AceShowbiz - The third season of "Euphoria" has been delayed. HBO announced that the Zendaya Coleman-led series won't return until at least 2026 due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
"Euphoria is one of those [shows] that we had begun writing in tandem with post-production on '[The Idol]'," HBO exec Francesca Orsi stated. "But at this point, we don't have countless scripts."
"We can't start shooting," Francesca added. "So the delivery of that show - ideally in 2025 - will be determined on when we can pick back up with [Sam Levinson], who at this point is [not writing] and just finishing post on Idol."
"Euphoria" is not the only show that has its production halted. There's also a postponement in production of "The Last of Us" and "The White Lotus" new seasons. "We were looking at The Last Of Us for some time in 2025," Francesca explained. "And The White Lotus was ideally looking to go in 2024, but there's some question about timing of the strike."
"I'm hopeful that we can come to terms sooner than later," she further elaborated. "Otherwise, we will have to assess what is the end of the '24 schedule, what are the shows that are going to be delivered for 2025. At this point, those shows that I'm looking to air wouldn't necessarily be ready if this strike [were to] last six to nine months. So yes, that's a big question for us, but I think we'll cross that road once we come to it."
On Friday, July 14, SAG-AFTRA officially began its strike as actors join the picket lines to fight for better pay, conditions and benefits. Prior to that, the national board met and voted unanimously to strike after its contract ran out on Wednesday night, following a 2-week extension at the end of June to keep negotiations with the studios going. Even after a federal mediator joined their negotiation talks, the union and the studios failed to reach an agreement.