How Sudden Events Almost Derailed HBO’s Hit Show
A sudden death, a fractured partnership, and growing tension between star Zendaya and creator Sam Levinson nearly derailed the HBO hit “Euphoria.”
Last November, on a sunny day, the family and friends of producer Kevin Turen gathered at Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale and then went to a reception at the Warner Bros. lot. At just 44 years old, Turen had been driving with his 10-year-old son when he suddenly collapsed from a heart attack. His son managed to stop the car and call for help.
Kevin Turen, known for his passion for film and a long list of independent movie credits (“Arbitrage,” “The Birth of a Nation,” “Pieces of a Woman”), was loved by many. Among the mourners were Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield, and Zac Efron. Zendaya, the star of Turen’s biggest success, the HBO series “Euphoria,” missed the funeral but attended the reception.
Sam Levinson, the writer and director behind “Euphoria” and the unsuccessful series “The Idol,” was absent from the gathering. Levinson and Turen had been close friends and partners in Little Lamb Productions until Levinson unexpectedly ended their partnership earlier that year. The reasons for the split were known only to a few close associates.
The Turen family had made it clear that Sam and his wife, Ashley, were not welcome at the funeral. In the months before his death, Kevin had lost not only his partnership with his close friend but also his lucrative deal at HBO. Despite the breakup, Levinson helped him get a favorable settlement.
Friends said Turen constantly felt under financial pressure. He worked nonstop and neglected his health, but some of his loved ones thought the breakup had added “inordinate” stress, which took its toll.
A24, Levinson’s agent, and Turen’s close friend, WME agent Andrew Finkelstein, paid for the burial plot, and HBO paid for the reception. In honor of Turen’s love of sushi, the event — attended by several hundred guests — was catered by Katsuya.
The partners had been very different. A person close to both men recalls Turen as “a friendly, outgoing guy who loved to eat, loved to have fun, wasn’t abusive, wasn’t a yeller,” while Levinson is “a big, successful, aloof, somewhat narcissistic artist.” He added, “People resent Sam for lots of reasons, and nobody resented Kevin.”
While Levinson could be generous and kind, he also had a tendency to become overwhelmed and angry. “Sam was very stressful to everyone around him.
He is a person who needs to be managed,” said a source who worked on a Levinson-Turen production. His obsessiveness meant he had “no off button. He would shoot all night if he could. He always wants to push boundaries and shock people a little bit. He needs someone to manage his thoughts and ideas.”
Levinson’s relationship with Turen wasn’t the only one that had frayed. Zendaya, once so close to Levinson that she frequently hung out at his house, had distanced herself from the filmmaker. Another insider said that as she pulled away, Levinson began to resent her.
Levinson’s wife, Ashley, who took on Turen’s duties, brought a more aggressive personality to the work. Levinson, Ashley, and Zendaya all declined to comment for this story.
Meanwhile, “Euphoria” fans eagerly awaited a third season or even an announcement that one would be coming. The last episode aired in February 2022, and the supposedly high school-age stars were getting older and breaking into success in movies.
The delay had been so long that HBO allowed the top stars to book other projects while awaiting an acceptable idea for another season. Finally, after months of speculation about whether there would ever be a season three, HBO announced on July 12 that key cast members had signed on to return, aiming for a January start date.
