Euphoria season 2 has – like everything else good and pure in this world – been delayed by coronavirus. Here’s what we know

Zendaya and Hunter Schafer stars in Euphoria. (Euphoria/HBO)

Euphoria season 2 has been put on hold as coronavirus cripples the TV industry – but star Zendaya has promised that it will be worth the wait.

Zendaya has revealed that work on the upcoming episodes were about to begin when the pandemic shut down production.

“We were supposed to go back to work, I believe, on March 16,” she told Variety.

“And, literally, three or four days before that, they were shut down. I was like, ‘I was so close.’ We did camera tests and hair and makeup tests, and we got to see everybody and we had the sets were built.”

Euphoria season 2 release date delayed by coronavirus.

After the pacey, cryptic season 1 finale saw Rue relapse and – quite possibly – die, Euphoria fans were relived when HBO confirmed a second run of the electric teen drama for 2020.

However it now seems likely that the Euphoria season 2 release date will be pushed back until next year.

Zendaya said that the new run’s scripts have been completed and left her “just so excited”.

“Just to go back home is really what it feels like,” she said.

Hunter Schafer plays Jules in Euphoria. (HBO)

“But of course, this has all happened and I’m just grateful that I’m in the position I’m in. I can’t complain. I’m very lucky to be safe and healthy and still know that I have a job, Euphoria, that will be there.”

Sydney Sweeney, who plays Cassie, said she hopes filming will commence in the summer.

“They also don’t want to rush anything just in case,” she told ET.

“It isn’t safe, so I don’t think they wanna get too much hope in our minds and then have to push it longer. So we’re kind of just waiting and seeing right now.”

What do we know about Euphoria season 2?

Sweeney teased that “literally everything” about season 2 will be “darker” than the original run – which dealt with everything from sexual abuse to drug addiction.

“You won’t even be able to guess what’s coming,” Sweeney added, explaining that there’s no way she could have guessed her character’s storyline.

“It’s just shocking. I mean, everything with life as a teenager is shocking, so you never know what to expect.”

The darker tone was hinted at by a casting call which emerged in January, looking for three new characters: a “sensitive outsider”, a “scrappy fighter” and a drug addicted sex worker.

Kelvin Harrison Jr is joining the Euphoria cast for season 2 in a mystery role, which may or may not be one of these three.

He told Complex’s Watch Less podcast that he’s “never seen a character like this, period”.

“I can almost argue that it has not been done,” he added. “It’s interesting, it is definitely a character of the time, and that’s all I got. He’s interesting.”

Hunter Schafer hinted that her character Jules could find happiness with Rue.

“I feel like there’s been a lot of turmoil that’s been simmering below a lot of these characters’ surface so I hope a lot of this turmoil can be resolved,” she told Variety.

One thing we know for certain is that Rue will pull through after season 1 ended with a musical number which many interpreted as her death.

“Rue is not dead. That I can say for certain,” showrunner Sam Levinson told The Hollywood Reporter. 

He teased that viewers would get to know Fezco a little better, explaining: “His story didn’t belong in season one, it belongs in season two — and that’s something that I knew pretty early on.