HBO’s Euphoria will be returning for a second season but star Hunter Schafer isn’t certain about the show’s future beyond that because creator Sam Levinson wants the show to stick to the confines of a high school, and most of the characters are close to graduation.

The series – produced by Drake – has been met with critical acclaim and some controversy, confronting sensitive issues such as drug abuse, underage sex, webcam sex, slut-shaming, and the general horrors of growing up in the social media age.

Hunter Schafer plays Jules, best friend to Zendaya’s Rue, and the season concluded on a cliffhanger with Jules running away from home and leaving Rue behind, while Rue falls back to drugs again after a brief spell of sobriety.

On whether the series could continue beyond season two, Schafer told Digital Spy: “I think Sam said he didn’t see it going on for too long logistically. The story this season followed a semester of school. Rue and Jules and most of the cast are juniors and so it’s like we maybe get two school years, or one more school year.

“The early adult years would be a different story. That’s another show maybe.”

Speaking about what could be next for Jules, the 19-year-old LGBTQ+ activist recently told Elle UK: “It’s a hard question because the part of me that loves her and wants to protect her, wants wholesome things to happen to her. And then the part of me that loves Euphoria wants an interesting story. And it’s hard to choose which direction to go.”

Schafer also revealed that she could personally relate to her storyline with Zendaya’s Rue, which progresses from friendship into something more, because she’s a trans girl “moving into queerness”. It also goes against preconceptions of trans women “lusting after men”.

“I remember I got the first four episodes when I was auditioning, and that was definitely an intriguing part because I think we’ve seen the trans girl lusting after men, that narrative has been available,” Schafer recalled.

“And this was something I’m more interested in portraying because, number one, it’s had less screen time, and number two, it relates to me more personally as a trans girl moving into queerness. Once I saw a glimmer of that, I was really excited and it’s kind of what drove me toward going back to more auditions.”