Euphoria, HBO’s first ever series about teenagers, starring Zendaya, premiered on Sunday, and the one thing everyone’s talking about, whether they loved it or hated it, is how shocking it is. Perhaps forgetting that the network is known for series that feature plenty of sex, drugs, and violence, viewers who tuned in to watch the first episode this weekend were, apparently, not expecting all the sex, drugs, and violence there is in the show: there were complaints about the nudity, the graphic sex scenes, and the main character’s drug abuse (which is right there in the show’s synopsis, but, anyway). And yes, there is a lot of that, and it might be hard to watch sometimes because the characters are so young, but the thing about Euphoria is that the stories it tells are much more complex and worth watching than the series is shocking.
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“It’s shocking on TV, but in real life, that’s teenager culture.” (Sydney Sweeney)
Above all else, the series is about being a teenager.
The show’s creator, Sam Levinson, said in an interview with Cultura Colectiva, that he wanted to make a show that reflected as closely as possible just how hard it can be for teenagers not only to make their way through this time in their life, but also to make sense of it. So, for that reason, the characters and plotlines in the series depict teenagers being teenagers: being reckless, making bad decisions, feeling lost, but most of all, wanting to live and experience everything that the world has to offer all at once.
@euphoria
It’s about figuring out who we are and who we want to become.
Like many teen shows that came before it, Euphoria follows the lives of various characters who could be superficially described as stereotypes: there’s the druggie loner, the fat girl, the hot girl, the cheerleader, and the jock, to name a few. But where the show stands out is in the way it explores each character’s identity in depth, letting them be, as Barbie Ferreira (who plays Kat, “the fat girl”) puts it, “much more than their labels.” With each episode, we get a better look at the universe that lies behind each character’s label, pushing the audience to “look deeper and find people’s stories” (Algee Smith, who plays McKay).
“We’re not just trying to hit all the diversity marks.” (Hunter Schafer)
It’s about friendship.
At its core, besides all the “shocking” moments, the series is also about the friendship between two girls: Rue, the drug addicted protagonist, and Jules (played by Hunter Schafer), a young trans woman who just moved into town. They come from extremely different backgrounds and struggle with problems the other one couldn’t even begin to comprehend, but they are drawn to each other from the moment they meet for the first time, maybe because they recognize that they’re both outcasts in their own way. It’s a great example of teen-girl-friendship at its most beautiful and essential: they see the beauty in each other in ways that no one else does, and just by being there for each other, they are making sure that the other one feels seen and loved and survives.
“Drugs are fun, but they will destroy you.” (Sam Levinson, the show’s creator)
It’s about the real-life horror of drug addiction.
Sam Levinson was asked if he ever thought about the possibility of a young person watching the show and wanting to be the protagonist. After all, the show’s breathtaking cinematography could make more than one viewer think about doing drugs in order to feel like Rue when she’s at her highest. But, he said, that was the last thing he wanted. Since he has first-hand experience of what it’s like to live with drug addiction, he wanted to tell the story so well and convey the horrors of addiction so vividly that anyone who saw the show would only feel compassion for Rue. So, yes, there might be scenes where the horror is too much for some viewers, but the point is to help us really see Rue and what she is struggling with.
As the show progresses, who knows how many other graphic scenes are in store for viewers, but what we do know is that Euphoria will be giving everyone a lot to talk about. Hopefully, though, it won’t just be about how many penises there are in one episode…
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