Euphoria intimacy co-ordinator says stars were 'pushed' for explicit scenes in new season

Discussion about Euphoria’s newest season, moreso than the two that came out before, has centred on the several explicit scenes in the new episodes.

This has been a much bigger theme in the new season, with Sydney Sweeney’s character Cassie becoming an OnlyFans star and a scene in which she pretended to be a baby went viral.

Hunter Schafer’s Jules took on a similar step up in explicit scenes as after the five-year time jump she is now a sugar baby being ‘mummified’.

Add to that Zendaya’s character working in a strip club and being witness to a disturbing intimate scene involving one of the women at the club, and there are far more explicit scenes in this new season.

One of the intimacy co-ordinators who worked on the show has now spoken out though, revealing that the actors were ‘pushed’ this season, and appearing to hit back at critics.

Mam Smith, the intimacy co-ordinator on Euphoria, spoke on the In the Envelope podcast about the new season.

Sydney Sweeney in the new season of the HBO show (HBO)

Despite the general feeling from fans that this season has been far more explicit than the last two, Smith was actually critical of the overall trend of more and more TV shows going further in this area.

She said she wanted to see ‘more creative ways’ of displaying intimate scenes, saying: “I don't know that things need to be sexually explicit.

“Lots of times, letting them fill in the gaps will keep people engaged rather than withdraw. I'm probably talking myself out of work.”

The intimacy co-ordinator, who worked as a stunt actor for years, admitted that the latest season was ‘constantly challenging, all day, every day’.

Ultimately though she said that the ‘whole production was interested in creating [a safe space for actors]' in the show’s intimate scenes.

A graphic intimate scene in the new episode had viewers shocked (HBO)

She added: “These actors were pushed - they were asked - to be so vulnerable, that creating a safe container was so important.

“We immediately were able to find a workflow that supported [Sam Levinson’s] work, and it allowed the actors to feel safe.”

She admitted that the standardisation of intimacy co-ordinators, and how they were specifically accepted on Euphoria, has made her job much easier, adding: “On Euphoria I would step in and the PAs would be like: ‘OK, we've closed the set, come take a look.'

“Before, I'd have to go: ‘Please, close the set, I want to block this, this area is too exposed’.

“We would go through this thing, and we'd have to convince different departments to cooperate.

“They just didn't see the asset, but the more you get into a routine, the more people are aware and understand how it works, and the value it brings, the easier it is to integrate. So that's been a real arc for me.”