‘Euphoria’ is Poised to be HBO’s ‘Skins’

HBO’s new teen drama Euphoria is high on its own rebelliousness. The show starts with an on-the-nose origin story: Rue (Zendaya) explains she was born three days after the events of 9/11, and after an over-medicated childhood, she turns to her mom’s medicine cabinet, booze, and illicit drugs to feel something close to happiness. From there, we meet the other troubled teens in Rue’s orbit. Jacob Elordi’s cold-hearted jock Nate, Hunter Schafer’s hungry-hearted Jules, and a slew of teen girls trying to navigate their sexuality in a time where nudes are not only love letters, but reputation-ruiners. It’s raucous, envelope-pushing, and more than a little bit smug with itself. Still, Euphoria is a visually stunning look at the constant pain eating away at the adolescent heart.

As beautiful as its imagery is, the meat of Euphoria — the tender, truthful look at the messy lives of lost teens — isn’t all that revolutionary. Euphoria is simply the Gen Z version of Skins, a British cult classic that showed off teens behaving very, very badly.

Yeah, for the most part, Euphoria reminded me of Skins. When Euphoria gleefully shows off nude teen bodies, hedonistic parties, and how easy cell phones make manipulating love interests, I couldn’t help but think of Skins. Twelve years ago, the show opened on one Tony Stonem (Nicholas Hoult), a manipulative teenaged boy, waking up under his NSFW bedding. Within seconds, he was helping his super young sister Effie (Kaya Scodelario) sneak in after a night of partying, all while ogling the very nude next door neighbor. From there, we see Tony launch a campaign to de-virginize his best friend Sid (Mike Bailey) which leads them to an upscale house party. Sex, drugs, and teen angst follow. Each subsequent episode of the series focuses on a different member of the group, highlighting the hidden traumas and deep heartache that defines each character’s quest for self.

So, yeah, Euphoria, which opens on Rue’s misbehavior and then quickly pans around to focus on her peers, like a refracting kaleidoscope of teen angst, reminded me a lot of Skins. The twist is this isn’t a bad thing. There are far worse shows that Euphoria could try to emulate. “Skins with an HBO budget” is not only a compelling concept, but it’s also an ambitious goal. Skins also set out to shock viewers with its uncensored look at teen drug abuse, sex, and mental illness, but it’s since been remembered as the launchpad for a generation of acting talent. Skins is the series that introduced the world to the charms of Dev Patel, the zany sweetness of Hannah Murray, the irrepressible earnestness of Joe Dempsie, and the fully-formed talents of Nicholas Hoult. Daniel Kaluuya, Kathryn Prescott, and Jack O’Connell also got their start in the series. It was an incubator of British acting talent.

Euphoria‘s greatest strength — beyond its mesmerizing cinematography — is also its young cast. Zendaya imbues Rue with an exquisite vulnerability that sucks you into to rooting for her despite her long list of bad choices. Elordi proves he’s more than just a two-dimensional heartthrob and Schafer dazzles as the incandescently beautiful Jules. Elsewhere, Sydney Sweeney, Alexa Demie, Barbie Ferreira, and Storm Reid also excel at showing the complex thoughts and desires rippling under the surfaces of each of their characters. What Euphoria does, like Skins once did, is offer actors in their teens and early 20s a chance to show off the full depths of their talents. A lot of YA content only asks characters to play the clichéd notes of youth; Euphoria requires its actors to dig into their darkest depths. Anything less than full commitment to the scene would make it fizzle immediately.

Euphoria isn’t worth watching for the controversies or, necessarily, the storytelling. (Like I said, Skins has told many of these stories before, if only couched in the styles and tech of the late ’00s.) It is, however, a must-see for a slew of gorgeous performances from a cast of rising stars. Euphoria is definitely HBO’s version of Skins, and that ain’t bad.

Euphoria premieres on HBO this Sunday, June 16th. Skins is currently available to stream on Netflix.

Where to stream Euphoria

Where to stream Skins