Disclaimer: Euphoria is rated TV-MA for violence, sexual content (including sexual abuse), language, drug usage, graphic scenes, nudity, and dark themes. 

The award winning HBO show, Euphoria, is a major topic of discussion among high school students. Euphoria follows a group of teenagers navigating through a world full of drugs, trauma, and social media.

“I think Euphoria is popular because it is different compared to other T.V. shows that are set in high school,” said Prakriti Patnaik (‘23).

Each character faces a different issue, such as Rue (Zendaya) who struggles with drug addiction, Jules (Hunter Schafer) who deals with depression, and Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) who has mental insecurities. The series also stars Maude Apatow, Jacob Elordi, and Alexa Demie. One problem with the cast that many people have pointed out is that it is not as diverse as a San Jose high school, where it is set, would be.

“They did a good job at diversifying the cast compared to other shows, but I feel like it lacks in Asian and dark-skin representation,” said Nitya Ravi (‘24).

Despite lacking representation, the show focuses on portraying different issues that teenagers regardless of ethnicity face, such as self-esteem and body image issues expressed by Kat (Barbie Ferreira). The issue relates to many high school students since 7 in 10 girls believe they don’t measure up in some way.

“I like how relatable some of the characters are. The way Kat (Barbie Ferreira) talks about her self esteem and image is relatable to a lot of high schoolers,” said Nabeeha Chowdhury (‘24).

Still, many think directors portrayed high school life inaccurately, particularly in regards to the explicit content shown. Many of the episodes are set at parties, including on Halloween and New Year’s Eve.

“I don’t think that the portrayal of high school life is entirely accurate, especially when comparing it to Amador. I see most of the people at Amador more focused on academics instead of parties. If Euphoria was set in college, the story and characters would be more believable,” said Ravi.

Some also argue that the show romanticizes drugs. Rue explains throughout the show how drugs help with her ADHD, bipolar disorder, general anxiety, depression, and borderline personality disorder. Her tragic backstory and the dark side of drug abuse is shown as well, but more time is spent discussing the positives.

“Even though they show a lot of drug use and other explicit things, they also show the downsides that come with it, so I don’t think that Euphoria glorifies it,” said Juhi Goyal (‘24).

Though Euphoria can be explicit and not entirely accurate, it has become the most popular HBO show since Game of Thrones. The critically acclaimed series is now in it’s second season, and has more viewers than ever before. Over 2.4 million people watched the season 2 premiere and ratings are skyrocketing.

“Euphoria can romanticize what being a teenager is like, even though it might not be one hundred percent accurate, it is still fun to watch,” said Chowdhury.