Set five years after the events of Season 2, the characters of Sam Levinson’s HBO teen drama now have an older, twentysomething look. Rue (Zendaya) works as an indentured servant for drug dealer Laurie (Martha Kelly), while Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Nate (Jacob Elordi) navigate married life.

“A group of childhood friends wrestle with the virtue of faith, the possibility of redemption, and the problem of evil,” according to the series synopsis.

USA TODAY TV Critic Kelly Lawler gave the new season ★★ out of four, writing in the “four years since its last season and seven years since it began, ‘Euphoria’ has come back to a completely different zeitgeist ‒ and not just because Sydney Sweeney, Zendaya and newly minted Oscar nominee Jacob Elordi are all bona fide A-listers bigger than the show. The world has changed, the stars have changed, and ‘Euphoria’ has changed.”

“There is less passion and vibrancy to the show, even at its most objectionable moments,” she added. “The fire has gone out, the party drugs are all used up, and the lights have turned on at the club.”