There is no doubt that Euphoria is one of the biggest shows on TV. The hype and fan craze that surrounds the HBO series is reminiscent of previous HBO shows like The Sopranos, Sex and the City, and Game of Thrones.
The teen drama has created a buzz online that is impossible to ignore as 13.1 million viewers tune in to HBO Max each Sunday night to watch what these dramatic teens are up to. The second season has amped up the messiness of the characters’ lives, favoring aesthetics and chaos over meaningful character or plot development which many fans didn't expect from the show's creator and director, Sam Levinson.
As Euphoria continues to be a smash hit, prompting HBO to renew Levinson’s series for a third season, there seems to be something happening behind the scenes that can’t be ignored. The Daily Beast recently explored some of these allegations.
Persistent rumors about rising tensions between some cast members and Levinson have many wondering what is happening behind the scenes. Barbie Ferreira, who plays Kat Hernandez, allegedly butted heads with Levinson over the direction of her character. Rumors claim that Ferreira is finding it unbearable to continue working with Levinson, leading to Ferreira walking off set twice.
Levinson’s response to Ferreira was simple. He cut her scenes down or out, making Kat a reactionary character that barely gets to do or say anything. Many fans are disappointed with Kat’s storyline in season two after she subverted the “fat friend” trope last season, becoming a symbol of body and sex-positivity, which established her as one of the show’s most beloved characters.
Ferreira remained tight-lipped about her time on set, saying in a recent article for The Cut, “Kat’s journey this season is a little more internal and a little mysterious to the audience. She is secretly going through a lot of existential crises, She loses her marbles a little bit—just like everyone else in this season. The theme is everyone’s gone a little crazy.”
'Euphoria' Season 2's New Year's Eve party sequence took an entire week of 15+ hour shoot days to completeCredit: HBO/A24
Sources told The Daily Beastthat Ferreira was not the only cast member to have issues with the season’s production. One of the main problems that many of the cast and crew had was the long workdays that could stretch from 15 hours to 17 hours. Sources detailed how Levinson rarely came to set prepared with a shot list which often factored into a long set day.
Shot lists are incredibly important to have done before stepping on set and will save you an entire day of not wasting everyone’s time because you couldn’t properly prepare.
The season premiere’s New Year’s Eve party was a particularly hellish sequence to film, as it stretched out for over a week and only occurred at night. Some of the cast noted the strain of filming, with Maude Apatow saying to Thrillist, “We shot all night, so we would start at 6 p.m. and go until whenever the sun would rise–5 a.m.—and we were so tired. We were trying so hard to stay awake!”
Others believe the major changes to characters and storylines were made regarding the pandemic and vaccination status as Zendaya told The Cut that there are “very few things [from the first season] that remain in the version you’re now seeing. The things that didn’t make it definitely needed to die.”
Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard in 'Euphoria' season 2Credit: HBO/A24
Levinson is known for changing things on the spot to accommodate some of his stars’ ideas. During the pandemic, Levinson worked with Zendaya, who is also one of the show’s producers, and Hunter Schafer to create special episodes for their respective characters.
Actor Sydney Sweeney has also given praise to Levinson’s willingness to listen to the cast as she recalled how much of the cast was “very involved” with their characters’ development.
In an interview with Collider, Sweeney said, “That was one of the really amazing things if a scene didn’t feel like it was working or flowing, [Levinson] would sit with us and we would just change it, right then and there, and just rewrite an entire scene. You can see on the show that every scene does flow, and it does work, and it does feel very real because we made sure that it was.”
Minka Kelly as Samantha in 'Euphoria' season 2Credit: HBO/A24
But does the collaboration with the actors tell us something more about Levinson’s ability to run a show as big as Euphoria?
Like many of the cast members, this season's Minka Kelly told the Daily Beast how Levinson was an improvisational director.
Some fans are beginning to worry for the cast, hoping that Levinson isn’t pushing them to a breaking point. Hopefully, Levinson can find a way to properly plan shoot days, allowing his cast and crew to feel comfortable and excited to step on set rather than dread the next 15 hours of their day.
Let us know in the comments what you think about Euphoria.
Source: The Daily Beast
