HBO’s teen drama “Euphoria,” led by Zendaya and created by Sam Levinson, has become a cultural phenomenon since its premiere in 2019. The second season was released in January, and was the most talked about show on Twitter in the last decade, with more than 30 million mentions on the app.
While its second season was widely criticized by many fans, especially its plotlines, the show managed to score 16 Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Best Actress for Zendaya (who won in 2021) and Supporting Best Actress for Sidney Sweeney.
With the series renewed for a third season, many fans were hoping to see the entire cast. However, one of the show's stars has announced that she won’t come back for the upcoming installment. Here, check out everything we know about this decision.
Barbie Ferreira leaves Euphoria with a ‘very teary eyed goodbye’
Ferreira, 25, portrayed Katherine “Kat” Hernandez, who quickly became one of the fan-favorite characters on the show. However, the actress announced on her Instagram story that she won’t returning for Season 3:
“After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character Kat, I’m having to say a very teary eyed goodbye. I hope many of you could see yourself in her like I did and that she brought you joy to see her journey into the character she is today. I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it. Love you Katherine Hernandez."
Why is Barbie Ferreira leaving Euphoria?
During the first season, Ferreira’s character had a storyline in which she learnt to accept herself and her body, while also finding love with Ethan (Austin Abrams). However, in the second season, Kat was relegated to almost a guest role, with minor appearances and her character’s development feeling incongruent from what happened before.
There were rumors about a possible feud between Ferreira and director and creator Sam Levinson due to creative differences over the direction of her character. However, the actress denied the reports during an interview with Insider in March.
“I’ve seen so many different things and a lot of it is untrue, and some of it’s kind of like mundane little things,” she told the outlet at the time. Some of the reports said that their disagreements led to less screen time for her, and that she stormed off the set. The latter was denied by HBO.
Whatever the reason, Ferreira seemed to have expected to come back as she also said that she was eager to explore more of Kat's' “internal fantasy life” and she hoped “to see everything beautifully devolve as it always does on ‘Euphoria.’ I’m excited to read it. I don’t think it’s written yet, so I’ll be waiting.”
