Euphoria recently held its Season 3 premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre. At the event, series creator and showrunner Sam Levinson dedicated the newest installment to some of the core crew and cast members who passed away: Angus Cloud, Eric Dane, and executive producer Kevin Turen. Cloud, who essayed Fezco, died about a year after the second season, followed by Turen roughly three months later. Meanwhile, Dane, who portrayed Cal Jacobs, passed away two months before the third entry’s release.
Sam Levinson dedicates Euphoria Season 3 to Eric Dane, Angus Cloud, and Kevin Turen
The Malcolm & Marie filmmaker began his speech, during which he became overwhelmed with sadness, introducing Euphoria Season 3 to audiences seated at the TCL Chinese Theatre by stating that the cast and crew’s efforts to make it work were “nothing short of a miracle.” He then thanked the returning cast, series newcomers, and other crew members.
Per Deadline, Sam Levinson next addressed the long-discussed query of why Season 2 and Season 3 had a huge gap between their releases. “There were obvious factors — the strikes, trying to make a schedule work with our very in-demand cast,” he explained. This referred to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes and rapidly growing careers of cast members such as Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, and Jacob Elordi. “But the real time was in trying to figure out how to find a way to pay respect to those who we lost.”
Levinson subsequently brought up Angus Cloud’s untimely demise from multiple drug overdose and recalled how it affected him. “It was tough,” he stated. “I loved him deeply, and I fought hard to keep him clean.” Levinson continued, “The year he died, in 2023, he was one of 73,000 people in America who died of a fentanyl overdose.”
#Euphoria creator Sam Levinson intros Season 3 at the premiere in LA and dedicates the season to “those who we lost,” including Angus Cloud, Eric Dane and producer Kevin Turen pic.twitter.com/OVyLoc7XeT
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) April 8, 2026
The Idol creator further recalled how he learned a lot of things that year, most importantly, “that death is what gives life meaning.” He elaborated, “You can’t be arrogant about existence. You’re forced to reckon with the fact that life itself is a wonder, a gift, a profound blessing.”
Additionally, Sam Levinson stressed how he wanted Euphoria Season 3’s main theme to be about “the meaning beyond the absurdity.” He concluded his speech by promising to dedicate the third installment to Cloud, Eric Dane, and Kevin Turen. The showrunner added, “The Rebbe says, ‘The only way to see great light is to pass through great darkness.’ Well, it feels good to be on the other side.”
Euphoria Season 3 will premiere on HBO on April 12, 2026.
