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Eric Dane makes final ‘Euphoria’ Season 3 appearance and there’s a subtle nod to his ALS diagnosis

Eric Dane died at 53 in February, and Episode 2 marked his first posthumous appearance in the TV series

Contains spoilers for 'Euphoria' Season 3 Episode 2

'Euphoria' Season 3 Episode 2 saw Eric Dane's Cal Jacobs make his first posthumous appearance in the TV series. Titled 'America My Dream,' the episode caused quite a stir on social media, especially after his death in February following his battle with ALS. He shared the diagnosis in 2025, four days before he started filming the third installment of the teen drama. This suggests that Dane knew about his ALS diagnosis and had disclosed it to fans during his onscreen appearances in the hit HBO drama. Per reports, it is still unclear if he shot through November last year, when production reportedly wrapped up.

In the latest episode, Jacobs visits his son Nate (Jacob Elordi) to check in on how he's running the real estate business. In typical Cal fashion, "You got anything to drink?" he asks. The sequence then sees how the last five years have been traumatic and humiliating for the character. As the show was filmed after the actor's ALS diagnosis, creator Sam Levinson aimed to make him comfortable with his slurring, a common symptom of the condition, by placing beer bottles in the scene so that he appeared to be drunk. While this was a creative workaround, it also acted as a subtle nod to Dane's ALS. Fans who watched the episode would have noticed five empty bottles of Stella Artois placed in front of him.

Levinson explained the scene while speaking to Extra and said, "Eric called me before we started shooting and told me that he had been diagnosed with ALS. We had a lot of conversations about just life and what that meant. I loved him very deeply, and I said, 'Eric, whatever shape you show up in, we’re gonna make it work.' He showed up, and I could tell he had a slight slur in his voice, and I said, 'Don’t worry. We’ll just put five beer bottles in front of you and [your character has] been drinking all night,' and he said, ‘Perfect, perfect.' He just showed up every day with such grace and dignity. He was a great human being." The network shared a wholesome tribute to the actor during the April 12 premiere of Season 3. 'In remembrance of Eric Dane 1972-2026', the card said. The show also paid tribute to Angus Cloud and EP Kevin Turner, who both died in 2023. 'Euphoria' Season 3 airs new episodes on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.