Jennifer Morrison is grateful for the one — and probably only — time that she directed an episode of “Euphoria.”
The “Once Upon a Time” actress, 45, helmed the fifth episode of the HBO show’s first season, which aired in July 2019 and centered on Alexa Demie’s Maddy Lopez.
When The Post recently spoke to Morrison about her directorial work on the new season of Showtime’s “Yellowjackets,” she explained why there’s basically no chance she’ll be back on the “Euphoria” set.
“Oh gosh, I wish,” Morrison told The Post. “The reality is Sam Levinson, who’s so brilliant, he directs all of them now. He’s directed all of them since season two — as he should on this show.”
“I don’t believe that for every show,” Morrison explained. “But he’s such a visual visionary. He’s a writing visionary, as well. But he’s such a visual visionary that to be able to let him bring his words to life in the way that his brain conceived it so important for the success of the show.”
Levinson, 40, created the Emmy Award-winning teen drama series and directed about half the episodes in Season 1.
He took over the director role permanently in Season 2 and is expected to do the same in Season 3, which just started production after a long break.
Morrison, who noted that she “started her television directing” career with “Euphoria,” praised her experience working on the show and with Levinson.
“I was lucky enough that I was close to them and knew them and he trusted me with his words and trusted me with his vision in that first season to be able to do it when they weren’t yet letting him direct all of them,” she said. “Because the show hadn’t hadn’t aired yet, they were like, ‘We kind of want you to bring in some other people.’ And he did.”
“I think that went well for the most part,” Morrison continued, “but I also think it’s way more efficient for them to just let his brain be his brain. I will always love that show and I’m really close with them and I really care about them and the show. My heart will always be over there, but I don’t think there’s gonna be a world where Sam does anything but all of it.”
Morrison also gave credit to Levinson for assembling the show’s cast, who have become some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
“Zendaya was a really perfect idea for that person,” she shared. “But also like Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi. These are people that were not household names before ‘Euphoria.’ And he’s the one who saw the vision of what they were capable of and really allows them to shine, but also just gives them an environment where they can be the best actors that they are.”
Morrison added, “People forget sometimes you have to be given that space. And he’s someone who provides that. And it’s exciting to watch all those careers really take off because of those characters.”
Since “Euphoria,” Morrison has directed episodes of “One Of Us Is Lying,” “Dr. Death,” “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, “Tracker” and now “Yellowjackets.”
She worked on two upcoming episodes of the thriller drama series, which stars Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, and Tawny Cyrpress.
“As they were going into Season 3, they had some slots open up and were willing to meet with some new directors,” Morrison said about how she landed her director job on “Yellowjackets.”
“I had a meeting with [producer] Drew [Comins] and his company and he saw my passion for the show and saw that I was no-joke into it. After all of that, I think we all felt aligned and on the same page.”
“This felt like home,” she added. “This just felt like a group of people who felt like home to me. It was great.”
