Euphoria’s literal definition is the extreme feeling of excitement and happiness, and that’s exactly what the internet feels each Sunday night when Euphoria day arrives, when the new episode of the HBO show airs. Not only is the show Euphoric to watch, with amazing cinematography, acting (though Twitter would disagree with me, for some incredibly nonsensical reason) and writing, it also has an undeniable impact on the makeup, fashion and television industries that is impossible to escape. Let’s break it down.
Firstly, let’s talk about the characters. What I love about the characters in Euphoria is that honestly, they all suck. Not that they aren’t deep, complex, and fun. It’s that they are all flawed. They have all done things that are genuinely screwed up and wrong. But that’s life. No one is perfect, and neither are these characters. What makes them so intriguing though? The fact is that they are multidimensional and hyperbolized, especially women. Each character is a heightening version of high school stereotypes with a side to them that completely counters what we’ve seen from that stereotype in previous media. For example, Maddy’s Queen Bee nature is countered with her kindness and loyalty, Cassie’s angelic, girl-next-door image is countered by her selfishness and secret keeping, Kat’s fat girl wallflower-ness is countered by her badassery, and Lexi’s quietness is countered by her confidence.
Each character also falls into a typical high school archetype we’ve seen before, but like everything else in Euphoria, is just presented in a more hyperbolized way. Rue is the chill stoner, literally chasing her next high in some episodes (see season 2, episode 5). Jules can be considered a manic pixie dream girl with her quirky interests and, at least in season 1, girlish image to please men. However, by season 2, she rejects all of that. She doesn’t want a man’s attention. This is also shown through the complex eyes of a maternally traumatized transwoman. Cassie is the typical insecure teenager seeking love from the wrong places, however, she goes to a very unhealthy, extreme place when she fully transforms her entire look, personality, and values to appease whoever she’s with. Kat is the stereotypical “fat friend,” wanting to be treated as beautiful and attractive as her skinny friends, however, Euphoria takes it a step further in classic HBO fashion, and Kat becomes a sexualized, pseudo-empowered cam girl, seeking that validation from anonymous internet users. Maddy is the classic high school ‘It’ girl with school-inappropriate outfits but took it a step further by adding trauma and a very matter-of-fact psychological peek at what motivates her.
The characters’ character development is also to the extreme. Jules starts off as someone wanting to appease men, but by the time we catch back up with her in season two, her goals are the exact opposite. Rue starts off as a drug addict looking to escape, then in Season two is looking to make her addiction her life by forming a naïve, self-indulgent business plan. Maddy reveals she never wants a job, instead wants to do the bare minimum in order to indulge in the finer things in life. However, in season she does get a job in order to indulge in her materialism. Cassie ends the first season wearing off boys, however, her relationship in season two forces her to go down her most toxic and dissociative path in order to please the boy she’s interested in. Even bad dad Cal starts off as a coward, hiding his perverted fantasies, and by season two reveals the darkest parts of himself unapologetically, only for his wicked son Nate to hand him his biggest fears on a clever platter in the season’s finale.
It’s perfect television in every way, but mainly because it holds up a mirror to everything that’s wrong with humanity. Cassie’s insecurity plummets her down a rabbit hole. Maddy’s confrontational nature causes her the most pain. Cal’s dirty secrets give the show’s middle-aged white man actual consequences. Rue’s drug use ruins her entire life and is filmed in the most hyperbolic, anxiety-inducing way to reflect that. The one time Lexi finds her voice it destroys her relationship with her sister even more. It’s a show that makes every character an anti-hero. Every character is flawed. It’s perfect television filled with imperfect characters. That’s what makes it so addictive. That’s also why it’s so hard to watch. Yes, the scenes with 30 dicks and Zendaya’s nose running over a Jolly rancher are hard to watch, but it’s hard to watch ourselves at our most disturbing, vulnerable and shameful. Everyone has a dark side, and like it or not, at least one of Euphoria’s character’s exposed yours.
Now that’s not to say Euphoria’s traumatic scenes do not affect their audience. They do. They are no strangers to controversy. After all, it’s very hard to deal with issues like sex, pedophilia, obsession, violence, gun use, assault, social media, drug use, revenge porn, trauma and mental health delicately, giving each their time, especially on such a fast-paced show. Euphoria approaches in a shockingly frank way, with Zendaya’s monotone voiceover giving off an almost careless point of view. This isn’t the case at all. While Euphoria doesn’t explicitly say how trauma affects its characters, it does show it. After all, it’s one of the most visually stunning shows on TV right now. It’s also fairly accurate for how people deal with trauma. They deflect and pretend everything is okay, but when we are in our lonely, vulnerable moments, that’s hardly the case. That’s Euphoria’s approach. It’s human. So, the style over substance critique viewers are so quick to say, it’s true. They just can’t face that Euphoria is a reflection of themselves through an almost ironically drugged-up, hyped-up lens.
The original teen panic shows Gossip Girl used “you’re nobody until you’re talked about” as its tagline during their first season. Euphoria expands on this same concept in it’s a frank approach to controversy and storytelling. Upon the show’s season 2 finale in early 2022, Euphoria was named the most tweeted-about show of the decade. From memes to critiques, you can’t deny that the HBO hit is the talk of the internet. That, at least to executives at big Hollywood companies like HBO, is all they need to call a show a certified hit, no matter if the talk in good or bad. A prime example of this is the Gossip Girl reboot getting a second season, despite the majority of online talk being negative, critiquing its lack of direction and character development. Euphoria is the exact opposite, even its somewhat negative qualities like its excessive nudity of Sydney Sweeney’s character (conveniently forgetting that her character is meant to show how women are sexualized) or the overload of the “bitch, you better be joking” meme.
However, that’s not the only Gossip Girl parallel Euphoria has. Euphoria is also one of the most trendsetting shows on TV right now, especially when it comes to its characters’ costumes and makeup. The costumes on the show are done by Heidi Bivens, who was also the costume designer for A24’s Spring Breakers and even one of the most recent Chanel campaigns (the creme de la creme of fashion campaigns). Bivens expertly captures Gen Z’s unique approach to fashion while making each character distinctive and enviable. Whether it’s through using one-of-a-kind vintage clothes that look straight out of the 90s or 2000s movie or using aspirational designer pieces just like Gossip Girl did, it perfectly encapsulated Gen Z’s fashion-forward mindset, especially for the female characters.
Like many Gen Z fashionistas, each Euphoria character has an aesthetic. Rue is the skater girl, wearing 70s and 90s pieces, which are coincidentally both decades where drug use and fashion became one and the same, the 70s with the hippie LSD scene and the 90s with the heroine chic look. Jules, at least in the first season, was a literal rainbow, unapologetically showing her pride through her fashion. However, her excessive layering represented that there was so much more underneath the surface, whether it was trauma, insecurity, or a need for admiration. Cassie is the soft girl of the show. She has the most definitive color palette of pastel pink, baby blue and white and almost wears exclusively basic like solid crop tops, denim bottoms and little to no jewelry, paralleling the real-life Soft Girl aesthetic. Those are also the colors of gender reveals, showing that her abortion at the of season 1, really was one of the lowest points of her life, little did she know what Nate had in store for her in season 2. Kat is the show’s underdog and creative spirit, with a darkness she hides deeply. Her dominatrix style is meant to compensate for that. Then her dark, gothic, whimsical, fairy-like style in season 2 is meant to show how confused she is, being the perfect blend of her original basic style and her dark BDSM-influenced style. Lexi is the wallflower, wearing mostly black in season 1 as she grieves her friendship with Rue. But in season 2, when she realizes that her inability to be outspoken is her superpower, she starts to dress the part, wearing traditionally preppy looks like peter pan collars, plaid and midi dresses. This confidence in her intelligence helps her find an outlet to finally express herself; the infamous play. Maddy is the attention grabber, causing every head to turn when she walks into a room. She thrives in this and therefore, wears outfits to garner attention with cutouts and pop culture references. And while she may have the most confidence for any character on the show, like a teenager, she also has insecurity and her’s is not worthy of love. That’s why she dresses more delicately when she’s with Nate, wearing traditional feminine prints like flowers and cherries. When she’s had enough of Nate, her iconic carnival look shows us who Maddy really is; a badass.
Now, many television shows have iconic fashion with Dynasty and Gossip Girl being examples, but very few have such iconic and unique makeup looks, and that’s what truly sets Euphoria‘s aesthetic a part. The Emmy-awarding winning team led by the now revolutionary Donni Davy expertly showcased the effects that growing up in the beauty guru age of Youtube has had on Gen Z. The experimental makeup on the show has not only given the audience confidence to pull off eccentric looks in their day-to-day lives but has also had a huge effect on the fashion industry and celebrity red carpet looks. Runways and event looks have seen an increase in experimental makeup since 2019 when season 1 first premiered. Just look at the most recent Met Galas and recent shows at New York Fashion Week. From interesting eyeliner shapes to neon colors to abstract blends of color, you can’t deny the impact Euphoria has had on the beauty industry. So much so, that Davy has created her own makeup line, Half Magic.
The music on the show is also just as experimental as the makeup. While, especially the first season, used very accurate music that teenagers listen to from Doja Cat to Drake (who also happens to be the executive producer). With how musically driven gen Z is, just look at TikTok’s effect on the music industry (TikTok even has its own Sirius XM channel now), and it makes sense that Euphoria would be as musically driven as the generation they are portraying. It also uses the “Spotify Effect” on music. The Spotify Effect is all about young people finding old music and making it new again. The perfect example is how Maneskin made Frankie Valli and The Four Season’s song Beggin a worldwide hit all over again, just by adding a more contemporary rock sound to it. Rock sounds overall were on the decline in the late 2010s. Now, music sensations like Olivia Rodrigo and Machine Gun Kelly are helping bring rock music back. Thanks to that, Gen Z is starting to discover (or rediscover) great rock bands like KISS and Vampire Weekend. Euphoria has mastered this idea in the television medium. The show itself is constantly making old-school references that still land despite them not being Gen Z-centric. Just look at the Halloween episode where Maddy dressed up as Jodie Foster’s character Iris from the 1970s film Taxi Driver, Kat dressed up as Thana from the 80s indie flick Ms .45, Rue dressed up as Old Hollywood revolutionary Marlene Dietrich, Cassie dressed up as Patricia Arquette’s character Alabama Worley from Quentin Tarantino’s 90s movie True Romance and Jules (admittedly wearing the most Gen Z familiar look, as I many other watched this film in my high school English class) as Claire Danes as Juliet in Baz Luhrmann’s 90s adaptation of Romeo + Juliet. None of those are current references, and yet they still made sense. The show’s music is the same way. Constantly weaving between current rap songs like “Stuntin Like A Daddy” by Lil Wayne, 60s tunes like “I Only Have Eyes For You” by The Flamingos, and 80s music our parents listened to like “Smalltown Boy” by Bronski Beat. All these songs have vastly different sounds, and yet they all still work within the confines of the show. Much like a typical Gen Z’s music taste.
One thing Euphoria seems to understand better than most shows, and shows like 2020’s Outer Banks and 2022’s The Summer I Turned Pretty have taken inspiration from since Euphoria’s 2019 premiere is that Gen Z values aesthetics over trends. No matter what aesthetic it is. Whismgothic, Barbiecore, Cottagecore, Soft girl. What matters is your commitment to it. Euphoria’s soundtrack understands that. It values vibes over trends. This is different from CW-based teen dramas of the past. Shows like The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl, have great soundtracks, but they use the CW marketing strategy of using recognizable songs or pop music to make the audience connect more with the show. Euphoria does this up to a point. That point is when the music doesn’t match the vibe. Take the Halloween episode as the perfect example. They used multiple genres in order to create a unique vibe, a vibe and aesthetic that the show has become known for, hence creating the “Euphoria” aesthetic. This episode featured current rap faves like “Bubblin” by Anderson .Paak, moody 60s songs like “Just Me And You” by The Dreamliners and dreamy indie hits like “Love Surrounds You” by Ramsey. None of these songs would probably be on the same playlist. “Bubblin” is admittedly perfect for a house party. “Just Me And You” was probably played at your grandparent’s wedding. “Love Surrounds You” just might be on your makeout playlist. However, all of these moods are oddly Euphoric. House parties are a signature of chaos on Euphoria, just look at the premiere episodes of the show’s first two seasons. Vintage music is often used in the opening montages for the show’s first season, hence the nostalgic vibe. Obviously, sex and sexuality are key themes explored in Euphoria. It just makes sense, even though under any other circumstance it shouldn’t.
Such a musically driven show like Euphoria needs an equally amazing score, and Labyrinth’s now iconic and award-winning score music for the show is so unique and frankly, revolutionary, compared to other iconic scores. One, fairly obvious reason because it has lyrics. Score music rarely, if never, has lyrics. Just look at iconic scores for Harry Potter, Star Wars, Stranger Things, Succession and Marvel films. None of these scores have lyrics. But, Euphoria’s score music does. Another unique element to them is that they are all very different genres. The scores on Harry Potter or Stranger Things have a through-line. They always sound alike, with maybe a few added elements, or a few taken out or tweaked. Euphoria’s score features gospel elements, instrumentals that could have easily been on Kanye West’s last album and 80s-esque synth sounds. Once again, all of this should not blend well together, and yet it fits Euphoria immaculately. Even in Euphoria’s darkest moments, Sam Levinson’s writing still features elements of hope. Take Rue’s breakdown in Season 2 taking place in a church as an example. Obviously, many teenagers listen to hip-hop, rap and R&B music. These genres soundtrack parties and late-night drives. And the 80s are one of the most timeless decades for music, with songs from the decade still being covered and soundtracking shows and films today. Also, as I’ve proven, Euphoria has a tendency to dip its toe into nostalgia despite being a very modern, of-the-times show.
Between the soundtrack and the score, Euphoria has perfected how to use music in a television show. Unlike most shows, Euphoria has given a master class on how to use music to drive a story, not support it. Musically driven shows like Euphoria have a knack for striking cords with young people, but their mixture of music from all decades, including 90s hip hop like Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize” in season 2 and 2000s pop like The Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha” at Maddy’s birthday party, has caused the show to attract all different kinds of demographics. Not just young people.
The old-school references don’t stop with the show’s fashion and music, even at the same time with Maddy’s wardrobe referencing 90s and Y2K artists like Eve and Aalyiah. They also reference vintage concepts through their details. For example, having Cassie and McKay watch the movie Fear, a film about toxic teenage love and having Fezco have a Scarface poster in his house, an iconic film about a drug lord.
The cinematography is what really sets the world apart. While its through line is symbolism, at first feeling like a psychedelic, drug-induced dream reflecting its protagonist, Rue’s idealized and positive point-of-view of drug use. As the season goes on, it reflects each character’s emotionally fragile state. Kat’s self-discovery. Jules’ identity, Nate’s fear. Maddy’s newfound insecurity. Cassie’s insatiable need for love. Lexi’s shyness. By the time it gets to season two, it’s less dreamy and more gritty, as shown by shooting the show on film. This reflects the character’s even more intensive storylines. Nate’s control. Cassie’s downfall. Rue’s drug addiction. Jules’ rejection of femininity. Maddy’s newfound maturity. The cinematography, in the first season’s trailer alone, is what really intrigued viewers. This is what also had been on film and cinema social media platforms, which usually neglect television. Other visually stunning shows like Stranger Things and Riverdale have even begun to take notes from it.
The cinematography, spearheaded by Marcell Rev, is also pushing the boundaries of camera work, especially on TV. Take the opening shot of the iconic carnival from season one. This shot went through a small space like a food hut, throughout the chaotic and probably meticulously choreographed carnival crowd, panned upward very high to show Jules and Kat on the Ferris Wheel and back down and followed Nate all the way to the other side of the carnival. Now, this seamlessly looked like one uber-impressive shot, when in reality it had five cleverly hidden cut put together. Another impressive shot was in the opening to the party in the season two premiere, where the camera followed Jules, Maddy and Kat dancing their way into the party then panned upward very high and blacked out the entire party and just had a single spotlight on Zendaya’s character. This impressive shot was no manipulation by CGI or cuts in any way. It was just that impressive. Then, of course, there is the breathtaking episode 5 from season 2, which its a masterclass in blending acting and cinematography, making the audience feel like they are holding their breath for 58 minutes straight. Levinson has said that since teenagers, and human beings, have such a difficult time expressing their emotions, so the cinematography is meant to help the characters articulate their emotions. Instead of a gritty cinematic approach like so many dark, youthful stories use, they instead chose to use a more cinematic, expressionistic approach. It essentially balances how teenagers see themselves in their dreamy fantasy of teenagehood and then the harsh, overwhelming and suffocating reality. This is shown through the dizzying dolly shot and sharp zoom-in close-ups. It’s almost uncomfortably personal like the characters are spinning around trying to find the right path to go down or they are breathing the viewers in.
Another element that blends the cinematography and fashion together is its color symbolism. For example, the show’s now trademark use of purple in the first season could represent the equally triumphant and melancholy feelings the show is always battling. Purple also represents almost every character in the show. Maddy’s Queen Bee royal status. Jules’ creativity. Rue’s immaturity. Fezco’s vigilance. Lexi’s wisdom and compassion. Cassie’s sensitivity. Kat’s imagination. Nate’s mystery. The show itself is magical, dreamy quality. Meanwhile, its second most used color, blue, also equally represents the show’s emotionless, confidence and brutal honesty. Red, the show’s third most used color, is a color of power, something characters like Rue and Kat thinks they have, but in reality, don’t at all. These colors aren’t just chosen because they look pretty. They are chosen for a reason. Everything in this show is meticulously chosen in order to tell the story.
The show’s cinematography combines color, movement and smokey haze (a drug haze) to create visually stunning and unprecedented cinematography that juxtaposes the gritty ugliness of the show. This showcases the humanity of the show and its anti-heroic characters. The camera moves in a smooth and effortless way, and that combined with the acting, writing and music, creates an impeccable pacing most TV shows and films never achieve, creating a visceral reaction from the audience with every episode whether its gasps, cheers or tears. It makes it impossible for you to take your eyes off the screen.
The show has also made a huge impact on social media that hasn’t been seen since Pretty Little Liars Tuesday nights throughout the 2010s. Dubbed “Euphoria Sundays,” Twitter explodes with tweets about the show before, during and in the days after each episode. Just like PLL, Euphoria is that rare show that airs episode by episode, week by week, which is not seen very often especially on megahit TV shows in the streaming age. Pretty Little Liars was the most social in the history of TV, the first show ever to gain that title. It seems Euphoria is going to take their place soon enough by already becoming the most tweeted-about show of the 2020s with only one season airing within the decade. Even people who block every mention of the show, its cast and its characters still get Euphoria tweets on their timelines. Even people who don’t watch the show hear about it. People who don’t have HBO or HBO Max follow Euphoria through fans on Twitter. That’s how wild and unavoidable it is.
Euphoria’s fast pace and quick cuts make it both a dream and nightmare for editors, which makes the fact that they pull it off every episode that much more impressive. The editing team and the show’s writer Sam Levinson’s work is so impulsive and creative that the project is chalked full of creativity, imagination, and freedom because they basically can do whatever they want and make decisions on the spot and change things on the spot. TV rarely if ever works that way. Their editing is always meant to humanize these beautifully flawed characters and balance out the show’s irony, sincerity and absurdity. Just like actors, editors have to get into the headspace of the characters in order to edit the scene accordingly to convey the message of a scene or character’s motivation, conveying the emotions the characters feel but cannot utter, and as we all know teenagers are terrible at speaking frankly (a little too god depending on the situation). And on Euphoria, usually, that’s a dark and crazy place. The editors in Euphoria make each episode distinctive but also blend into one singular series, and they manage to execute that duality with more success, consistency and sensibility than most other shows. In episode 7 in Season 2, Lexi’s iconic play, the show’s editing is at its best, which is even more impressive when considering the added challenges of the complexities of bringing the stage to screen, multiple dance sequences, flashbacks, blending the real characters with their stage caricatures and the first time having a narrator other than Rue, which was Lexi. The show’s first season was edited and shot like a drug-fueled, party-high dreamscape, while season two was edited like memories like looking back at Kodiak pictures (the second season was filmed on Kodiak film) or polaroid.
This show also hit the jackpot with its casting. There is not one main actor who doesn’t have the so-called ‘It’ factor. Whether like were already huge like Zendaya, or well on their way to making a name for themselves like Jacob Elordi (The Kissing Booth movies), Maude Apatow (This Is 40, King of Staten Island) and Sydney Sweeney (Everything Sucks, The Handmaiden’s Tale), or if they have already made a name for themselves in an industry that parallels the entertainment industry like the fashion industry and where just undeniably perfect for the part like Barbie Ferreria and Hunter Schafer, or if they just undeniably have that it-factor like the show’s breakout star Alexa Demie.
These actors have all propelled into superstardom faster and more prestigiously than other teen drama actors. While actors from teen dramas like Katie Holmes, Dylan O’Brien, Blake Lively, Nina Dobrev, Sophia Bush and Troian Bellisario have become prestigious actors in their own right by starring in The Kennedys, The Maze Runner, A Simple Favor, Then You Came and started producing and directing their own content, that all started after they left their teen shows or they ended. Euphoria is different. While it may be due to how Euphoria airs on the most prestigious TV network, HBO (not to be confused with its partner streaming service HBO Max, which based on its original content, hasn’t reached the same level of prestige as its the parent company), the Euphoria actors have become not just the cool kids of young Hollywood but also working with some of the biggest and most reputable actors and directors around and some of the biggest fashion brands in the world. Of course, its central star Zendaya is a superstar, buts he was also already established prior to Euphoria as a Marvel film star, musician, and style icon. I am talking about Hunter Schafer, Barbie Ferreria, Jacob Elordi, Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow, and, mainly, Sydney Sweeney. Sweeney is everywhere, and out of all the stars has gotten the most work. Since, and even while filming Euphoria, she has worked with Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino in Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood, Connie Britton and Mike White in White Lotus and Pete Davidson in Big Time Adolescence. She is also producing her own work through her company FiftyFifty Films, with her first project being The Player’s Table co-starring Halsey. Schafer was already a model prior to Euphoria but is now the face of Shiseido and Prada. She is also gonna be in The Hunger Games prequel. Yes, the same Hunger Games that made Jennifer Lawrence, well, Jennifer Lawrence. Barbie Ferriera was also a model prior to Euphoria, and since has become the face of YSL beauty. She is also in Jordan Peele’s film Nope. Both Jacob Elordi and Maude Apatow have become repetitive castings of series creator Sam Levinson by starring in Deep Water and Assassination Nation. Demie has become a creative powerhouse, working with Balenciaga and iconic Avante Garde creative Petra Collins (who also directed Olivia Rodrigo’s Good 4 U music video).
Being on HBO has also given the show license to get creative with casting. Schafer and Ferreira never acted prior to Euphoria. Angus Cloud was enviably cast off the street. Season two saw the addition of musician Dominic Fike in his acting debut. Another addition was famed adult film star Chloe Cherry, who was a scene stealer as Faye. This may seem like a shock (but having it be in Euphoria, nothing of the sort), but HBO has a history of casting adult film stars. Sasha Grey played herself as Vincent Chase’s love interest in Entourage. It’s also not as uncommon in the industry as you would think. Julia Fox, a muse and experimentally bold style icon, was a dominatrix before starring in Uncut Gems. Also, the Season 1 episode “’03 Bonnie and Clyde” was directed by Once Upon A Time and This Is Us actress Jennifer Morrison.
Very few teen-centric films have garnered such prestigious award recognition. In recent years, Lady Bird, Call Me By Your Name, Eighth Grade, and Little Women have attempted to change that. Even fewer teen television shows have garnered prestigious awards. Sure, shows like The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl dominated the Teen Choice Awards when they were airing, revealing how loyal and devoted those fandoms are, but none of them were ever nominated for prestigious Emmys, Golden Globes or SAG Awards, despite Nina Dobrev, Troian Bellisario, and Leighton Meester giving worthwhile, sophisticated and impressive performances. The closest teen shows have ever come was Stranger Things’ domination of Emmys and SAG Awards in 2017, Glee’s six Emmy wins,4 Golden Globe wins and one SAG award win, among many nominations for all, and Sex Education’s BAFTA nods including Aimee Lou Woods’ win in 2021. That was until Euphoria, which managed to break through the teen drama stigma and win multiple Emmys, including Zendaya for Outstanding Performance by a Leading Actress in a Drama in 2020 and 2022. It was also nominated for its brilliant costumes, music supervision and score and won for its revolutionary makeup and hit original song “All For Us”. And now, in 2022, they are nominated again for Outstanding Drama Series, costumes, makeup, music supervision, score, and original music, and for the first time Sydney Sweeney is nominated (also for White Lotus), two guest star nominations, hairstyling, cinematography (about time!), editing, sound mixing, and choreography (clearly Shake It Up and Disney trained Zendaya well for this show).
As aforementioned, Euphoria isn’t the first time teen drama acting was worthy of getting prestigious awards. Nina Dobrev’s breakdown as Elena Gilbert after Jeremy’s “death” lives in my mind rent-free, not to mention how phenomenal, effortless and meticulous she did with playing both Katherine Pierce and Elena (and every character in between), mainly in the episode “Katerina”. Troian Bellisario’s performance in Season 3 of Pretty Little Liars was harrowing and stunning. And I can guarantee the reasons why Blair Waldorf is so iconic is because of how brilliantly and colorful Leighton Meester played her. Madelyn Cline and Drew Starkey portray the Cameron siblings in Outer Banks so well, especially in Season 2. Sophia Bush’s vulnerability as Brooke Davis in One Tree Hill made her instantly a fan favorite. Teen dramas are filled with scene-stealing, breathtaking actors. However, the stigma of teen dramas not being quality TV is why they aren’t given the same opportunity as quality comedies like Modern Family, Friends and 30 Rock, another genre where the acting is often stigmatized. Most, if not all the actors in Euphoria have given worthwhile performances. Zendaya’s performance in “Stand Still Like A Hummingbird” will no doubt go down in history. Sydney Sweeney’s empathetic approach to Cassie is why viewers still love this mistake-prone character. Jacob Elordi’s creepily calm stare and Season 1 finale breakdown were just as terrifying as it was impressive. Alexa Demie’s dominance in season 1 and heartbreak in season 2 is played with equal amounts of confidence, skill and compassion. Hunter Schafer’s performance in Jules’ special episode was so impactful and moving. Barbie Ferreria’s manic performance in the toxic positivity influencer scene in season 2 never missed a beat. While it is on HBO, the network for prestige TV, it has made people look twice at acting in teen media.
It’s meme’d online that Euphoria’s writing (as well as directing) is monopolized by series creator Sam Levinson. There is no writers’ room on this show, which is extremely rare for any TV show. That means the heavy responsibility of writing continuity is solely in one person’s hands, which is unheard of. With a show with such a complex timeline, with many dream sequences and flashbacks throughout a given episode, it is incredible how well-executed Euphoria is without a writer’s room. Especially a script with so many raw, complex and unique perspectives, (granted Levinson has a sort of “open door policy” with his actors because the experiences of the actors more relate to their characters, mainly Barbie Ferreria and Hunter Schafer, than Levinson’s personal experiences), it’s unbelievable how well the storyline and writing turn out and how clear unique vision is.
Now, there are pros and cons of not having a writers’ room. Plot holes dangle. It’s from one perspective. However, one key pro, especially a show that values aesthetics so much, is its frank unapologetic-ness. Euphoria is what it is, and doesn’t apologize for it and doesn’t hide from it. That’s not to say the writing isn’t delicate. When it’s required, Euphoria can be extremely and uncomfortably raw (Episode 2×05 and Cassie’s abortion are in my opinion the best examples).
This unapologetic attitude of the show has also given it a sort of freedom that many shows don’t have. There is a reason why musical moments, school plays and fake TV shows work on Euphoria and not Riverdale. It’s because they established their affinity for dream sequences and unreliable storytelling very early on. Rue says that she is an unreliable narrator in the pilot, while in a druggy Royal Wedding-esque dream sequence, and reminds of that fact when she reveals is the special episode that she and Jules talked about getting matching tattoos, which we saw happen in Season 1, but Rue reveals never actually happened. So, when Lexi is suddenly showing us the behind-the-scenes of her hit new TV show, it’s more of a delightful, welcomed, lighthearted commercial break, rather than a blindsided whiplash that has to ask ourselves “what the hell am I watching?”
Euphoria has also made waves by talking about not just timely and taboo topics, but also fairly new ideas, that while they have existed forever, haven’t been known by the mainstream until now. Mainly, in Lexi and Kat’s season 2 storylines. Lexi and Kat are both very imaginative, artistic and creative characters. Lexi deals with derealization, disassociating herself from the situations she finds herself in, therefore becoming an outsider in her own life. This is a coping mechanism for her getting through the emotionally draining situations she finds within her complicated family dynamic. Kat’s storyline deals with toxic positivity. Her confident persona in Season 1 was a façade. Kat feels horrible about herself, however toxic as the internet is, it’s also full of hollow “Be You” propaganda that’s good in theory, but hard to buy into when you are depressed and self-hating. This results in one of the most satirically hilarious scenes of the entire series This rare comedic scene gave such a great visual commentary to how suffocating social media, even in attempts at positivity, can be. That’s almost never talked about in mainstream entertainment.
Granted, comedy isn’t the show’s forte, although season two did include some of the show’s funniest moments, often involving the absurd length Sydney Sweeney’s character goes to with Nate, especially her 4 am morning routine and the “I have never, ever been happier” scene. Zendaya also got to show off her comedic and dance chops she mastered on Disney Channel’s Shake It Up through the hilariously absurd “Call me Irresponsible” scene. Also, Lexi’s behind-the-scenes dream sequences were hilarious as the actors play caricatures of their characters. This consistent juxtaposing of music, genre and tone just shows how much creative freedom Euphoria has, and how rare that is in any kind of media.
Euphoria has also expertly showcased how to make it work when it values fantasy and escapism over reality and authenticity. The dream-like quality of the show as it portrays uncomfortable subject matter makes it aspirational but combined with its gritty performances and matter-of-fact writing, it’s unbiased and truthful, making it scary and a cautionary tale. The duality makes other, usually unconventional, unrealistic choices stylistically make sense within the confidences of the show. On Gossip Girl, a show about New York City’s wealthy, privileged and unsupervised prep school teens showed kids wearing designer clothes, carrying Louis Vuitton bags to school, drinking at hotel bars and partying at nightclubs. This is unrealistic for most teens, but not the sons and daughters of the Upper East Side 1%. Euphoria portrays a more accurate, universal teen experience. It takes place at a suburban public school with a football team, cheerleaders and theater departments. However, these kids party at clubs, wear designer clothes to school, don’t wear backpacks, and party too hard. This wouldn’t work on other suburban-set highs school shows or even shows like Emily In Paris, that has a fairly realistic tone while simultaneously and inexplicable having its leads wear so much Chanel, even though realistically it lead wouldn’t be able to afford not even a brooch from the world-renowned brand. However, with Euphoria’s dreamy, cautionary tale approach, it does.
From the second the pilot aired, it was clear there has been nothing like this on television right now or ever before. It’s themes of adolescence and growing up, much like its other teen drama counterparts, will never go out of style. These are universal and timeless because kids will always have to grow up, which is why the genre has existed for so long and is one of the most profitable in Hollywood. Euphoria helped make the genre worthy of long-overdue respect. Euphoria’s impact on TV, fashion, makeup, music and cinematography is undeniable and its impact will be felt long after the show is over. Therefore, it’s not a stretch to say that this teen drama is something people often wouldn’t dare to describe the genre as; revolutionary.