HBO announces Euphoria Christmas special to air this year

HBO has announced that the first of two special episodes of its 2019 teen hit Euphoria filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic will air later this year, as a way to bridge the year-long gap between season 1 and season 2. The episode, "Trouble Don't Last Always," will, according to Deadline, air December 6 on HBO, and will focus on Rue, played by Zendaya, as she celebrates Christmas. Colman Domingo will also return as Rue's sponsor Ali, as will Hunter Schafer as Rue's friend and love interest Jules. The second episode will also feature Zendaya and Schafer, but does not yet have an airdate. "Trouble Don't Last Always" was written and directed by series creator Sam Levinson.

Earlier this year, Zendaya won the Emmy award for Lead Actress in a Drama for her portrayal of Rue, making her the youngest woman to ever win the award. The show also took home awards for Makeup and Music, the latter for composer Labrinth. In August, Zendaya hinted that a new COVID episode of Euphoria was being filmed, describing it as "something to live on until we are able to go into Season 2.” Read our interview with Euphoria music supervisor Jen Malone here, and our interview with Labrinth about his score here.