This show is visually.. unbelievable. The acting is outstanding. Every character plays an insanely difficult role to uphold their character. This show is very hard to watch at times - and raises the question of "why?" often. Most negative reviews are coming from those who cannot acquire a taste for the vulgarity of this - which is understandable. This show is not for everyone. But it's undeniable that this show is flawlessly directed - and the actors are so impressive. This is not one of the best shows i've seen in terms of story line, but in terms of cinematography and acting this show is superb. Gotta give it up to Zendaya, too. Wow.
993 Reviews
Creative cinematography and editing, but completely unrealistic as a teen drama.
fciocca12 August 2021
From a technical perspective "Euphoria" is untouchable and definitely brings novelty to the genre. I really enjoyed the cinematography style, some camera movements are particularly creative and the editing is out of this world. The visual representation is dreamy, the lights are vivid and colorful. The aesthetic of the show is what pushed me to finish the first season, including the two specials that deserve their own small paragraph.
I cannot say that I was really impressed by the plot, which I found very unrealistic. In this narrative universe having a dysfunctional family or a sick brain is just normal. No one has a regular life with everyday problems. All the teens have extreme sex, drink until blacking out or use drugs. Most of the girls are depicted as hookers, and parents apparently do not exist. I wish mine were so permissive when I was a teenager. Is it possible that most of the moms and dads in this show either have problems with alcohol or they are completely deranged? Nate is just unbelievable as a character. What he does during the season is completely out of any logic. I could not stand Maddy. She could have been interesting, but she has very little development and she is annoying. Writers could have used her more, but she is flat and predictable on her actions. Zendaya is amazing and I think that we are going to see great stuff from her. I liked her in "Malcolm & Marie". I am really looking forward to "Dune". One of the most talented young actresses in the star system at the moment. Kudos to Hunter for playing her role pretty well, considering that this was her first acting experience ever.
The two special episodes released one year after the end of the first season are breathtaking. These are two long dialogue sequences about serious and deep topics such as drug abuse, the weight of emotions during the teenage years and the difficulty to express themselves towards other people. It hit me really hard, because it is so meaningful and you can see the pain and the discomfort that two young girls feel and how they perceive themselves after some rough experiences.
Creating a visually appealing show is not enough to make it good. I don't understand why creators needed to go so over the top and they did not decide to create something more realistic, while maintaining the whole dreamy aesthetic. This could have been easily one of my favourite shows, if only the quality of the script matched the one of the visuals.
I cannot say that I was really impressed by the plot, which I found very unrealistic. In this narrative universe having a dysfunctional family or a sick brain is just normal. No one has a regular life with everyday problems. All the teens have extreme sex, drink until blacking out or use drugs. Most of the girls are depicted as hookers, and parents apparently do not exist. I wish mine were so permissive when I was a teenager. Is it possible that most of the moms and dads in this show either have problems with alcohol or they are completely deranged? Nate is just unbelievable as a character. What he does during the season is completely out of any logic. I could not stand Maddy. She could have been interesting, but she has very little development and she is annoying. Writers could have used her more, but she is flat and predictable on her actions. Zendaya is amazing and I think that we are going to see great stuff from her. I liked her in "Malcolm & Marie". I am really looking forward to "Dune". One of the most talented young actresses in the star system at the moment. Kudos to Hunter for playing her role pretty well, considering that this was her first acting experience ever.
The two special episodes released one year after the end of the first season are breathtaking. These are two long dialogue sequences about serious and deep topics such as drug abuse, the weight of emotions during the teenage years and the difficulty to express themselves towards other people. It hit me really hard, because it is so meaningful and you can see the pain and the discomfort that two young girls feel and how they perceive themselves after some rough experiences.
Creating a visually appealing show is not enough to make it good. I don't understand why creators needed to go so over the top and they did not decide to create something more realistic, while maintaining the whole dreamy aesthetic. This could have been easily one of my favourite shows, if only the quality of the script matched the one of the visuals.
it's good but it's bad
idoshevah10 March 2022
I'll make this review short:
excellent acting, excellent directing, excellent visuals.
The only thing that is really bad is that it's soooo out of reality. They created a fake world of teenagers being always on the edge, too much drugs, too much sex. 17 year old students played by much older actors it just creates an unrealistic image of life and i hope no actual teens taking notes from it.
The only thing that is really bad is that it's soooo out of reality. They created a fake world of teenagers being always on the edge, too much drugs, too much sex. 17 year old students played by much older actors it just creates an unrealistic image of life and i hope no actual teens taking notes from it.
Dysphoria
Bored_Dragon28 March 2021
Technically, the series is very well done. Great camera and directing, good acting, and the music fits in great, although it's not to my taste. The thick atmosphere draws you in from the start and further raises expectations, which were already high due to the praise I heard. And then the first episode ended and I thought - ok, it needs time to catch the momentum.
It did, but not in a good way. It runs around like a headless chicken. The series deals with real and very serious topics in a way so exaggerated that they have turned serious into frivolous, deep into superficial, real into unreal, and shocking into boring. They started too much, they didn't finish anything. Everything is exaggerated, unbelievable, and incomplete, and the whole project is painfully pretentious. And the biggest flaw is the characters. Almost all of them are incredibly pathetic and irritating, so unconvincingly written that no good acting can save them. I had no one to sympathize with and no one to cheer for, no one to hate. I couldn't care less for any of them, and even if I cared how they would end, I certainly wouldn't have found out. And two additional quasi-philosophical life-coach episodes caused me embarrassment transfers and I even vomited in my mouth a little.
5/10.
It did, but not in a good way. It runs around like a headless chicken. The series deals with real and very serious topics in a way so exaggerated that they have turned serious into frivolous, deep into superficial, real into unreal, and shocking into boring. They started too much, they didn't finish anything. Everything is exaggerated, unbelievable, and incomplete, and the whole project is painfully pretentious. And the biggest flaw is the characters. Almost all of them are incredibly pathetic and irritating, so unconvincingly written that no good acting can save them. I had no one to sympathize with and no one to cheer for, no one to hate. I couldn't care less for any of them, and even if I cared how they would end, I certainly wouldn't have found out. And two additional quasi-philosophical life-coach episodes caused me embarrassment transfers and I even vomited in my mouth a little.
5/10.
No real narrative. Pure shock value.
CriticsVoiceVideo1 February 2022
Nothing groundbreaking or new is being presented here. It's like Larry Clark's "Kids", "Skins", and the original show it's based on. The first six episodes are great. After that, it's straight down the sewer. No real narrative, pretentious, gratuitous nudity, and just relying on shock value. The soundtrack is outdated and boring and the actors are too old, but do give good performances and the cinematography is nice. Watch for the first six episodes, after that it's straight to dullsville.
About teens but not for teens
phd_travel16 November 2019
Sex drugs and more in high school. First a warning. Although this is a show about high school teenagers it's too much for teens to watch. Much more so than "13 reasons Why". There are parts when the scenes are much more explicit than necessary for the story. There isn't a boundary this show doesn't try to push for TV. Having said all that there are some fascinating and bizarre characters that keep things morbidly watchable for 8 episodes. A biracial lesbian drug addict, a transgender girl who is her bestie, a jock with demons, his closeted statutory rapist dad, the list goes on. It's hard to keep track of the different characters and plot twists some tunes. Even if you don't agree with the suitability of the content here the acting is better than it has to be. Zendaya is convincing as an addict very natural acting. Jacob Elordi does the mean jock well.
Hate to say it but do want to see what happens in season 2.
Hate to say it but do want to see what happens in season 2.
I don't know man
djurrepower30 January 2022
I just get 13RW vibes from this show. And instead of being about mental health it goes more about the sexual development and relationships. But I just can't help but think 'is this supposed to be relateble?'. I get that it's all fiction and exaggerated, but still. Is this really how things are in todays american highschools? Because I find that hard to believe. So all in all, good show about more modern topics and settings. But in the end a over the top teen drama.
6/10: eh.
6/10: eh.
Creepy
cara99-325-25346423 January 2022
This Show oversexualizes teenager's it's basically porn with a plot with some romanticizes drug use and drug addiction using beautiful colourful lighting and gitter it's extremely weird to create a show about teen for adults.
Wow, I hope this isn't realistic
Siddhartha1425 March 2022
If today's teenagers are really this vapid, shallow, self-involved and absurd, the world is in deep, deep trouble. Obviously, these teenagers are incredibly affluent. How could an "average" teenager begin to afford the disgusting outfits these girls wear? You know not everything is about sex in high school, right? Depressing AF.
Unlikable actors playing less likeable teens...
jamesvass-623163 January 2022
Are people really this awful? I actually watched this show after reading reviews about how raw and honest it is, but it's just a bunch of people living selfish lives with no redeeming characteristics at all, I don't understand what the writers are aiming for? It's like Beverly Hills 90210 but shot on skid row staring the teenage Real Housewives... Does honest mean boring? Does raw mean terrible? I hope the zombies from the walking dead run through this mob...
Be honest- you only watch it for the excess
toonyjakes3 March 2022
Euphoria is nothing but excessive sexualization in every sense of word. I mean if there's a scene involving drugs, something gets sexual. If there's a tension between 2 or more characters, it gets sexual. I mean even when it gets violent it becomes sexual at some points.
Im not some whiney prudent person, I just like to watch a show that has some meat on its bones rather than just GASP this happened, GASP that happened- everything in this show is dramatic to the point that anything potentially light-hearted flies out the window. By the time you realize "oh hey they're supposed to be teenagers," you've already been soaked in filth. Like okay, teens have alot of sex and they discover themselves and some of them do struggle! But it's not like EVERY SINGLE MOMENT is depressing, intense, drug fueled, and/or sex crazed. Honestly Superbad was a better depiction of teenage life.
All in all, the show is entertaining but I am one of the few to admit it- the excess is all it has. Tons of crying, swearing, fighting, banging, snorting, smoking, cheating, double crossing. And I just can't help but think that the creator just kindaaa wants to see some skin *shrug*
Im not some whiney prudent person, I just like to watch a show that has some meat on its bones rather than just GASP this happened, GASP that happened- everything in this show is dramatic to the point that anything potentially light-hearted flies out the window. By the time you realize "oh hey they're supposed to be teenagers," you've already been soaked in filth. Like okay, teens have alot of sex and they discover themselves and some of them do struggle! But it's not like EVERY SINGLE MOMENT is depressing, intense, drug fueled, and/or sex crazed. Honestly Superbad was a better depiction of teenage life.
All in all, the show is entertaining but I am one of the few to admit it- the excess is all it has. Tons of crying, swearing, fighting, banging, snorting, smoking, cheating, double crossing. And I just can't help but think that the creator just kindaaa wants to see some skin *shrug*
a series where life is as terrible and overwrought as every teen thinks their life is
cherold31 January 2020
This stylishly-filmed angst-fest follows a variety of morose high-schoolers as they deal with addiction, self-esteem issues, and the local neighborhood psychopath. The first season is reminiscent of the UK series Skin's first, best, season.
Hormones make teenagers feel like everything in their life is huge and dramatic and intolerable; this series is about people who really are coping with all sorts of soul-crushing things.
It's also a very glamorized version of teen angst. Everyone is beautiful, the cinematography is sometimes stunning, the girls apparently spend twelve hours a day watching youtube make-up tutorials, and everyone is having lots of sex (trivia: something like 20% of teens are having 90% of teen sex; none of the other 80% are in this series). Zendaya is terrific as the head angster, as is Barbie Ferreira as the token not-skinny girl, who has perhaps the most interesting and unlikely story arc.
It's a really fun series, and for all it's over-the-top ridiculousness, it also captures a lot of the sadness, confusion, and isolation of being a teenager. I'd recommend checking it out.
Hormones make teenagers feel like everything in their life is huge and dramatic and intolerable; this series is about people who really are coping with all sorts of soul-crushing things.
It's also a very glamorized version of teen angst. Everyone is beautiful, the cinematography is sometimes stunning, the girls apparently spend twelve hours a day watching youtube make-up tutorials, and everyone is having lots of sex (trivia: something like 20% of teens are having 90% of teen sex; none of the other 80% are in this series). Zendaya is terrific as the head angster, as is Barbie Ferreira as the token not-skinny girl, who has perhaps the most interesting and unlikely story arc.
It's a really fun series, and for all it's over-the-top ridiculousness, it also captures a lot of the sadness, confusion, and isolation of being a teenager. I'd recommend checking it out.
All style but little substance
sonicvoodoo24 January 2022
I forced myself to get through the first season and watched the first 2 eps of season 2. And am now throwing in the towel. Although stylishly shot with above average acting, there's no way getting around the fact that it's just plain boring with no real story. It might've worked as a 6 eps miniseries but extending it any further makes no sense. I realize I'm not the target demographic but I'm fair and know good stuff when I see it. Euphoria's "story" could've & should've been told in a miniseries; dragging it out is anything but euphoric.
Rubbish.
krzysiektom2 February 2022
This show is incredibly overrated. I think it is rubbish. Stupid, boring, manipulative and depressing rubbish. It presents oversexualized, fake and fake image of typical American teenagers. Its lack of honesty is represented, among other things, by the fact that most actors playing teenagers here are adults. Zendaya is 25 years old. And the script is not deep or thought-provoking, it's dumb and boring.
Totally dysfunctional people
qui_j7 March 2022
It's difficult to understand why anyone would want to watch shows like this where the focus seems to be to glorify dysfunctional behavior and extreme violence. That is now a part of life in today's school system, but does one need to make it seem so pervasive? The show is very overrated, and seeing scene after scene of young people wasting their potential, is neither inspiring or uplifting. The series is just filled with sleazy and disgusting characters! The first 2 episodes were enough!
Any one else hate this?
skpn12325 June 2022
I like it but I don't understand the point of it.
sloncarvuca7 August 2020
First things first, cinematography is beautiful. Actors did really good job and overall it makes a decent show. But I don't understand if it's trying to spread awareness or trying to encourage young people to do this type of behaviour. I also saw one review that said how this show is showing "the truth" about teens today and I personally think they are wrong. In my opinion this show is overly dramatised (I understand that it's a tv show, it's suppost to be dramatic). I'm currently in my late teenage years and I haven't seen anyone going through what these people are going through in this show. But I would still recommend it to people.
American slop.
wolfghostninja23 January 2021
Gorgeous but empty, like the characters
jwcstorage10 May 2023
3 of the four stars are for the gorgeous cinematography. The last star is for SOME of the acting. The story gets zero stars.
I dont disbelieve that there are teens out there that live these kinds of lifestyles, but not these teens in the show. They all seem to barely be functioning humans, much less teenagers. I also understand that teens make bad choices, get in trouble, make mistakes, but again, not in the timeframe in which this show is showing.
It feels like one big 'prestige' drama about drugs and sex with no one at the helm.
Character growth is non-existent but for a few rare and random people. No one learns from their mistakes, improves their lives in any meaningful way, or even has a fall from grace. Everything they do, no matter how horrendous or harmful, they end up back in the same place. Watching it feels like spinning your tires in the mud and expecting a different result from the past four hours of doing the same thing.
With that said, the visuals are great... I just wish they were attached to something with substance, but I guess thats the point. "Oh look at me, I'm so high and glamorous" but in reality you're two inches away from your best friends face laughing like an idiot.
The acting has range, and I dont mean that in a good sense. Some of it ranges from very believable to unfortunately one dimensional cutouts of every teen drama youve ever seen.
You will also spend a good portion of what feels like every episode watching 5-15 minutes of people engaged in bad decision acts in the afformentioned beautiful cinematography but its so hamfisted and goes on for SUCH a long time and happens with such regularity that I was bored even the first time it happened.
I'm sorry to say that this is just a teen drama dressed up in HBO and A24's prestigeness.
I dont disbelieve that there are teens out there that live these kinds of lifestyles, but not these teens in the show. They all seem to barely be functioning humans, much less teenagers. I also understand that teens make bad choices, get in trouble, make mistakes, but again, not in the timeframe in which this show is showing.
It feels like one big 'prestige' drama about drugs and sex with no one at the helm.
Character growth is non-existent but for a few rare and random people. No one learns from their mistakes, improves their lives in any meaningful way, or even has a fall from grace. Everything they do, no matter how horrendous or harmful, they end up back in the same place. Watching it feels like spinning your tires in the mud and expecting a different result from the past four hours of doing the same thing.
With that said, the visuals are great... I just wish they were attached to something with substance, but I guess thats the point. "Oh look at me, I'm so high and glamorous" but in reality you're two inches away from your best friends face laughing like an idiot.
The acting has range, and I dont mean that in a good sense. Some of it ranges from very believable to unfortunately one dimensional cutouts of every teen drama youve ever seen.
You will also spend a good portion of what feels like every episode watching 5-15 minutes of people engaged in bad decision acts in the afformentioned beautiful cinematography but its so hamfisted and goes on for SUCH a long time and happens with such regularity that I was bored even the first time it happened.
I'm sorry to say that this is just a teen drama dressed up in HBO and A24's prestigeness.
trash Sodom show for teens with orgies and full-frontal nudity
iamjamalwhite18 June 2019
Drugs and sex and violence are interesting, unless you are a 14 year old -- then it is just sick. Leave it to HBO to push this trash. Hard fail about High School in an alternate universe where this trash is normal. IF you watch it, be prepared to shower after. YUCK!
HBO original? Oh really?
itsmejordann15 February 2022
Oh jesus, the golden age of HBO is over and this show proves it.... it's the kind of show you'd expect from netflix, hulu, amazon, apple looks more like a porn with romanticization of drugs, so pretentious, so overrated, so without real plot, zendaya is a mediocre and overrated actress the artistic direction is not capable of making this show "flawless, good, innovative" you can have the best photography in the world that doesn't make it a good show... I prefer a thousand times a show with the generic artistic direction and without so many fancy things, BUT THAT HAS A PLOT, A REAL PLOT AND WELL CONSTRUCTED CHARACTERS.
Erm...
noawareness23 September 2022
Instagram: The Show. Everyone living in perfect lighting, to the world's most perfect soundtrack. Even when they're a mess they look perfect. It's like an hour long Snapchat story.
The acting is very good, it looks very nice and the editing is good but the whole show is far too over the top. Even when it's trying to show depression and depravity, it's still glorifying everything that it's trying to condem.
The contradictions overshadow everything good about this show and it doesn't achieve anything. If you can shut your brain off and just enjoy the good parts it's fine but this is a prime example of style over substance.
It's as shallow as a dog bowl but I guess a puddle is deep if you've never been in the ocean.
The acting is very good, it looks very nice and the editing is good but the whole show is far too over the top. Even when it's trying to show depression and depravity, it's still glorifying everything that it's trying to condem.
The contradictions overshadow everything good about this show and it doesn't achieve anything. If you can shut your brain off and just enjoy the good parts it's fine but this is a prime example of style over substance.
It's as shallow as a dog bowl but I guess a puddle is deep if you've never been in the ocean.
Oversexualized teens, drugs, criminal and violence
biba_yu24 December 2022
I wonder for whom is this series written? It's about teenagers, but it should be totally R rated. So, it's basically series for adults to watch how teenagers take drugs, engage in sex work, criminal, violence and a lot, lot of explicit sex scenes. I had to tell myself "these people are actually adults" (because, luckily, they are all close to 30 or over), but still felt dirty and disgusting watching all those sex scenes made to be pleasurable for viewers in way p**n movies are.
There is no real story, no growth of single character, no one to root for because they are really awful people, vain, shallow, aggressive, angry, lazy, vindictive, super insecure, violent, or complete push overs. I can't find single likeable or remotely relatable character. There is an abundance of crime, sex, drugs, violence scenes but not much else. "Teenagers", which are luckily played by adults, are wearing ton of make up, clothes and amount of glitter that would make strippers blush, and look greasy and dirty without a ounce of youthful freshness. My overwhelming feeling watching this abomination was that I really wanted to send them to wash and scrub themselves from all the grease, tons of make up, dirt or whatever body fluids are they covered in, fill them with antibiotics and send them to proper schools for normal children because apparently this school is in hell.
These "kids" seemingly have no ambitions, no hobbies, no innocence, they never study, never do anything creative or useful. They are extremely shallow and invest most time in their looks, image, parties, drugs and of course, ton of sex. If such school exists anywhere I suggest it to be closed, like immediately!
And remind me, why is Rue main character? All she does is dragging along like a zombie, in dream like state, and searches for drugs.
There is no real story, no growth of single character, no one to root for because they are really awful people, vain, shallow, aggressive, angry, lazy, vindictive, super insecure, violent, or complete push overs. I can't find single likeable or remotely relatable character. There is an abundance of crime, sex, drugs, violence scenes but not much else. "Teenagers", which are luckily played by adults, are wearing ton of make up, clothes and amount of glitter that would make strippers blush, and look greasy and dirty without a ounce of youthful freshness. My overwhelming feeling watching this abomination was that I really wanted to send them to wash and scrub themselves from all the grease, tons of make up, dirt or whatever body fluids are they covered in, fill them with antibiotics and send them to proper schools for normal children because apparently this school is in hell.
These "kids" seemingly have no ambitions, no hobbies, no innocence, they never study, never do anything creative or useful. They are extremely shallow and invest most time in their looks, image, parties, drugs and of course, ton of sex. If such school exists anywhere I suggest it to be closed, like immediately!
And remind me, why is Rue main character? All she does is dragging along like a zombie, in dream like state, and searches for drugs.
Hard to Watch
malx-friends13 July 2019
As the father of a teenage girl, I find this very hard to watch, but essential. I have to have several sessions to get through to the end of each episode. These situations ARE real, but maybe don't all occur at the same place and in the same period of time, as they have been put together here for dramatic effect.
Other reviews here are written from the point-of-view of "is it entertaining". I'm writing this with the view of it as docufiction, and I don't apologise for giving 10/10 as such, not as entertainment.
Other reviews here are written from the point-of-view of "is it entertaining". I'm writing this with the view of it as docufiction, and I don't apologise for giving 10/10 as such, not as entertainment.
Culturally Unhealthy Presentation
philosophybug126 October 2021
1. Behavior not typical of most American teens
2. Sexual exploitation of youth
3. Makes all males look evil
4. Culturally unhealthy message in a time where people (young and old) are bombarded with sexually toxic images and situations.
5. May encourage predatory behavior
I think I maybe see what the show was attempting but it was poorly executed and potentially harmful to very young people who will likely be drawn to it due to its cast.
All that said, the acting and cinematography was good. Those who don't find issue with the theme will probably enjoy the series.
The messaging is irresponsible/ethically questionable. It reduces people to objects.
5. May encourage predatory behavior
I think I maybe see what the show was attempting but it was poorly executed and potentially harmful to very young people who will likely be drawn to it due to its cast.
All that said, the acting and cinematography was good. Those who don't find issue with the theme will probably enjoy the series.
The messaging is irresponsible/ethically questionable. It reduces people to objects.
See also
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