Item: Euphoria
Rating: 8
Author: Alex Maidy

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Synopsis: Multimedia superstar Zendaya heads the ensemble cast of the show, which follows a group of high-school students as they navigate a minefield of drugs, sex, identity, trauma, social media, love and friendship.

Review: Within the first sixty seconds of Euphoria's premiere, we see a newborn exit the birth canal from the inside of her mother's body followed by archival footage of the World Trade Center collapsing. To say that this new HBO series starts out with a bang would be a massive understatement but what follows that opening sequence is troubling on a smaller scale. Led by Zendaya, Euphoria is a successor to films like LESS THAN ZERO and Larry Clark's KIDS yet aimed squarely at the post-Millennial generation. Showrunner Sam Levinson (ASSASSINATION NATION) delivers a dramatic look at how addictions of all sorts are impacting the teenagers amongst us and it is scary.

What is clear from the outset is that this series will pull no punches when it comes to showing the dark side of teen life in 2019, things that parents should be aware of but are likely terrified are happening under their noses. It also is the edgiest thing HBO has put on the air in a long time, with a lot of nudity, primarily male, and rough sex scenes with characters that are moslty under the age of 18. I would not qualify Euphoria as sexy or erotic as what is shown on screen is meant to be seen as frankly and realistically as possible. I am sure the show will be a turn on for some viewers, but it is hard to switch between scenes of characters overdosing to scenes of them masturbating without getting a little bit of whiplash. Still, this show is a no holds barred look at things many teen-centric series would never get close to even talking about on screen.

At the center of the show is Rue (Zendaya) who is just getting out of rehab at the series start. Most of the show is narrated by Rue as she gives us fourth wall-breaking insight into everything from dick pics to passing a drug test with other people's urine. She also gives us insight to the backgrounds of the various friends and friends of friends at her school who make up the ensemble cast. While the show is told through Rue's perspective, she self identifies as an unreliable narrator which calls into question if what she is telling us is always true or clouded by gossip and heresay shared by her classmates online. Zendaya delivers a stellar performance here, clearly the best of her career so far, and one that will surely be talked about come awards season. Her take on Rue is relatable and haunting as we see what continually leads her back to drugs again and again even as she sees how it hurts those around her.

The rest of the cast includes Hunter Schafer as Jules, a trans girl who just moved to town, Jacob Elordi as Nate Jacobs who has secrets about his sexuality influenced by his father Cal's (Eric Dane) porn proclivities, Barbie Ferreira as Kat who discovers the world of amateur porn as she comes to terms with body consciousness issues. Thse three make up the primary supporting cast and both Schafer and Ferreira are activists for LGBT and body consciousness issues in real life which lends to their performances. But, before you decry this as another post-Millennial social justice/liberal agenda show, it doesn't really take sides and shows multiple aspects of how everything from the Internet to class struggles can impact the lives of the generation coming to adulthood in the next few years.

While there are many moments of levity on this show, Euphoria is a darkly dramatic look into high school and burgeoning teen sexuality. It is hard to watch in some scenes as amongst the teens there are no real bad characters, just broken people. As soon as you want to turn or root for one of them, something happens and it flips your perspective. I mean this in a positive way, but Euphoria is often hard to watch and made me question what I didn't know about my classmates when I was at school. It also will scare the living hell out of any parent with children going into high school, but something tells me the kids will say that is what things are really like. Luckily, Sam Levinson and his creative team use some innovative camera styles during party and drug sequences along with a killer soundtrack mixing contemporary songs with some recognizable classic.

Euphoria is going to shock many and is absolutely not a casual viewing experience. I doubt it will ever reach the level of popularity of many of HBO's series but it definitely will start some conversations. I cannot speak more highly of Zendaya's performance which shows the true depth of her acting talent. This is a series that requires patience as each hour-long entry is full of visual cues and on screen text messages that you need to be invested to appreciate and follow the narrative. Euphoria is a misleading title as the ecstacy each character feels from drugs, sex, or violence is always short lived and leads them to diminishing returns. As a series, you will find each successive episode will make you question what could possibly come next and that is enough reason to recommend it.

Euphoria premieres Sunday, June 16th on HBO.