Euphoria has made global superstars of its Gen Z cast – including Maude Apatow, winner of the Max Mara Face of the Future award
We’re still months away from the third and final season of Euphoria hitting our screens in April, but the internet is awash with theories about how the cult TV show will end, from the tantalising (Nate will leave Cassie and reunite with Jules) to the tragic (Rue will die). If fans are desperate to discover the fate of the East Highland High alumni, for cast members the finale will be bittersweet. ‘I can’t even think about it. It will make me too sad,’ Maude Apatow says, shaking her head almost in disbelief that the series she’s been working on for the past eight years is wrapping up. ‘I’ve been working on Euphoria since I was 20 and I’m about to be 28. We’ve learned so much and we’ve been through so much together, so coming back this last season has been very emotional.’
It’s been four years since the cast were last on set together. Naturally, that has necessitated a time jump in the Euphoria narrative. When we meet, Apatow is on a brief break from filming to attend Milan Fashion Week with Max Mara and won’t be drawn on details of the new Euphoria plot, but she does say she believes they’re ‘finishing strong.’
What we do know is that season three picks up with the characters post education, as they start their working lives as young adults, trying to figure out their path in life. The show’s creator, Sam Levinson, has talked about wanting to open up the Euphoria universe – so we get to see these characters beyond the microcosm of high school and making their way out in the real world.
WORDS HATTIE BRETT
PHOTOGRAPHS CULLY WRIGHT
STYLING J ERRICO
Published on 2nd February 2026
Apatow’s character, Lexi — who was arguably always the most sane, stable and likeable of the show’s troubled teens — has channelled her talent for script writing (who can forget that school play scene?) into a career in entertainment, now an assistant to a bigwig Hollywood showrunner, who thrillingly will be played by Sharon Stone.
For Apatow, though, it was returning to work with the original cast members, now some of Hollywood’s biggest Gen Z power players — Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer — that had the greatest appeal. ‘We’re like family at this point,’ she says. ‘We’ve spent an enormous amount of time together and we’ve gone through high highs and low lows and through all of that I think we have each other. That’s been nice because it’s a huge sort of experience and we’re all going through it together and we can talk to each other about it. It’s amazing and it’s also stressful.’
THE CAST IS LIKE FAMILY.
WE’VE BEEN THROUGH
HIGH HIGHS AND LOW LOWS
Dress, £1,170, Max Mara
MAUDE APATOW
HAIR: CHERILYN FARRIS. MAKE-UP: SHELBY SMITH. SHOOT PRODUCERS: JENN KIM AND RYAN HOLT
AT KINDLY PRODUCTIONS. PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: MACKENZIE PAULSON. PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSISTANT:
JAMES ROSS MANKOFF. HAIR ASSISTANT: JAIME MALONEY
Editor-in-chief: HATTIE BRETT. creative director: carolyn roberts. Deputy editor: HANNA WOODSIDE
With thanks to the aster hotel los angeles
Jumper, £455, and shorts, price on request, both Max Mara
Jumper, £395, shorts, £465, shoes, £555, and belt, £170, all Max Mara
She says her fondest memories of filming are of the scenes when the cast are all together. ‘Like the New Year’s Eve party in season one or the carnival, where we all spent two weeks working all together, sitting around and chatting.’ As for who’s the goofiest on set? ‘Hunter makes me laugh really hard. We’re always laughing together. My favourite set, there’s a group chat – make that multiple breakout group chats — but Apatow admits, “If anything, I’m the most active.”
Apatow says it was during the Covid pandemic that she suddenly realised just how much the series had taken off, when her TikTok timeline was filled with people posting dances to the Euphoria soundtrack. The show, which never shied away from depicting the darker side of adolescence — sex, drugs and toxic bullying — precipitated a thousand think pieces about teen culture today. It also launched the careers of its young cast, who are now fully-fledged A-list names, top of every Hollywood casting director’s wish list. “Now when we went back to film season two, it felt like a different beast. I was like, ‘Oh shit, this is crazy.’”
What made Euphoria such a success, Apatow believes, is its confidence. ‘Even though a lot of it is very dramatised and heightened, it feels very truthful. It never was trying to be something else. It was what it was. It wasn’t trying to be a drama or a teen drama. It was its own thing; a trend it was setting and I think that’s cool that it’s so sure of itself,’ she says.
Now, Apatow is taking what she’s learned from Euphoria and applying it to her own directorial debut — indie-film Poetic License. The romcom, about a therapist and soon-to-be empty-nester mum who becomes the object of affection for two male college students, got rave reviews at the Toronto Film Festival. It also stars Apatow’s real life mum, actor Leslie Mann.
‘When I read the script, one of the big storylines is about a mother and daughter and there were parts of it that really reminded me of us,’ Apatow says of having no hesitation about casting family. ‘My mom is amazing at doing very grounded comedy and that’s exactly what the part called for. It wasn’t really a question. I think she’s the best at what she does. And she was perfect.’
Now, as the worthy recipient of the Max Mara Face of the Future award — one bestowed on Emily Blunt, Gemma Chan and Zoe Saldana in previous years and seen as a bellwether of trailblazing talent — Apatow finds that she’s the one being asked for advice about how to break through in Hollywood. You get the sense it’s a position she’s not quite familiar with yet. ‘It’s crazy!’ she laughs. ‘I look up to so many different women in film and female filmmakers and I feel very honoured to be seen as one of them.’
Apatow says she copes with the pressure by concentrating on the work itself — not the public reaction. ‘When you release something into the world it’s no longer yours and you have zero control over how people will respond to it and what they think of it,’ she says. ‘When I was in film school I remember writing papers about movies and making stuff up that I don’t think the film-maker intended. But you can find meaning in most art that the people themselves didn’t intend.’
All of which is partly why Apatow may be reticent to read the fan theories around the explosive end of Euphoria. ‘They make me laugh. I don’t wish any of them are real, but I respect it. I let people think that...’ Just note that she is giving nothing away until the end on the Euphoria cast group chat.
It’s clear that Apatow doesn’t intend to shy away from the fact she grew up in one of Hollywood’s most successful comedic families. She’s starred alongside her mum in Knocked Up and semi-sequel This Is 40 — just two of her dad Judd Apatow’s very funny, very real films.
But what was it like directing her mum? ‘My mom is my best friend. Knowing her so intimately, knowing her emotional levels, I know what she’s capable of. So I was able to be very clear what I wanted her to do in each moment,’ she recalls. ‘But she’s so truthful and present as an actress so, most of the time, I didn’t really need to do anything because she’s already got it.’
Staying present is one of the most valuable pieces of advice Apatow’s mum has given her. ‘She’d always say that to me, but, when I was directing her, I saw her doing it and when I went back to Euphoria to shoot this season, I tried to stay really present.’
MAUDE’S MOMENT
Jacket, £990, and bra, £200, both Max Mara
I look up to so many female filmmakers – I’m honoured
to be seen as one of them
MAUDE APATOW
Left: Jumper, £1,150, and skirt, £1,330, both Miu Miu; shoes, £930, Gucci
Right: Jacket, £2,250, top, £1,650, and skirt, price on request, all Loewe; watch, £6,200, Omega; tights (worn throughout), £30, Falke
The star of cult TV show Industry discusses identity, ambition and meeting her teenage heroes with Zing Tsjeng
PHOTOGRAPHS DANNY KASIRYE
STYLING MOLLY HAYLOR
Published on 19th January 2026
Your first Met Gala is a huge deal for any rising talent. Hitting the red carpet last year in custom thigh-high Timberlands and a bespoke look from Luar designer Raul Lopez, Industry star Myha’la looked the very picture of a dynamite young actor confidently staking her claim to the limelight. That is, until the 29-year-old star spotted Robert Pattinson at the after-party.
"I read all the Twilight books, I watched the movies a million times," she says, her eyes widening behind vintage Blumarine glasses. "I was like, ‘Don’t be weird. Don’t go straight up to him.’" As she casually walked past her former childhood crush, Pattinson’s partner, Suki Waterhouse, tapped her on the shoulder. “See, Rob, see?” Waterhouse exclaimed and then turned to Myha’la. “He was being shy and weird and didn’t want to say anything, but we’ve been watching Industry – we love you.”
Today, Myha’la shakes her head in disbelief. “Don’t tell my man,” she laughs, “but my dreams were really coming true.”
Left: Skirt, £150, Ashley Williams; shoes, £695, Christian Louboutin; shirt ( just seen), £1,250, Gucci
Right: Shirt, £120, With Nothing Underneath, dress, £3,405, Givenchy by Sarah Burton
We’re still months away from the third and final season of Euphoria hitting our screens in April, but the internet is awash with theories about how the cult TV show will end, from the tantalising (Nate will leave Cassie and reunite with Jules) to the tragic (Rue will die). If fans are desperate to discover the fate of the East Highland High alumni, for cast members the finale will be bittersweet. ‘I can’t even think about it. It will make me too sad,’ Maude Apatow says, shaking her head almost in disbelief that the series she’s been working on for the past eight years is wrapping up. ‘I’ve been working on Euphoria since I was 20 and I’m about to be 28. We’ve learned so much and we’ve been through so much together, so coming back this last season has been very emotional.’
It’s been four years since the cast were last on set together. Naturally, that has necessitated a time jump in the Euphoria narrative. When we meet, Apatow is on a brief break from filming to attend Milan Fashion Week with Max Mara and won’t be drawn on details of the new Euphoria plot, but she does say she believes they’re ‘finishing strong.’
What we do know is that season three picks up with the characters post education, as they start their working lives as young adults, trying to figure out their path in life. The show’s creator, Sam Levinson, has talked about wanting to open up the Euphoria universe – so we get to see these characters beyond the microcosm of high school and making their way out in the real world.
ANOTHER BLACK PERSON
HAD TO GIVE ME PERMISSION
TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY
OWN BLACKNESS
MYHA'LA
Apatow’s character, Lexi — who was arguably always the most sane, stable and likeable of the show’s troubled teens — has channelled her talent for script writing (who can forget that school play scene?) into a career in entertainment, now an assistant to a bigwig Hollywood showrunner, who thrillingly will be played by Sharon Stone.
For Apatow, though, it was returning to work with the original cast members, now some of Hollywood’s biggest Gen Z power players — Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer — that had the greatest appeal. ‘We’re like family at this point,’ she says. ‘We’ve spent an enormous amount of time together and we’ve gone through high highs and low lows and through all of that I think we have each other. That’s been nice because it’s a huge sort of experience and we’re all going through it together and we can talk to each other about it. It’s amazing and it’s also stressful.’
Shirt, £990, McQueen
She says her fondest memories of filming are of the scenes when the cast are all together. ‘Like the New Year’s Eve party in season one or the carnival, where we all spent two weeks working all together, sitting around and chatting.’ As for who’s the goofiest on set? ‘Hunter makes me laugh really hard. We’re always laughing together. My favourite set, there’s a group chat – make that multiple breakout group chats — but Apatow admits, “If anything, I’m the most active.”
Apatow says it was during the Covid pandemic that she suddenly realised just how much the series had taken off, when her TikTok timeline was filled with people posting dances to the Euphoria soundtrack. The show, which never shied away from depicting the darker side of adolescence — sex, drugs and toxic bullying — precipitated a thousand think pieces about teen culture today. It also launched the careers of its young cast, who are now fully-fledged A-list names, top of every Hollywood casting director’s wish list. “Now when we went back to film season two, it felt like a different beast. I was like, ‘Oh shit, this is crazy.’”
THE CAST IS LIKE FAMILY.
WE’VE BEEN THROUGH
HIGH HIGHS AND LOW LOWS
MAUDE APATOW
What made Euphoria such a success, Apatow believes, is its confidence. ‘Even though a lot of it is very dramatised and heightened, it feels very truthful. It never was trying to be something else. It was what it was. It wasn’t trying to be a drama or a teen drama. It was its own thing; a trend it was setting and I think that’s cool that it’s so sure of itself,’ she says.
Now, Apatow is taking what she’s learned from Euphoria and applying it to her own directorial debut — indie-film Poetic License. The romcom, about a therapist and soon-to-be empty-nester mum who becomes the object of affection for two male college students, got rave reviews at the Toronto Film Festival. It also stars Apatow’s real life mum, actor Leslie Mann.
‘When I read the script, one of the big storylines is about a mother and daughter and there were parts of it that really reminded me of us,’ Apatow says of having no hesitation about casting family. ‘My mom is amazing at doing very grounded comedy and that’s exactly what the part called for. It wasn’t really a question. I think she’s the best at what she does. And she was perfect.’
It’s clear that Apatow doesn’t intend to shy away from the fact she grew up in one of Hollywood’s most successful comedic families. She’s starred alongside her mum in Knocked Up and semi-sequel This Is 40 — just two of her dad Judd Apatow’s very funny, very real films.
But what was it like directing her mum? ‘My mom is my best friend. Knowing her so intimately, knowing her emotional levels, I know what she’s capable of. So I was able to be very clear what I wanted her to do in each moment,’ she recalls. ‘But she’s so truthful and present as an actress so, most of the time, I didn’t really need to do anything because she’s already got it.’
Staying present is one of the most valuable pieces of advice Apatow’s mum has given her. ‘She’d always say that to me, but, when I was directing her, I saw her doing it and when I went back to Euphoria to shoot this season, I tried to stay really present.’