Kevin Turen, Producer on ‘Euphoria’ and ‘The Idol,’ Dies at 44

Kevin Turen, a producer on HBO’s Euphoria and The Idol and Ti West’s X, Pearl and MaXXXine, has died. He was 44.

A spokesperson for Penske Media Corporation, the parent company of The Hollywood Reporter, confirmed Turen’s death. No other details were immediately available.

“Despite his many achievements in Hollywood, Kevin’s greatest passion was his family and friends,” Jay Penske, CEO of PMC and a close friend of Turen, said in a statement. “He was so proud of his children. He and his wife, Evelina, were resolved that their children grow up with great values and ensured they make a difference in the broader world. Our collective heart breaks for them, and we all feel such a profound sense of loss. We will miss Kevin so much, and this town lost one of its brightest rising stars today.”

Turen was closely associated with Sam and Ashley Levinson. The trio co-founded Little Lamb Productions, which produced HBO’s highly influential drama series Euphoria, which has been nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, winning nine. Turen and the Levinsons also produced the much-talked-about The Idol for HBO and the feature film Pieces of a Woman (2020), which garnered star Vanessa Kirby an Academy Award nomination for best actress. He also had a close creative relationship with filmmaker Ti West, producing X (2022) and Pearl (2022), the first two parts of his critically acclaimed X trilogy starring Mia Goth, and the upcoming third film MaXXXine.

Turen was born in New York City in 1979. He studied at Columbia University, graduating with a degree in English and Critical Film Studies.

Working his way into the film industry, Turen first worked at Capital Entertainment, which became First Look Studios. He began as a creative executive at First Look and eventually rose to president of production and helped the company grow from four employees to more than 150. While at First Look, Turen acquired and distributed more than 100 films, including The Proposition, The Dead Girl (2006) and An American Crime (2007).

He then moved to Infinity Media, serving as president of production there before becoming a principal at Treehouse Pictures. At Treehouse, Turen made his name producing Nicholas Jareki’s Arbitrage (2012), starring Richard Gere, and J.C. Chandor’s All is Lost (2013), starring Robert Redford. For the company, he also produced 99 Homes (2014), At Any Price (2012) and That Awkward Moment (2014).

In 2014, David S. Goyer hired Turen to be president of his production company Phantom Four, where he produced the Netflix feature Tau (2018), and Sam Levinson’s 2018 black comedy film Assassination Nation (2018).

In 2018, Turen and the Levinsons founded Little Lamb Productions. Euphoria, an adaptation of the Israeli miniseries of the same name, was Turen and the Levinsons first foray into television. So far two seasons of Euphoria have been produced, and its frank and realistic depiction of teen life and substance addiction has made it a social media sensation and a darling of the critics. A third season of Euphoria, with Turen executive producing, is expected to begin production in December following the conclusion of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Turen and the Levinsons also produced with The Weeknd the HBO miniseries The Idol. As with Euphoria, The Idol was a social media sensation, although for the wrong reasons as the show was dogged by production rumors and, when it debuted, negative reviews.

Little Lamb also produced the features Malcolm and Marie (2021), starring Zendaya and John David Washington and directed by Sam Levinson, the John Boyega film Breaking (2022) and Olivier Assayas’ HBO miniseries Irma Vep (2022).

Among Turen’s other notable producer credits include Trey Edward Shults’ critically acclaimed drama Waves (2019), Olivier Megaton’s Netflix action drama The Last Days of American Crime (2020), Lena Dunham’s comedy Sharp Stick (2022) and Tom Gormican’s Nicolas Cage-starrer The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022).