Will Detective Rue Bennett be on the scene for the 3rd season of Bliss According to a brand-new Range storythe drama’s now postponed next installation remains in the middle of total innovative turmoil. Bliss developer Sam Levinson apparently pitched a five-year time dive in between seasons 2 and 3 of the series, and particular information of that concept were obviously not favored. At various phases, the scripts he kipped down were supposedly turned down by both HBO and two-time Emmy winner Zendaya, whose Rue Bennet would have begun working as a private detective in one declined concept.
Levinson supposedly pitched early drafts of his idea for the 3rd season of Bliss to HBO in the winter season of 2023. The network discovered the pitch– which included “extremely engaging” arcs for stars Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi— to be “a strong start,” sources informed Range. The auteur later on struck a roadway block with his muse Zendaya, who apparently believed the complete scripts he turned in “didn’t pass muster,” in Range‘s words. (Vanity Fair has actually connected to Zendaya for remark).
Levinson keeps total imaginative control of Bliss, having actually composed every episode of the series. Oppositions star Zendaya apparently provided “considerable input” for where she ‘d like to see Bliss enter season 3. According to the outlet’s sources, Levinson was currently in the procedure of upgrading his idea for season 3 after the death of Angus Cloud in the summer season of 2023, as Cloud’s mild drug dealership was a significant gamer in preliminary drafts.
According to Range, Levinson went back to HBO with scripts for a modified principle for season 3 in late 2023 and early 2024. In the earlier scripts, Zendaya’s Rue Bennett obviously took a rear seats, rather arbitrarily discovering work as a private investigator. HBO had actually supposedly nixed the concept instantly. Zendaya herself obviously pitched an arc for her character in the modifications: A now sober, 20-something Rue working as a pregnancy surrogate. HBO obviously chose that concept, along with the other brand-new concepts, didn’t feel like a fit for the program tonally, and sent out Levinson back to the drawing board.
The imaginative chaos apparently led HBO to think about several courses forward for the series, consisting of recording a Bliss film or unique à la the 2 unique episodes that aired throughout the pandemic, and even pushing forward without Levinson. Range reports that the Bliss cast– even its most significant breakout stars Zendaya, Sweeney, and Elordi– is devoted to finishing the series with Levinson at the helm and recording a complete 3rd season, even if doing so would imply earning less cash than they might by starring in function movies.
Reports have actually swirled today that the 3rd season of Bliss is DOA, with a confidential cast member informing the Daily Beast that they think the 3rd season is not likely to occurAccording to Range, a 3rd season “might extremely well come together.” In a declaration made previously today, HBO stated that while production is postponed and the extremely sought-after cast is complimentary to pursue other tasks for the time being, the network is “devoted” to making a 3rd season of Ecstasy. Per Range, HBO has actually guaranteed to come back to the cast on October 1 with “a strong strategy” for season 3, with shooting to start in 2025; if the strategy concerns fulfillment, the cast would be inhabited for 25 weeks, and the 3rd season would more than likely be reduced from 8 episodes to 6.
While much of Ecstasy‘s fate stays up in the air, something is concrete, according to Range: HBO will stagnate forward with a season 3 till they get scripts they enjoy with. Simply in 2015, HBO put a huge bet on Levinson and his unfortunate series The Idol, which entered into production without authorized completed scripts. The gamble notoriously did not settle. The series, which followed a pop star who gets involved in an LA-based sex cult, was a crucial and business catastrophe, getting mainly unfavorable evaluations and diminishing rankings throughout its five-episode run. Even before The Idol premiered in June of 2023, it was pestered with reports of on-set toxicity, with Wanderer reporting that scenes from Levinson’s series degenerated into “sexual abuse pornography.”
Wanderer reported at the time that The Idol would cost the network anywhere in between $54 million and $75 million. The Idol‘s rate swelled after initial director Amy Seimetz left the series and Levinson took the reins, reshooting big swaths of the series. Considered that catastrophe, it’s not a surprise HBO chose not to progress with a 2nd season of The Idol. It’s still anybody’s guess whether the auteur will be able to stick the landing with Bliss season 3.