There’s Been Some Controversy, But Sydney Sweeney Says People Are Watching The Heck Outta Euphoria

The long-awaited third season of Euphoria is finally underway, with new episodes hitting the 2026 TV calendar every Sunday night, but its return hasn’t come without some bumps in the road. I’m talking specifically about those rumors of beef between Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya and the controversy surrounding Sweeney’s character Cassie. However, I’m not sure any of that matters too much, if the actress is right about how many people are watching.

Sydney Sweeney reposted a Euphoria-related headline to her Instagram Stories that states the Season 3 premiere surpassed 20 million viewers around the world. You can see image below:

The post from Warner Bros. — which features an image of another Euphoria star, Alexa Demie — claims that the more than 20 million eyeballs beats Season 2’s premiere numbers by 68%. WB’s original post says Episode 2 matched the premiere, drawing in approximately 8.5 million viewers in the United States in its first three days. That’s pretty impressive.

It makes sense that people would tune in. In addition to everyone who watched the first two seasons in real time, the show had four full years to encourage anyone with an HBO Max subscription to get caught up before its (possible) final season. So although the Euphoria Season 3 reviews were harsher than I expected them to be, I can see viewers sticking with it, if for no other reason, just to see it through.

Even before people started complaining about the seasons’s big changes, though, rumors were circulating about a rift between Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney — two of the series’ biggest stars.

A video of the cast was shared on social media that featured the two actresses mentioned above, as well as Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie and Maude Apatow. When the ladies gathered for a group shot, however, Sydney Sweeney was not there, fueling rumors from the past that differing political views have caused a “bitter feud” between her and the Dune actress. They also didn’t pose together at the premiere, with sources alleging it would be bad optics for Zendaya.

Then there’s the on-screen drama that has apparently been turning some fans away — and inspiring real-life OnlyFans stars to speak out. Part of Sydney Sweeney’s character’s story is that she starts an OF account, where she dresses up as a baby and sucks on a pacifier. The UK, where OnlyFans was founded, is actually looking into laws that would criminalize such controversial “age play,” but even without a ban in place, many viewers didn’t like it.

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Euphoria has always been controversial, freaking parents out with all of those penises, so the fact that some stories are rubbing fans the wrong way is absolutely nothing new. One has to wonder if a little bit of controversy might actually help the HBO drama to maintain those impressive premiere numbers. Will you be tuning in?

New episodes of Euphoria Season 3 air at 9 p.m. ET Sundays on HBO, streaming simultaneously on HBO Max.