Gia Bennett Austin Abrams as Ethan Daley Javon "Wanna" Walton as Ashtray Dominic Fike as Elliot
Recurring Tyler Chase as Custer Martha Kelly as Laurie Chloe Cherry as Faye Valentine Melvin "Bonez" Estes as Bruce Sr. Ansel Pierce as Caleb Minka Kelly as Samantha Alanna Ubach as Suze Howard Paula Marshall as Marsha Jacobs Nick Blood as Gus Howard Colman Domingo as Ali Muhammad Sophia Rose Wilson as BB Yukon Clement as Theo Fernando Belo as Sebastian Zak Steiner as Aaron Jacobs Veronica Taylor as Bobbi Gwen Mukes as Leslie's Mom
Episodes
Production Development Sam Levinson's adaptation of the Israeli television series Euphoria created by Ron Leshem was renewed for a second season on July 11, 2019. The first read-through commenced on March 11, 2020. Production was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In October, HBO announced two one-hour Specials to "bridge the gap". These bottle episodes released in December 2020 and January 2021. In the meantime, Levinson almost entirely rewrote the second season between the time it was supposed to start shooting and when it actually did. Rue Bennett's actress Zendaya said that "there are very few things that remain in the version that you are now seeing." She added that "the things that didn’t make it definitely needed to die."
Casting
All of the main cast from season 1 returned for season 2. Previous recurring characters Ethan Daley (Austin Abrams) and Ashtray (Javon "Wanna" Walton) were upgraded to the main cast. Dominic Fike originally auditioned for season 1 when casting director Jennifer Venditti asked him to come in and read a Mark Wahlberg scene from Boogie Nights (1997). Despite initial self-doubt, Fike made it to the final round of auditions before his character was written out of the show. A year later, HBO reached out again, and Fike auditioned for a bigger role, a character he says reminds him of his younger self. Prior to landing the recurring character of Faye, Chloe Cherry starred as Jules in a pornographic parody film of Euphoria, with fellow porn actress Jenna Foxx playing Rue. Levinson found her on Instagram and thought it was funny, so she was cast. Martha Kelly, who plays Laurie had previously appeared in Zendaya starring project Spider-Man: Homecoming as a tour guide who doesn't share a scene with MJ. In April 2020, Kelvin Harrison Jr. joined the cast, but by May 2021, he had dropped out due to scheduling conflicts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a January 3, 2026 interview, Odessa A'zion confirmed that she auditioned for a role in the second season but after production was halted due to the pandemic, the role went to another actor. Actor Charlie Wright also auditioned for roles in the second season.
Filming Principal photography for season 2 of Euphoria began filming on April 5, 2021 and wrapped November 25. Much of the show is filmed on sound stages, provided to production by Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California. Location shooting for the season took place in sites including Grant High School, Odd Ball Cabaret Showgirls in North Hills, Los Angeles, Family Donuts shop in Burbank, California, Moonlight Liquor in Burbank, California, Bowlium Lanes in Montclair, California, Hideaway Country Bar and Grill in Sylmar, Los Angeles, Favorite Liquor in Burbank.
Continuing a visual decision made in the specials, the entirety of season 2 was shot on 35 mm movie film. Kodak agreed to reopen parts of their factory to make showrunner Levinson's request for new Ektachrome reels possible. Director of photography Marcell Rév told IndieWire that "we weren’t interested in imitating something we had already done. We took the visuals to their extremes in season 1, but for season 2 we wanted to dig a little deeper rather than broadening the visual horizons.
After accusations of "hellish" working conditions, HBO released a statement, "The well-being of cast and crew on our productions is always a top priority. The production was in full compliance with all safety guidelines and guild protocols. It’s not uncommon for drama series to have complex shoots, and COVID protocols add an additional layer. We maintain an open line of communication with all the guilds, including SAG-AFTRA. There were never any formal inquiries raised."
Music
Adam Leber and Jen Malone are the music supervisors for the series Malone told Business Insider that "you can have the most perfect song for the scene, but if you can't clear it and you can't afford it, you can't use it." A compilation album with fifteen tracks from the season was released by Interscope Records on March 4, 2022. A soundtrack album with twenty four tracks (plus the song "Mount Everest" from season) was released by Columbia Records on April 22, 2022. The album features guest vocals from Zendaya, Cloud, and Fike. This was the final Euphoria score composed by British musician Labrinth, as he would leave the show during the production of the third season due to a behind-the scenes feud with Levinson.
Release Season 2 was promoted with the tagline "Remember this feeling". Many of the episode titles are references to works of surrealism that correlate to the episode itself. The season had its red carpet premiere on January 5, 2022. In the United States, the season premiered on January 9, 2022, and concluded on February 27. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, each episode was released at the same time as its U.S. premiere, through Sky Atlantic's streaming service Now. The season was also released on streaming services Foxtel and Binge in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. The season was included in a DVD collection with season 1 and the specials in November 2022.
Reception Critical response
For the most part, Euphoria season 2 was met with a positive response from critics, with praise for Zendaya and the ensemble's acting and the visuals. However, it met with controversy for the pacing, characterization and handling of mature subject matter. The critical consensus on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, reads "as willfully provocative as ever in its second season, Euphoria still isn't for all tastes—but when its addictive ingredients are mixed just right, the results remain intoxicating." The season has an as overall approval rating of 78%, with an average rating of 6.9/10 based on 113 critical reviews. Using a weighted average, Metacritic, assigned the season a score of 74 out of 100, based on 19 critics, which it describes as "Generally Favorable".
Shirley Li wrote in The Atlantic that "the show has devolved into aesthetically pleasing social-media fodder for cynics and disaffected teens." In a two out of five star review for The Guardian, Rebecca Nicholson criticised that the season had "far too much nudity, sex and violence", she commiserated that "Euphoria has returned as a more superficial version of itself – which is appropriate, I suppose, for some of its more screen-obsessed protagonists. But beneath its cold Bret Easton Ellis styling, there is emotional depth. If only it could find it again." Lovia Gyarkye for The Hollywood Reporter was positive on the season's portrayal of addiction, writing: "Even Levinson’s messages about love and goodness gain greater vivacity when applied to Rue’s addiction. [...] Desperate, impractical, painful and pellucid, it reminds us that despite Euphoria’s effortful thrills and frills, the series is most worth watching for Rue’s journey."
NPR's Eric Deggans wrote that the season "is more than a parent's worst nightmare. It's a creative triumph." He added that "Euphoria somehow manages to make you keep caring about often-unlikeable folks on such brutal and dark journeys, is a testament to the uniquely creative voice distilled in each episode. It is thrilling, daring, disquieting and compelling". In a three out of five star review for Rolling Stone, Alan Sepinwall wrote that "Euphoria is great enough often enough to excuse at least some of its bad behavior — even if the show also takes after Cassie, who admits at one point, 'I keep making mistakes and not learning from them.'" USA Todays Patrick Ryan praised the performances of Zendaya, Schafer, and Fike, but wrote that "the new episodes are much less captivating when they shift their focus away from Rue and Jules". Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson wrote that the season was "too stylish for its own good", adding that "what has been refreshing about Euphoria in these times of such careful piety is that it is willing to transgress, to touch third rails and court moral danger. The second season still prods at taboo, but it inevitably does so with less of the special surprise of season 1. [...] Perhaps it’s fitting: what could be more high-school than a sophomore slump?"
Ratings On linear television, the second season of Euphoria has an average of 340,000 US viewers per episode. Including people watching on HBO Max, season 2 episodes averaged 16,300,000 viewers, which is the best performance for any season of an HBO series over the past eighteen years, other than Game of Thrones.
Accolades