Zendaya talks the 'messy' new season of 'Euphoria' and her Emmy win
Grab your ethereal eyeshadow and softest oversized sweatshirt -- Euphoria, season two is finally here.
It’s been a long time, but with the premiere January 9th on Crave, Etalk's Tyrone Edwards got the cast (including Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Jacob Elordi and Colman Domingo) to hint at what exactly we can expect.
First off, while fans may remember the feeling of season one, don’t think the show will be all that similar this time around. Zendaya hopes you've had time to use the two-year gap to marinate in the material and fall more in love with the characters so they can take the show to new places in season two.
“I know it's been a long time since we've been back, but hopefully people can still resonate with it, and the characters, and still have that love and that greater sense of empathy and understanding for all of them because they definitely go through it.”
Fans can definitely expect an emotional rollercoaster – Maude Apatow says that the show’s intensity will be “turned up a couple of notches.”
“I think there are a lot of differences [in season two],” says Apatow, who plays Lexi. She shared that there were numerous visual elements and aspects of the script that are different from season one. One major visual difference is that the new season was shot entirely using a film camera, unlike the first season.
“We've got different makeup, and the show just feels a little bit, like, grittier, and it's a little bit more sad, but it's also funnier,” she explained. “We found a different groove, and I hope it works.”
WATCH: Euphoria cast tell us what to expect from an intense season 2
[video_embed id='2356039'] Euphoria cast tell us what to expect from an intense season 2 [/video_embed]
Jacob Elordi, who plays Nate, warns fans to expect the unexpected. There’s even going to be a musical theatre episode, so hopefully, we can expect to hear the talented cast show off their vocal chops.
“When I was watching it, it's an entirely different show,” Elordi shared. “There's callback’s [to the previous season] here and there but prepare to see something that's very different for sure.”
A newcomer to the Euphoria cast, Dominic Fike is preparing to log off his Twitter in anticipation of the flood of hate comments he’s expecting to get after viewers get to know his character.
“I've been seeing people on Twitter like, ‘Don’t mess up my Rules.’ We're not even sure what happens, man,” Fike shared. “I'm going to log off Twitter when it comes out, that's for sure.”
Hunter Schafer, who plays Jules, insists that fans will see the characters get into the same mischief they did in season one.
“They get into some stupid fun mischief, like this kind of emotionally taxing, just fun, dumb sh--, which I think is fun to watch,” Hunter explained. "We are so amped for what’s to come.”
Speaking of excitement, Hunter was one of the co-writers on an upcoming episode of season two. Fans and cast members couldn't be any prouder of how far the actress has come.
Angus Cloud reflected on how thankful he was that the series became an unanticipated overnight success.
“You know, we were all just trying to make this same piece of art,” Cloud reminisced on season one. “I never imagined it would be as big as it is, I didn't know what I was doing.”
‘Big’ is an understatement. Euphoria has garnered a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has received a plethora of accolades from People’s Choice Awards to, most notably, Zendaya becoming the youngest actress to receive a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
The teen drama, created by Sam Levinson, tackles taboo subject matter among high school students and showcases unique characters with vastly complex backstories dealing with all the messy intricacies of life, from love and friendship to substance abuse and self-image.
Fun fact: Euphoria was loosely based on an Israeli television miniseries that went by the same name! Both adaptations are fairly different, but both are just as bingeworthy.
Zendaya is not letting her historic Emmy win for her portrayal of Rue get to her head. She shared that her award reflects Euphoria’s incredible cast and crew.
“The stage without our incredible crew of people that worked so tirelessly, honestly, to make this happen, I wouldn't have the opportunity to be here,” Zendaya humbly reflected. “So absolutely, I took it as like this was a win for all of us.”
Euphoria wasn’t originally supposed to have a two-year gap between the first two seasons. COVID-19 had other plans in 2020 leaving the cast and crew at a standstill unable to film until 2021.
Zendaya didn’t let the gap hold her back from propelling her career to new heights. Over the past two years, she’s starred in Netflix’s Malcolm and Marie and two of the most talked-about films in 2021: Dune and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
She shared that she’s somewhat of a workaholic but having numerous projects on her resume continues to help her with every upcoming project she is set to work on.
“I think I learned so much every time I get to be on any production, and I would love to be a filmmaker one day," Zendaya began. "It's kind of the best school in the world, when I get to shadow directors that I get to work with but also admire, it's very special.”
We would love to see Zendaya direct an upcoming episode of Euphoria. Who’s with us?
Season two of Euphoria premieres on January 9th on Crave.
BEFORE YOU GO: Inside the 'Harry Potter' cast reunion
[video_embed id='2351528']BEFORE YOU GO: Inside the 'Harry Potter' cast reunion [/video_embed]
