HBO Defends ‘Euphoria’ Amid Toxic Production Claims: ‘Never Any Formal Complaints Raised’

Barbie Ferreira is responding to the reports that there has been a lot of behind-the-scenes drama on the set of HBO’s Euphoria.

HBO is responding to claims “Euphoria” fostered an unsafe workplace environment.

HBO is defending Euphoria.

Zack Sharf HBO is defending “Euphoria” against reports claiming that production of the series’ second season was toxic and violated SAG-AFTRA stipulations. The network stressed in a statement to Variety that “the well-being of cast and crew on our productions is always a top priority.” HBO said “Euphoria” Season 2 was produced in “full compliance with all safety guidelines and guild protocols.”The full statement from HBO reads: “The well-being of cast and crew on our productions is always a top priority.

Katcy Stephan SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for the Season 2 finale of “Euphoria,” which aired on HBO on Feb. 27.Eric Dane is having the time of his life on “Euphoria,” HBO’s wildly popular drama from Sam Levinson.

wrapped up season 2 with a shocking finale that saw the demise of several major characters, including teenage drug dealer Ashtray (Javon Walton). The 15-year-old star, who has played Fezco’s (Angus Cloud) younger adopted brother since season 1, opens up to ET’s Denny Directo about the bloody end to his story, who originally was supposed to die, his feelings about the Fexi romance and beating up co-star Eric Dane earlier in the season. While most of characters were still reeling from Lexi’s (Maude Apatow) play, one person missing from the audience was Fez.

Euphoria rose to new highs with the dramatic and messy season 2 finale, drawing in 6.6 million viewers across all HBO platforms.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Euphoria” is now HBO’s second-most-watched show since 2004 behind only “Game of Thrones,” per the pay TV channel.The Zendaya-led drama hit yet another series high with its Season 2 finale episode Sunday, drawing 6.6 million viewers. According to HBO, “Euphoria” Season 2 episodes are now averaging 16.3 million viewers, the best performance for any season of an HBO series other than “Game of Thrones” since 2004.

As viewers say goodbye to the hit HBO series Euphoria for another long stretch of time, only some of the show’s loose ends have been not-so-neatly tied. Without spoiling the finale, the show does answer some obvious questions: What psychotic retaliation does Nate Jacobs whip up post-Lexi Howard’s pointed theatrical debut? Does this final episode make for the worst day in Fezco Hive history? Does Cassie take a shot at backing up her bold claim that she’s crazier than Maddy? But it won’t be until season three airs in 2024 that the other standout questions – including the ones about a certain suspicious drug dealer with an unsettlingly calm demeanor – get answers.

Ellise Shafer Following the explosive Season 2 finale of HBO’s “Euphoria,” composer Labrinth and star Zendaya have released the full version of “I’m Tired.”The gospel-inspired track was first heard in Episode 4, when Labrinth performs the song live during an emotional fantasy scene in which Rue (Zendaya) envisions she is in church. In Sunday night’s finale, viewers got to hear the last minute of the song, which features Zendaya singing solo accompanied by bare-bones piano.

Ethan Shanfeld SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for the Season 2 finale of “Euphoria,” which aired on HBO on Feb. 27.“Euphoria” — which was created by Sam Levinson — has captured the hearts, minds and Twitter feeds of millions. With its Season 2 finale, “All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name,” the HBO high school drama will once again leave fans craving more, until it eventually returns for Season 3.Season 2 featured plenty of intense scenes and character development to go around, but many of its core plot lines orbit around Jacob Elordi’s complicated and controversial Nate Jacobs.

season 2 has come to a close. But not before the cast opened up to ET about the unexpected ending, which “feels like the end of days,” Jacob Elordi said. “It’s madness.”The finale, “All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name” written and directed by creator Sam Levinson, picked up immediately following episode 7’s cliffhanger, which saw Maddy (Alexa Demie), Jules (Hunter Schafer), Kat (Barbie Ferreira) and a recently sober Rue (Zendaya) all having various, bemused reactions to Lexi’s (Maude Apatow) provocative play while Nate (Elordi) walked out and Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) was left fuming.Not only that, but one seat in the audience remained empty as Fezco’s (Angus Cloud) whereabouts remained unclear. The missing half of Fexi was last seen getting ready at his apartment where there was mounting tension between Ashtray (Javon Walton), Faye (Chloe Cherry) and Custer (Tyler Chase), who was wearing a wire in hopes of narcing on Fez. The episode opens with Fez letting Lexi know that he’s on his way to the play when Custer wants to talk to him “about everything.” Luckily, Faye turns on her boyfriend and warns Fez not to reveal anything while also trying to frame Laurie (Martha Kelly), the drug dealer that almost kidnapped Rue at one point.

Wyatte Grantham-Philips editorSeason 2’s makeup on “Euphoria” is “Season 1’s introverted sister,” explains the show’s lead makeup designer Doniella Davy.As “Euphoria” fans everywhere gather to watch the latest chapters of Sam Levinson’s gripping fever dream on HBO Max (leading up to the Season 2 finale on Sunday), they are mesmerized by the both glam and gritty special effects seen in the world of East Highland. While Season 1 featured faces adorned with endless rhinestones, glitter and more, Davy notes that Season 2 stepped into a quieter (but equally-stunning) approach.“I didn’t want to continue with the exact same MO as Season 1.

Maude Apatow was born into a family of actors so it comes as no surprise that she's one of the stars of hit show Euphoria.MORE: Who are the cast members of Euphoria dating?And ahead of the finale on Sunday, her famous father Judd Apatow showed his support for his daughter in a tongue-in-cheek comment posted on Instagram.Last weekend, Maude wrote on Instagram: "SUNDAY!!! @euphoria," to which her dad replied: "I will watch right after I finish Yellowstone."VIDEO: Euphoria season two in a nutshellWhat's more, the official Yellowstone account then replied to Judd's remark, replying: "We support these priorities."Maude is the oldest daughter of Judd and Leslie Mann, and has a younger sister, Iris.MORE: Euphoria's Barbie Ferreira stuns in curve-hugging bikini on sun-soaked vacationThe pair grew up on movie sets and have both starred in a number of their dad's comedy films, including Knocked Up and This Is 40. Maude shares a close relationship with filmmaker dad Judd ApatowWhat's more, a camera was rolling a lot of the time during their childhood.

Ellise Shafer SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched the first seven episodes of “Euphoria” Season 2. Despite the immense popularity of HBO’s “Euphoria,” clearing a song for use in the show isn’t as easy as it may appear — especially when it comes to legacy artists and estates.As music supervisor Jen Malone puts it, the teenage drama series has “sex, nudity, violence, drugs, guns. There’s not one thing that was missing as far as red flags for approval parties.”And yet the first episode of Season 2 kicks off with Billy Swan’s cover of “Don’t Be Cruel,” made famous by Elvis Presley.

has been at the top of its class. But that doesn't mean the series is looking to make its stars feel uncomfortable.Recently, Minka Kelly sat down for an interview with  and revealed exactly how her discomfort with one planned nude scene led to a rewrite by writer-creator Sam Levinson.Kelly joined the HBO drama in the second season as Samantha, a wealthy would-be mentor of sorts to Maddy Perez (Alexa Demie), whom she hires as a babysitter for her son.According to Kelly, she signed on with the expectation of it being for a single episode, but her chemistry with Demie led to Levinson stretching the role out to something more significant that spanned the rest of the second season.However, on her very first day on set, Kelly said that there was one scene that she asked to have changed because she didn't feel right about the level of nudity involved.

Like her co-star Sydney Sweeney, Minka Kelly didn’t think twice about setting boundaries while on the set of "Euphoria." The actress recently recalled how her character Samantha hired Maddy (Alexa Demie) as a babysitter and then has the teen unzip her dress in the second season episode, which aired in January. According to the 41-year-old, creator Sam Levinson originally wrote a more risqué scene than the one viewers saw. "[Levinson] thought it would be more interesting if my dress fell to the ground," Kelly told Vanity Fair.