Sam Levinson’s Involvement with ‘The Idol’ Soured His Relationship with Zendaya — Report

Zendaya was allegedly ready to challenge Sam Levinson’s plans for “Euphoria” Season 3.

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After a years-long hiatus (“Euphoria” has been off the air since Season 2 concluded in February 2022 ), “Challengers” star and “Euphoria” executive producer Zendaya was frustrated by Levinson opting instead to focus on his controversial series “The Idol” rather than the long-awaited third season of “Euphoria.”

In a new exposé published in The Hollywood Reporter , a source claimed that the allegations of a toxic workplace during “The Idol” production reshoots affected Zendaya, who was urged by fans to distance herself from Levinson. “Her image is pristine,” an unnamed executive said. “And fans were turning against Sam.”

Additionally, Zendaya was reportedly frustrated by the delay in “Euphoria” Season 3 scripts from Levinson as he was in production on “The Idol.” Zendaya allegedly had a meeting with HBO executives Casey Bloys and Francesca Orsi to ask why the network was allowing Levinson so much leeway on “The Idol” when “Euphoria” needed work. And HBO drama chief Orsi seemed to second this in an interview with Deadline in 2023, stating that Levinson’s overhauled “The Idol” took production precedent.

More meetings led to more issues being aired: Bloys and Orsi “couldn’t fix” what was damaged between Zendaya and Levinson during a mediation, especially after Zendaya told HBO executives that Levinson’s wife Ashley Levinson could not be the sole executive producer on Season 3.

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Representatives for Levinson and Zendaya did not immediately respond to IndieWire’s requests for comment. HBO declined to comment for this story.

Despite Levinson and Zendaya being as “thick as thieves” during the first two seasons of the Emmy-winning series, the “Malcolm & Marie” collaborators were allegedly at odds over Season 3 storylines.

Variety previously reported that Levinson’s initial scripts included Zendaya’s character Rue working as a private detective, which HBO had vetoed. Zendaya instead pitched a rewrite about Rue being a pregnancy surrogate and fully sober. Season 3 will begin filming in January 2025 , with only a time jump confirmed for the storyline. HBO announced that Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, and Hunter Schafer will be all returning, as well as the entire principal cast.

“Euphoria” has received 25 Emmy nominations, with nine wins including Zendaya’s two trophies for Best Actress in a Drama Series. Colman Domingo also won for Best Guest Actor in a Drama.