EUPHORIA

Recently, streaming platforms are full of various types of young adult and new adult productions, but the original purpose of these series (confrontation with teenage traumas) has been changed into entertainment. “Euphoria” is a very original teen drama series created and written for HBO in 2019 by Sam Levinson (who also wrote and directed Another Happy Day and Assassination Nation). Levinson, seems too old to be a representant of young generation, but his life seems to reflect the drug-sexualized problems of current teenagers. “Euphoria” is based on the Israeli miniseries of the same name. The second season was announced in July 2019 and should be available in 2020, but was delayed due to a COVID-19 pandemic. “Euphoria” received nominations for the British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme. For her performance, Zendaya won the Emmy Award and Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series. 

Source: hollywoodreporter.com

The eight-episode series shows a group of high school students from generation Z (born after 2000) through their experiences of drugs, gender identity, violence, acceptance, ambition and money. Of course, we only see a certain group of teenagers. Not all have to face this kind of problems. Although the narrator is the main character - Rue (Zendaya), young drug addict after a rehab, each episode begins with a prologue that introduces psychological portrait of one of characters. It brings us closer to many characters of the series, revealing their secrets and showing everything from an almost intimate perspective, inaccessible to the narrator of the rest of the story. At the beginning of the series, Rue meets Jules (Hunter Schaffer), a trans girl who has just arrived to a high school. The most shocking characters for me are Nate (Jacob Elordi) a sportsman who has serious anger problems and Kat (Barbie Ferreira), controversial teenage girl who is at the beginning of exploring her sexuality through cybersex with perverted men. 

Source: hypebae.com

This series shows in a very good way what type of problems have to face teenagers these days. Sam Levinson's portrait of adolescence in “Euphoria” show people drowning in the ocean of hormones, insecurities and toxicities typical for that age. The series is brutal and won’t be easy for everyone. Contains a lot of sexual violence, nudity of all kinds and bloody fights, but the hardest thing to watch is an overdose. It's sad and depressing to see the reality of addiction. Sometimes it’s hard to get the moral of the story. We can only draw our own conclusions and evaluate the characters' behaviour. 

HBO engaged young talents who had many opportunities to present their abilities. I also liked the music. It's a matter of taste, but I think that Drake (who was responsible for the selection of songs) and Labrinth who composed the soundtrack did a great job creating an atmosphere that perfectly correlate with the style of the series