94 Fun Facts About Euphoria

Who created and principally writes the American series 'Euphoria'?

Sam Levinson created 'Euphoria' and writes nearly every episode himself, drawing partly on his own teenage struggles with drug addiction.

Which actress portrays the central protagonist, Rue Bennett?

Zendaya stars as Rue Bennett, a troubled teenage drug addict, and also serves as an executive producer for the series.

'Euphoria' is an American remake of a 2012 miniseries from which country?

HBO's Francesca Orsi invited Levinson in June 2017 to adapt the 2012 Israeli original by Ron Leshem, Daphna Levin and Tamira Yardeni.

Which rapper is an executive producer of 'Euphoria'?

Drake is an executive producer of 'Euphoria' alongside his longtime manager Future the Prince, a credit he has held since the first season.

Rue Bennett's central struggle in the series is her addiction to what type of substances?

Opioids: Rue's addiction starts with prescription oxycodone she took during a family illness, and Sam Levinson drew partly on his own teenage drug use when writing her.

Which actress portrays the character Maddy Perez?

Alexa Demie's Maddy is the role she is best known for across the show's run from 2019.

Who plays Cassie Howard, Maddy's best friend?

Sydney Sweeney plays Cassie Howard, Maddy's best friend, whose leaked nudes and relationship with McKay drive her season-one storyline.

How many episodes are in the first season of 'Euphoria'?

Season one of 'Euphoria' ran 8 episodes, from 16 June to 4 August 2019, and was followed by two stand-alone specials before season two.

Which main character provides the voiceover narration for much of the series?

Rue is an unreliable narrator who somehow knows intimate details of everyone's lives; the two lockdown special episodes drop the voice-over entirely for a more objective view.

Which actor plays Ali, the recovering addict who becomes Rue's Narcotics Anonymous sponsor in Euphoria?

Colman Domingo plays Ali, Rue's Narcotics Anonymous sponsor; the special 'Trouble Don't Last Always' is essentially a two-hander between them in a diner.

Euphoria's third season, broadcast in 2026, jumps forward how many years from the first two?

HBO confirmed the show was over on the same day the final episode aired, ending it after three seasons and two special episodes.

Which actor played the drug dealer Fezco?

Angus Cloud played the dealer Fezco from the pilot onward until his death in July 2023 at age 25.

HBO's press release pitched the American series as which 1995 film 'meets Trainspotting'?

HBO's head of drama Francesca Orsi had been drawn to the raw portrayal of drug use in the Israeli original, and the comparison to Larry Clark's Kids set the tone for the adaptation.

Which British record producer composed the original music for the first two seasons?

Labrinth's score won him an Emmy and produced the show's signature song 'All for Us', which Zendaya sings in the season one finale.

How many lead-actress drama Emmys had Zendaya won for playing Rue in Euphoria by the end of 2025?

Two: Zendaya won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for 'Euphoria' in 2020 and again in 2022.

Jules Vaughn is written as which of the following?

Vulture praised the writing for not making Jules a victim of violence, the fate of most trans women on screen.

Rue's drug use begins with whose prescription oxycodone?

Her father: Rue first took the oxycodone prescribed to her father, Robert, during his cancer treatment, and his death deepened her addiction.

Who is the Emmy-winning head makeup artist behind 'Euphoria's influential beauty looks?

Davy won Emmys for the show's makeup in 2020 and 2022, and in 2022 co-founded the beauty brand Half Magic with A24.

Who directed the pilot episode of 'Euphoria'?

Augustine Frizzell, the Texas filmmaker whose debut feature 'Never Goin' Back' premiered at Sundance in 2018, directed the 'Euphoria' pilot.

In which fictional California town is the series set?

The show is actually filmed in Los Angeles; East Highland exists only on screen.

Which real Los Angeles campus doubles as the fictional East Highland High?

Grant: campus scenes for East Highland High are filmed at Ulysses S. Grant High School in the Valley Glen area of Los Angeles, with stage work at Sony Pictures Studios.

How much was Zendaya reportedly paid per episode for the third season?

$1,000,000: reports in 2025 put Zendaya's season-three salary at about $1 million per episode, a raise on her fee for the first two seasons; she is also an executive producer.

Which composer joined Euphoria for its third season, after Labrinth's music was removed?

Labrinth had scored the first two seasons and publicly criticised both his label and the series before confirming his exit in 2026.

Which photographer shaped the show's look but was passed over by HBO to direct?

Petra Collins developed the show's visual style with Levinson before HBO declined to let her direct; critics later compared the series' look to her photography.

In Euphoria's colour scheme, which two shades regularly signal a character's distress?

Purple and blue do the opposite job, conveying an elated, feverish mood, while exteriors lean on an exaggerated orange-blue look.

Which cast member announced her departure from the series on Instagram in August 2022?

Barbie Ferreira, who played Kat, announced on Instagram in August 2022 that she was leaving; she later admitted she felt she had 'overstayed my welcome a little bit'.

Which actress plays Rue's mother, Leslie Bennett?

Nika King plays Leslie Bennett, Rue's widowed mother, who fights to keep her daughter in recovery across the first two seasons.

Who directed the season 1 episode "'03 Bonnie and Clyde"?

Morrison, best known for acting in Once Upon a Time, had appeared in Levinson's film Assassination Nation before stepping behind the camera here.

How many of the show's 26 episodes were directed by someone other than Sam Levinson?

Levinson also wrote every single episode, making Euphoria an unusually single-authored drama.

Which Lorde song plays in full over an extreme close-up of Jules's eye?

Liability: the Lorde ballad from her 2017 album 'Melodrama' plays in full over the extreme close-up of Jules's eye in season one.

Hunter Schafer said the 'Sea Blob' of her special's title was inspired by which deep-sea creature?

Sea angel: Schafer said she pictured a sea angel, a gelatinous creature that flaps tiny wings through the water, adding that 'a sea blob is whatever you want it to be'.

Under what title did the first special premiere on HBO Max in December 2020?

Part 1: Rue — the special 'Trouble Don't Last Always' was billed as Euphoria Special Episode Part 1: Rue, reaching HBO Max on 3 December 2020, three days before its HBO broadcast.

On the eve of which holiday does Rue's diner conversation with Ali take place?

Christmas: 'Trouble Don't Last Always' takes place on Christmas Eve, as Rue and Ali talk through the night in a diner after her relapse.

Which Burbank eatery served as the diner in "Trouble Don't Last Always"?

Frank's Coffee Shop in Burbank stood in for the diner; the one-location, two-actor format was a workaround for COVID-19 restrictions that had stalled season 2.

Which Moses Sumney song does Jules text to Rue during the Rue special?

Me in 20 Years: Jules texts Rue the Moses Sumney track from his 2020 album 'græ'; Sumney later acted in Levinson's HBO series 'The Idol'.

What was Ali's birth name before his reversion to Islam?

Martin: in 'Trouble Don't Last Always' Ali tells Rue he was born Martin and took the name Ali Muhammad after converting to Islam.

Ali Muhammad is described as a veteran of which conflict?

His backstory of wartime service and a long relapse informs the tough-love sponsorship he gives Rue.

Billie Eilish's duet "Lo Vas a Olvidar" was written for which Euphoria episode?

The Jules therapy special: Billie Eilish's January 2021 duet 'Lo Vas a Olvidar' was written for 'Fuck Anyone Who's Not a Sea Blob', the special built around Jules's therapy session.

Who plays Dr. Mardy Nichols, Jules's therapist in her special?

Lauren Weedman, known from HBO's 'Hung' and 'Looking', plays therapist Dr. Mardy Nichols; the special is essentially a two-hander between her and Jules, bookended by a visit from Rue.

What is Gia Bennett's full first name?

Georgia: Rue's younger sister Gia, played by Storm Reid, is Georgia 'Gia' Bennett in full.

What is Rue's full first name?

Ruby: Rue is short for Ruby Bennett; her friends' names are clipped the same way, with Kat for Katherine, Maddy for Madeleine and Cassie for Cassandra.

What is the name of the play Lexi stages about her friends in season 2?

Our Life: Lexi's autobiographical play in season 2 restages her friends' lives, including Rue's father's wake, and provokes Cassie into storming the stage.

Which 1986 film do Lexi and Fezco bond over sharing a love for?

Stand by Me: Lexi and Fezco bond over the 1986 coming-of-age film in season 2, watching it together before the police raid keeps him from her play.

In season 2's opener, who kills Fezco's supplier Mouse with a hammer?

The same episode shows baby Ash being abandoned by his mother and taken in by Fez's grandmother Marie.

Martha Kelly, who plays Laurie, was best known for co-starring in which FX comedy?

Baskets: Martha Kelly played deadpan insurance adjuster Martha opposite her stand-up friend Zach Galifianakis on FX's 'Baskets'; her Laurie earned a 2022 Emmy nomination for guest actress.

What does Nate's catfish persona 'Tyler' use as his dating-app username?

ShyGuy118: Nate messages Jules under that handle, posing as 'Tyler' after beating up the real Tyler Clarkson, the college student who slept with Maddy.

In the Euphoria pilot, whose urine does Rue use to cheat the drug test her mother makes her take?

Lexi's: the loyal childhood friend Rue takes for granted is positioned that way from the start.

Kat's season 1 storyline sees her earn money as what?

A webcam model: after a sex video of her spreads online, Kat starts camming, catering to submissive men with financial-domination fetishes.

Before camming, young Kat became popular online as a writer of what?

Fan fiction: in 'Made You Look', Kat's backstory shows her becoming an online sensation writing One Direction fan fiction after her first boyfriend dumps her.

What does Nate threaten to report Jules's nude photos as, to blackmail her?

Child pornography: Nate points out that Jules's nudes, sent while she was a minor, count as child pornography, then uses the threat to force her false testimony that Tyler choked Maddy.

At which event does Nate grab Maddy by the throat in season 1?

A traveling carnival: Nate chokes Maddy at the town carnival in 'Shook Ones Pt. II', and the bruises on her neck later trigger a police investigation.

"The Trials and Tribulations of Trying to Pee While Depressed" is which season 1 episode?

Seventh: episode 7 of season 1 shows Rue's depression keeping her from getting up to urinate, landing her in hospital with a kidney infection.

Who does Jules hook up with in the city in season 1, later saying she loves both her and Rue?

Anna, a friend of Jules's old friend T.C., hooks up with Jules in the city; Jules hallucinates both Nate and Rue during their night together.

How does Jules leave town in the season 1 finale?

By train: Jules boards a train out of town while Rue backs out on the platform, goes home and relapses, cueing the 'All for Us' musical sequence.

In Euphoria season 2's opening flashback, what injury does young Fezco suffer?

A crowbar blow to the head; the same cold open shows his grandmother Marie introducing him to the drug trade and a baby Ash being abandoned.

Which recurring actor plays Alamo's enforcer G in season 3?

The former NFL running back originally auditioned for the role of Alamo himself before being reassigned.

What pet does Laurie keep in season 3, a target of Alamo's revenge?

The bird, Paladin, gives episode 3 its title and is poisoned by Alamo's henchman Bishop.

How does Alamo retaliate after Laurie insults him in episode 2?

Laurie answers in kind by releasing one at his strip club, escalating their feud.

In Euphoria's season 3 premiere, Rue earns Alamo's trust by letting him do what?

Shoot an apple off her head, the same night a stripper, Tish, dies from a laced pill at his mansion party.

Which federal agency turns Rue into an informant in season 3?

She is pulled over at the end of episode 3 and agrees to cooperate to avoid a long prison sentence.

How does Nate Jacobs die in season 3?

Naz's gang bury him alive over unpaid debts; he is dug up too late.

How does Rue die in the series finale?

Alamo hands her the pills as revenge for her DEA cooperation; Ali finds her on his couch the next day.

Who kills Alamo in the finale's duel?

Bishop secretly unloads Alamo's gun beforehand, then walks away with Maddy.

What is the season 3 tagline?

Season 3's episode titles nod to Westerns and the Bible, from 'The Ballad of Paladin' to 'In God We Trust'.

Where did the season 3 premiere screen ten days before its HBO debut?

Labrinth and Zendaya had performed 'All for Us' at the same festival in 2023.

Which pop star plays Magick, the neck-brace-wearing stripper, in season 3?

Her song 'Malamente' had already been used in season 1's "'03 Bonnie and Clyde".

Which Hollywood veteran plays Lexi's boss, showrunner Patricia Lance?

Lexi's dream job on the soap LA Nights sours when Jules's penis-filled painting cannot be broadcast.

Season-3 newcomer Kadeem Hardison earlier played Zendaya's father on which Disney series?

K.C. Undercover: on the Disney Channel spy comedy Kadeem Hardison played Craig Cooper, father of Zendaya's K.C., from 2015 to 2018.

Which pioneering 65 mm film stock did Kodak create specifically for season 3?

Season 2 had already prompted Kodak to reopen factory lines for new Ektachrome reels.

Season 3 was mostly shot in which aspect ratio?

Levinson said opening up the frame let viewers feel how small the characters are in the world around them.

Which stripper at Alamo's club does Rue have a brief relationship with in season 3?

Shaken by her friend Tish's disappearance, she spirals and Rue stages an intervention that lands her in rehab.

Which actress joined the main cast after playing Jules in a porn parody of the show?

Chloe Cherry, an adult-film actress who had played Jules in a porn parody of the show, was cast as Faye for season 2 after Levinson saw the parody.

Faye Valentine's name references a character from which anime?

The Euphoria Faye is wanted by police for pushing her superintendent off a motel balcony.

Dominic Fike auditioned for season 1 by reading a Mark Wahlberg scene from which film?

His season 1 character was written out; HBO called back a year later with the bigger role of Elliot.

Which actor was first cast as Fezco's 'little brother' before Javon Walton replaced him?

Walton, a competitive boxer, was homeschooled for much of his childhood because of his fight career.

Cloud had a scar on his head from a 2013 fall into what?

A construction pit: Cloud said he fell into a construction pit in downtown Oakland, fractured his skull and was left with minor brain damage.

Hunter Schafer, who plays Jules, found Euphoria's casting call for transgender girls on which platform?

Instagram's open call required no acting experience; Schafer had planned to study clothing design at an arts college instead.

Jacob Elordi, who plays Nate, was born in which Australian city?

Brisbane: Jacob Elordi was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in June 1997; he has said he auditioned for Euphoria while nearly broke and sleeping in his car.

Elordi modelled his American accent on which actor?

He started practising it at 14, years before The Kissing Booth and Euphoria made the accent his living.

Maude Apatow left which university's theatre programme after being cast as Lexi?

Northwestern: Maude Apatow left Northwestern University after landing Lexi; the daughter of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann had already played Mann's on-screen child in 'Knocked Up'.

Eric Dane, who played Cal, was best known for which role on Grey's Anatomy?

Mark Sloan: Eric Dane played plastic surgeon Mark 'McSteamy' Sloan on Grey's Anatomy from 2006 to 2012; he revealed an ALS diagnosis in April 2025.

Zendaya's 2020 Emmy for Euphoria made her the youngest winner of the drama lead-actress award, at what age?

24 in 2020; her 2022 repeat also made her the youngest person ever to win two Emmys.

Labrinth grew up in which London borough?

Hackney: Labrinth, born Timothy McKenzie, grew up in Hackney, east London, one of nine siblings who formed the family band Mac 9 before he signed to Simon Cowell's Syco label.

Which Labrinth score track became a sleeper hit and went Platinum in the US in 2020?

The season 1 score album was his first Billboard 200 entry, peaking at number 79.

Which two Labrinth songs with Zendaya earned Emmy nominations for season 2?

Dominic Fike performed 'Elliot's Song' on screen and picked up an MTV Movie & TV Award nomination for it.

'All for Us' was originally a single from which Labrinth album?

Imagination & the Misfit Kid: 'All for Us' was a 2019 single from Labrinth's album of that name, reworked with Zendaya for the season 1 finale's musical number.

Which record label released the season 1 and 2 compilation soundtracks?

Interscope released the licensed-music compilation albums for seasons 1 and 2, while Labrinth's separate score albums came out through Milan Records and later Columbia.

What was the season 1 tagline?

Feel something: HBO's season 1 campaign used the tagline 'feel something'; the episode titles were song references, from Mobb Deep's 'Shook Ones Pt. II' to Dr. Dre's 'The Next Episode'.

Several season 2 episode titles quote writers of which art movement?

Surrealism: 'The Theater and Its Double' takes Antonin Artaud's title, and the finale's 'All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name' quotes Surrealist founder André Breton.

On which Israeli channel did the original Euphoria air in 2012–13?

Hot 3: the Israeli original by Ron Leshem and Daphna Levin ran on the cable channel HOT 3 for a single season from 2012 to 2013.

The Israeli Euphoria was based on the real murder of a teenager outside what?

The series takes place one year after that killing and was cancelled after a single season.

A 2025 German adaptation of Euphoria premiered on which streaming service?

Titled Euphorie, it was directed by Antonia Leyla Schmidt and André Szardenings.

Which camera was season 1 shot on, before the switch to 35 mm film?

Cinematographer Marcell Rév moved to cross-processed Ektachrome for the specials and season 2 to evoke a 'memory of high school'.

How many filming days did season 2 take?

Its production costs hit $96.7 million and earned a $19.4 million California tax credit for employing over 15,000 people.