Eric Dane returned to Euphoria in season three’s second episode which aired on Sunday, marking his first posthumous appearance in the HBO show.

The actor, who plays Cal Jacobs, completed his scenes before his death from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at age 53 in February 2026.

The beloved actor revealed in April 2025 that he had been diagnosed with ALS, but just days later confirmed he still planned to return to the hit drama, with the show becoming his final onscreen appearance.

His character wasn’t in the season premiere, but the first episode did include a photo of the actor onscreen with the message, ‘In remembrance of Eric Dane. 1972-2026.’

In the season’s second episode, ‘America My Dream,’ which aired Sunday, Cal is seen visiting his son Nate (Jacob Elordi).

Appearing tipsy and with beer bottles in front of him, Cal tells Nate that he is attending SLA meetings, which is ‘Sex and Love Addicts,’ before questioning his son about his financial issues.

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Eric Dane returned to Euphoria in season three’s second episode which aired on Sunday, marking his first posthumous appearance in the HBO show

Viewers are shown that Nate is falling into significant debt while trying to keep his father’s real estate business afloat, whilst his fiancée Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) has turned to OnlyFans to raise funds for their wedding.

‘Once you give into temptation, it knows no limits. I’m speaking from experience,’ Cal tells his son.

‘You’re gay. You’re in denial, and it came out in very weird ways,’ Nate replies. ‘I’m not gay,’ Cal protests, adding, ‘I was a hedonist.’

Eric remains seated for most of his scene, with Euphoria’s creator Sam Levinson recently revealing that he and the actor had worked around his ALS diagnosis during filming.

Sam revealed that Eric had told him about his diagnosis before they began shooting.

‘We had a lot of conversations about just life and what that meant,’ Sam told Extra. ‘I loved him very deeply, and I said, ‘Eric, whatever shape you show up in, we’re gonna make it work. I have faith that it’s all gonna work”.

He added that when Eric came to set, he had ‘a slight slur in his voice,’ due to his illness.

In response, Sam recalled, ‘I said, “Don’t worry. We’ll just put, like, five beer bottles in front of you and you’ve been drinking all night.” He was like, “Perfect, perfect.” And his character, it was such a gift.’

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The actor, who plays Cal Jacobs, completed his scenes before his death from ALS at age 53 in February 2026, with the show becoming his final onscreen appearance

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View gallery

In the season’s second episode, ‘America My Dream,’ which aired Sunday, Cal is seen visiting his son Nate ( Jacob Elordi )

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View gallery

Appearing tipsy and with beer bottles in front of him, Cal tells Nate that he is attending SLA meetings – ‘Sex and Love Addicts,’ before questioning his son about his financial issues

Eric’s character is set to make further appearances throughout the third season.

In the trailer Cal is seen reuniting with Jules (Hunter Schafer) after their memorable sexual encounter in season one.

‘Remember me?’ Jules asks Cal in a brief clip. ‘How could I forget?’ he replies.

The reunion scene was shot during Nate and Cassie’s wedding – a key part of production.

‘We’ve got 28 cast members on set, and he just showed up every day with such grace and dignity,’ Sam said of Eric. ‘He was a great human being.’