Augustine Frizzell's HBO Pilot Euphoria Gets Picked Up

Dallas filmmaker Augustine Frizzell is having a transformative year. Just as her feature debut Never Goin’ Back hits screens around the country, it’s been announced that the HBO pilot she directed and co-executive produced, Euphoria, will be picked up for a full series. And according to Deadline, the show—which already had teen star Zendaya attached as the lead—will come with even more celebrity shine now that both Drake and his manager, Future the Prince, are attached as executive producers.

Frizzell’s involvement in the project moving forward is still up in the air. According to her, she’s been invited back to do more, but it will all depend on availability and filming schedules. (As you can read in Zac Crain’s profile in the August issue of D Magazine, Frizzell’s 2018 dance card is filling up fast.) The A24-produced series is scheduled to hit HBO in 2019.

Euphoria is a teen drama based on a 2012 Israeli series of the same name. It places Zendaya at the core of a group of high schoolers, along with a cast that includes Maude Apatow, Brian “Astro” Bradley, Angus Cloud, Eric Dane, Alexa Demie, Jacob Elordi, Barbie Ferreira, Nika King, Storm Reid, Hunter Schafer, and Sydney Sweeney.

Zendaya released the first teaser video on social media yesterday. In it, we get a little look into Frizzell’s frenetic visual tone, with a glittery, dead-eyed Zendaya staring through the camera. In the background, a time-lapse party sequence flashes. The Instagram post alone has already tracked more than 3 million views.

The original Euphoria series was set in the ‘90s. It followed a group of teens who, in the wake of their friend’s murder, try to shave down their emotional calluses with sex, drugs and other high-consequence alternatives.

Frizzell’s trailer appears to be a more modern take, but we’ll have to wait and see. Or, if you’re impatient, maybe you can try to eek it out of her at the Magnolia Theatre on Friday, Aug. 10. Frizzell is scheduled to lead a Q&A following the 7:30 p.m. screening of Never Goin’ Back.