Drugs, Dick Pics, and Drake: HBO’s Teen Drama ‘Euphoria’ Is A Wild, Wild Ride

“I’m envious of your generation, you know. You guys don’t care as much about the rules,” Eric Dane’s character says in the first episode of HBO’s Euphoria, a teen drama unlike any you’ve ever seen before. And perhaps it’s not that this particular generation, now known as Gen Z, doesn’t care about the rules, but simply has so many less of them — and more importantly, makes their own.

Euphoria stars Zendaya as Rue, a high school student fresh out of rehab, as if your teen years aren’t hard enough as it is without adding an addiction battle on top of school and sex and figuring yourself out. With this project, though, Zendaya has figured a lot out. The actress has always been a step ahead of, and a bit more aware of herself, than most of her peers. But with the hour-long drama, she’s not just making a statement as she moves away from her Disney past and toward much edgier material. She’s also knocking it out of the park.

Created and written by Sam Levinson (who also directs five out of the eight episodes), and executive produced by Drake, the drama can be wild and scary while also serving as perhaps the most intimate and realistic non-documentary look at what it means to be a teen in 2019. Generations X and Y might be stunned by much of it, and Generation Z…might not. And while it doesn’t seem all that fun to actually live, the opposite is true of watching.

Give it more than an episode, though. While the first episode includes brief 9/11 imagery, to introduce the week our main character and narrator was brought into this world, and then spends the rest of the hour unconcerned with easing viewers into this world, it can feel like a lot, and it is. But the more you watch these characters explore who they are, the more you’ll be hooked on this show like it’s some kind of TV drug.

Oh, and there are drugs aplenty here. But not in the cool party element of former teen dramas. Instead, Euphoria isn’t afraid to show the dangers of the drug world and addiction, making it a rather grown-up teen show. But no other teen drama has ever been awarded such gorgeous and stylish cinematography, with everything from the lighting to the music to the production design upping this project to prestige. And it’s not just nice to look at, but to listen to as well: the way these characters speak to each other feels totally authentic, even if it might be foreign to anyone who’s graduated college.

Plus, Euphoria boasts a cast of some of the finest young actors in the game. Besides Zendaya, there’s Jacob Elordi who shot to fame with 2018’s The Kissing Booth, though viewers will discover a much more conflicted and threatening character here as Nate. Barbie Ferreira as Kat is one of the most interesting characters of the series, one you’ll wish you got to see even more of. She befriends new guy Ethan, played by Austin Abrams who is getting to hang with kids his own age this time around. And perhaps she’s given more to do later in the season, but in the first few episodes, Maude Apatow as Lexi is awfully underutilized. Newcomer and trans actress Hunter Schafer is excellent and transfixing as Jules, as is A Wrinkle In Time‘s Storm Reid as Rue’s younger sister Gia.

Euphoria, just like its characters, might find its greatest strength in the fact that it’s not so worried about being likable, potentially one of the most significant and authentic factors of this generation. Sex, drugs, mental health, trans classmates: these are all treated as no big deal by most of the teens who also attempt to be unique much earlier than those in generations before them would ever dare. Sure, several teen drama staples are there: drug dealers (including one with a heart of gold!) and parents with secrets (oh, but much more complicated than we’re used to seeing) and the dangers of technology (get ready for a lot dick pics and porn imagery). Whether this is your generation or a look into a younger one, Euphoria is gripping, heartbreaking, surprising, and unmistakably cool.

Euphoria premieres Sunday, June 16 at 10pm ET/PT on HBO. 

Where to stream Euphoria