How Euphoria Season 3 Lost the Critics — Even With Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney

Alright, Euphoria is finally back for Season 3 this Sunday on HBO Max—time for the high drama, the glitter, and whatever else Sam Levinson is cooking up this time. If you were hoping critics would welcome the show’s return with open arms…well, hate to break it to you, but the early reviews are more of a polite shrug (or maybe an eyeroll). Here’s what’s going on with Euphoria’s bumpy comeback, including what’s working and where things are falling apart.

The Who’s Who (and What’s Left)

The main cast is the same crew we've been following all along, with Zendaya as Rue, Sydney Sweeney as Cassie, Hunter Schafer as Jules, Jacob Elordi as Nate, Colman Domingo as Ali, Alexa Demie as Maddy, and Maude Apatow as Lexi. So, no big surprises there—at least not cast-wise. Season 3 has eight episodes, with the first dropping April 12, 2026, and more rolling out each week.

Critics: Tempered at Best, Bleak at Worst

At the moment, Euphoria Season 3 is sitting at a pretty unimpressive 53% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 19 published reviews). So yeah, basically half the critics who’ve seen the screeners aren’t impressed—which is a real change of pace from the hype this show used to generate.

• The biggest gripe seems to be that now that the gang is officially out of high school, the storyline feels lost. Critics say the new season can’t decide what to do with these characters now that there’s no prom or detention to keep them busy.
• Another major complaint: the show apparently feels 'spiritually hollow,' and a lot less meaningful than before—like it’s running on empty rather than actually exploring anything new.
• Even the narrative itself is getting hit—reviewers call it inconsistent, with characters spinning their wheels instead of changing or developing in interesting ways.

Ben Travers at IndieWire summed up the general mood perfectly about the characters:

'Most characters aren’t changing, nor are their motivations to change clear to them or novel to us. The result is a start to the supposedly final season that grows old instead of up, while evoking a once-unthinkable question: How could Euphoria become boring?'

Brian Tallerico at RogerEbert.com is on the same page: he says there are some good individual moments and performances, but overall, the show feels way less sure of itself, almost as if it’s mimicking the drifting quarter-life confusion of its characters—but, honestly, that doesn’t make for gripping TV for some viewers.

What Does Still Work?

Here’s a bright spot: The acting. Pretty much everyone agrees that despite the story’s problems, the cast is still firing on all cylinders. Elordi, Sweeney, and Schafer in particular are getting singled out as 'absolute superstars' (thanks, Metro), and over at The Independent, Nick Hilton thinks Zendaya and Sweeney are consistently strong. In fact, he says there’s 'scarcely a bum performance' on the entire cast list. Maybe it’s just a case of great actors stuck in a show that can’t decide what it wants to be when it grows up.

Anyway, if nothing else, it sounds like the acting alone might be worth a watch—even if the rest leaves you wondering if Euphoria’s best days are behind it. I guess we’ll see what the fans think starting April 12.