‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ Season 3: Release Date Speculation, News, Cast, and More

The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 3 is confirmed. The renewal seems bittersweet for the MAX series due to cast departures and strikes. But the good news is that we’re still returning to Essex College!

Here’s what we know so far about The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 3. Spoilers ahead for Season 2.

The Sex Lives of College Girls Is Confirmed for Season 3

Much to the fans’ delight, HBO announced that The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 3 is on its way. The series was renewed in December 2022. And the show was also part of HBO CEO and Chairman Casey Bloys’ unveiling of the network’s 2024-2025 roster on November 2, 2023.

“Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble continue to brilliantly capture the college experience in the most entertaining and relatable way,” said HBO Max executive vice president of original comedy and adult animation Suzanna Makkos. “This series is the perfect balance of comedy, sex, curiously, and chaos, and we can’t wait to see what the next season brings.”

The Sex Lives of College Girls follows four roommates at the fictional Essex College. They juggle with school, friendships, and sexuality. The series was created by Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble and premiered in November 2021. Since its premiere,

“There’s such a different perception of what a sex life is to an 18, 19, 20-year-old girl now in an extraordinary way. We want our show to be in that realm of sex positivity,” Noble told Bustle in November 2021.

Kaling said at the time she wanted the show to depict sex as both fun and awkward.

“It’s not the successful sex lives of college girls,” said Kaling. “But I think the reason why it wasn’t just the romantic lives of college girls is that they come to college and…yeah, they want to have a sexual awakening.”

The Sex Lives of College Girls Cast: Who Is Returning and Who Is Leaving?

For The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 3, we can expect most of the main cast to return. This includes Pauline Chalamet as Kimberly Finkle, Amrit Kaur as Bela Malhotra, Renee Rapp as Leighton Murray, and Alya Chanelle Scott as Whitney Chase. However, Rapp will be stepping down as a series regular. Deadline reported that Rapp will only appear in limited episodes for Season 3 before making her exit.

Rapp shared her impending departure in a post on Instagram, thanking her co-stars.

“College girls moved me out to LA and introduced me to some of my favorite people. Two and a half years later – it’s given me y’all and this community,” said Rapp, following the news.

“Thank u Mindy, Justin, and everyone at Max for believing in me. A lot of queer work gets belittled – but playing Leighton has changed my life. I love who I am 10x more than I did before knowing her. I hope she gave y’all a little bit of that too. She’s such a tiny part of representation but even the tiny parts count. I wouldn’t be half the person I am without her and y’all. I love that bitch more than you know. I’m so excited for this season and I can’t wait for you to see what we have coming for her and the girls.”

Also expected to return are Mekki Leeper as Eric, Christopher Meyer as Canaan Greene, Ilia Isorelys Paulino as Lila Flores, Lolo Spencer as Jocelyn, Renika Williams as Willow, and Mitchell Slaggert as Jackson. No word yet on new cast additions for Season 3.

What Happened So Far

The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 2 occurred during their first year at Essex College. It also meant new challenges for Kimberly, Leighton, Bela, and Whitney. Leighton is dating multiple people, while Kimberly is actively trying to repay her student loan debt. Meanwhile, Whitney is taking up biochemistry, and Bela is launching her own comedy zine.

Kimberly ends up falling for Whitney’s ex Canaan, and the two of them act on their feelings and kiss. Unbeknownst to them, Whitney witnessed the moment, heartbroken. Kimberly is unaware that Whitney saw their moment, but it definitely resulted in Whitney deciding to move in with the Kappa sorority.

Leighton, on the other hand, having broken up with her girlfriend Tatum, reunites with Alicia, whom she dated in Season 1. While Leighton was looking forward to moving into the Kappa sorority house, she changed her mind after an alumnus and donor made offensive remarks to her.

As for Bela, she traversed through a rough road throughout Season 2. It even ended with her making discouraging remarks to a comedy writer asking for her advice. After self-reflection, she met with the dean and requested to transfer schools.

What to Expect for Season 3

Noble told Variety in December 2022 that the question of living arrangements as the girls enter their sophomore year will be a big part of Season 3.

“We dangle this idea of – who’s going to room together in the second year?” said Noble. “For me, that was always the most fascinating part of college. It’s literally announcing a test. It’s saying, ‘Hey, you all lived together. Do you like each other enough to live together again?’ I remember being in the meeting when it happened and looking around like, ‘Oh my God, are we going to answer in front of everyone and say we want to live with these people?’”

Separately, Noble told Deadline in December 2022 that Bela will have “a lot to figure out” in the coming season.

“When she’s giving that laundry list of items at the end of the episode, you really do realize that she has surprisingly not had the track record at Essex that her upbeat, positive energy self probably thought she had. I think it hits her fast and I think the perfectionist in her just has to cut and run. It’s like, ‘This is too much to fight backward from. I should start fresh somewhere else.’”

Ilia Isorelys Paulino, who plays Lila Flores, hopes that her character gets more action.

“One of my wants and desires is to see Lila f***ing for personal reasons of course,” She told Us Weekly in December 2022. “It’s not lost on me that I’m the biggest girl on the show. It’s not lost on me that I’m also playing the character who is unapologetically loving her body out loud no matter who she’s in front of. I think that by itself tackles this topic of body positivity.”

The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 3 Release Date News & Speculation

The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 3 is expected to begin filming in early 2024 in Los Angeles. Following the WGA strike, the writers’ room reopened in early October. So fans can rest assured that new episodes are being written now.

As far as when we might see the series return to the small screen, there’s no official word on a release date for the new season yet. But it’s not likely to return before late 2024 at the very earliest or even early 2025.

For now, fans can rewatch the first two seasons on MAX.