from the hit show "Euphoria,"

which is back with a special episode this weekend.

"Part 2: Jules" premieres early this Friday

at 9:00 p.m. on HBO Max

and airs Sunday at 9:00 p.m. on HBO.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Hunter Schafer!

♪♪

♪ Hunter Schafer, breaking all the rules ♪

♪ On "Euphoria," doing her thing as Jules ♪

♪ Hunter Schafer, gotta see the show ♪

♪ And it's streamin' now, HBO ♪

-I am so happy you're here. -Hi!

-Hi. Thank you for being here.

Thank you for being here in studio.

-Thank you, yeah, I know. I'm so happy this could happen.

-And inauguration day. -I know.

It's really wholesome vibes. -It is wholesome vibes.

Yeah. -Yeah.

-I have a big question for you. -Mm-hmm.

-You bought a truck. -Yes.

-Talk to me about this, because you came to the right person.

-Yeah, I heard you have a truck, as well.

-Yeah, a lot of people hear that.

-Yeah. [ Laughter ]

Yeah, no, it sounds cool to say.

-Right, it does feel cool to say that.

-Yeah. I was stewing in L.A.,

like, for the first three or four months in quarantine,

and was rather frustrated with not really being able

to go anywhere, because you kind of --

you need a car in L.A. to, like, go places.

-Yeah, you really do. -Yeah.

So I was like, "Screw it. I'm doin' this."

And I wanted a truck, because I kind of had

this fantasy of, like, being dressed up, like,

super high fem, kind of like this, and then --

but, you know, being in a truck, like...

-Yeah. No, exactly. Yeah. Okay.

You got elbow out the window, cruisin'.

Yeah. -Yeah.

What kind of truck do you have?

-Oh, my gosh. Ford F-150.

-Ford F-150? That's pretty bad-ass.

-It's really -- It's unbelievable.

It's got, like, big wheels and everything.

It's cool. [ Laughter ]

All right. So now -- You're doing this.

You have the special episode of "Euphoria."

Can you describe "Euphoria"? -Yeah. To put it simply,

it's a show that follows a group of high schoolers

navigating addiction, sex, drugs, family dynamics, life.

-Yes. -Yeah.

-The description I heard when it first came out,

they said, "As a parent, I wouldn't watch this show

if I were you, and I go, "What?"

Like, "Wait. What are you talking about?"

So I kind of shied away at first.

But this one, though, you co-wrote and produced.

-Yeah. -How did you get around

to doing that? -Yeah.

Well, I mean, Sam, the writer, director, creator of the show,

and I were talking a lot over quarantine.

And this was kind of happening

while I drove across the country.

So I'd been in North Carolina for a little bit,

and I -- I have to be honest.

I was not doing super well mentally at that time.

You know, as quarantine has put a lot of us.

-Yeah, a lot of people can relate, yeah.

-And I had taken it upon myself to research mental hospitals

in North Carolina. And, um...

-Really? -Yes. And I was --

'Cause, you know, I was like, "It might be a good decision

to do that with where I was at." -Wow. Good for you.

-But they all of them had terrible reviews on Google Maps.

You know? -You're Yelping reviews

for mental hospitals? -Well, yeah, 'cause, like,

I wanted to know, like -- I, fortunately, haven't

been to one before, and I was like, "Okay.

Like, where can I go that would be good?"

And then Sam called me later that day, and -- and

I was like, "Sam, I've been researching mental hospitals

for like two hours. Like, why do they

all have terrible reviews? Like, I can't find any

that are good." He was like, "Well, Hunter,

no one likes being at mental hospitals."

-No kidding. -"No one's going to leave

a good review for a mental hospital."

-A four-star review. "Oh, yeah, I gotta go back.

This was unbelievable." Yeah.

-We started tossing around ideas for the episode again,

and I wrote the episode instead of going to

that kind of institution. -Wow!

-Yeah. -And of got a smile

on your face. -Yeah.

-That's an unbelievable story. -Yeah.

-Good for you for talking to him.

-Yeah. -That's wild.

-Which isn't to say that, you know --

I think mental hospitals are great if you need to go to them.

-Oh, absolutely, yeah.

You should, absolutely, if you need to go.

-Do not decide with the reviews. -Don't go by the Yelp reviews.

-No, no, no. If you need to go get help, you should get help.

But I love that you talked it out,

and look at what you got out of it --

you got art out of this. -Yeah! Well, yeah.

And it was just really nice to be able to put my energy

into something, and Sam was so collaborative.

-And do you know how to write a script?

I'm sorry to -- -I did take Shonda Rhimes'

Master Class earlier in quarantine.

'Cause I got into "Grey's Anatomy," like,

when I was stewing in L.A., before truck.

-Okay. Pre-truck, you got into "Grey's Anatomy."

-Yeah. -That's a lot to get into.

-Yeah. Started watching eight hours of "Grey's Anatomy"

and then I would watch her Master Class.

So I picked up some -- some skills, I think, from that.

-So we have Shonda Rhimes to thank for this episode,

in a weird way. -Thank you, Shonda Rhimes.

-Does she know this at all?

-I don't know her, I mean...

That would be cool if she did, though.

-Yeah. She will now. -Yeah.

-Well, I'm psyched that you're here,

and I'm psyched to see this special here.

I think -- I might -- I can watch this, right?

-Yeah. -It's your work, I have to.

I want to show everyone a clip. Here's Hunter Schafer

in this weekend's special episode of "Euphoria."

Take a look.

♪♪

-At least for me, being trans is spiritual.

You know, it's not religious,

it's not like for some congregation.

It's for me. It's mine. It belongs to me.

And I don't ever want to stand still.

Like...

I want to be alive.

I mean, that's what this has always been about

is, like...staying alive.

[ Applause ]

-Hunter Schafer, everybody!

The second special episode of "Euphoria," "Part 2: Jules,"

premieres this weekend on HBO and HBO Max.