Euphoria special bridge episodes to hit streaming on Binge

Two special episodes of Euphoria leading into the anticipated second season are finally heading to streaming.

It’s been a long year for fans of Euphoria but a special new episode is about to drop within days.

The critically acclaimed HBO drama aired its first season last year with the second season delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But the cast has filmed two “bridge episodes” to treat viewers to a taste of what’s to come before the official series drops at a later date.

Due to hit Binge on Monday, the special “Rue” episode picks up where the finale left off, with this year’s Emmy-award winner Zendaya returning as the titular character.

Rue Bennett is seen sitting in a diner as she has flashbacks of the finale when she decided not to run away with the woman she loves, Jules (Hunter Schafer), which seemingly led her to relapse.

RELATED: Zendaya’s rise from Disney princess to Emmy winner

Zendaya returns as Rue Bennett.

The trailer ends with Rue’s sponsor Ali (Colman Domingo) pulling her out of her trance and asking, “Why’d you call me?”

The gripping finale certainly left fans with more questions than answers, with the dark musical ending leading some viewers to believe Rue had overdosed and died.

Zendaya, 24, earlier said there was “a beautiful second season” that had been written.

“But in order to do it the way we want to do it, we need to wait until it’s safer,” she said.

Created by Sam Levinson, Euphoria follows a group of high school students “as they navigate love and friendships in a world of drugs, sex, trauma and social media,” per the show’s official plot.

Watch every episode of the 2020 Emmy award-winning show Euphoria with Binge. New Bingers get your 14-day free trial and start streaming instantly. Sign up at binge.com.au

RELATED: Euphoria shocks with extremely graphic content

Following the debut episode in June last year, Parents Television Council president Tim Winter warned in a press release: “HBO, with its new high school centred show Euphoria, appears to be overtly, intentionally, marketing extremely graphic adult content – sex, violence, profanity and drug use – to teens and preteens.”

Binge executive director Alison Hurbert-Burns has said Euphoria was one of the most popular shows on its streaming service.

Zendaya became the youngest actress to win Best Actress in a Drama Series at this year’s Emmys. Picture: Arena

“Euphoria is one of the biggest hits of the year and has established a huge cult following here in Australia. It’s consistently one of the most popular titles on Binge,” she said.

“Brought to life with exceptional performances, including from Emmy-award winner Zendaya, Euphoria is compelling viewing and we can’t wait to provide fans with these special episodes before what’s set to be a captivating season two.”

The new episode drops on Binge on Monday, with the second special episode to debut in January.