If the hype surrounding The Idol is saying anything, it’s that people want more shows like Euphoria. But while the latest HBO drama comes from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, it’s not quite the same, and it’s not quite as great either.
So, now we thought it was a great time to suggest shows to binge-watch while you wait for Euphoria season 3. You can’t keep rewatching the 16 episodes and their specials without people worrying about you, right?
Each of these shows offers something similar to HBO’s Euphoria, which has garnered a lot of attention with its cast of teens doing everything parents wish they didn’t do. And while no series is really quite like Euphoria, each series features characters who tackle their problems in some way or another that gets you ready to start playing and watching the next episode.
Here are our picks for the best (and slightly older) teen dramas to watch while you wait for Euphoria season 3.
gossip girl
Take the coolness of Trance, but make it network-TV-ready and compatible, and you’ve got Gossip Girl, the series’ closest US predecessor. Gossip Girl (like Euphoria after him), eyes widened by showing teens drinking, doing drugs and barely concentrating on their studies that their rich parents were paying for. All the while, the gossip hound has been spreading secrets online.
The series opens with Serena (Blake Lively) returning from an unexplained absence and having to deal with everyone’s questions. We also follow Dan (Penn Badgley), who is an outsider in the world of the Upper East Side, because he *sneers* lives in Brooklyn. This is back before brooklyn was awesome.
One thing Gossip Girl and Euphoria have in common is how they both love trying to humanize their characters. In Gossip Girl, even their pairing of Serena’s arch-villain Blair (Leighton Meester) and demonic Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) were as complex as they were.
a witness Hulu
elite
Elite is one of the best teen dramas on TV, and a must for any Euphoria fan. The Spanish-language series features the nightmares of sex and social status you’d expect from any show on this list, all wrapped up in a murder mystery that kicks off the first season.
On top of that, Elite throws in class war vibes, as it begins by bringing three less well-to-do students to its prestigious academy. Much like Euphoria, Elite is a fun and utterly addictive piece of television.
a witness Netflix
skins
British teen drama Skins centered on a group of teens who get into a lot of trouble when their absent parents are almost not looking – giving parents watching at home reasons to be nervous. Each episode deals with a member of the show’s social circle, including the highly intelligent Tony (Nicholas Hoult) who begins the series trying to make money while helping his friend Sid (Mike Bailey) with his love life.
Skins has its own Cassie (Hannah Murray), who suffers from mental disorders and anorexia, and her episode shows how she keeps everyone around her in the dark. Critically lauded for handling difficult subjects while respecting its characters, Skins is perhaps the best in this entire category.
a witness Hulu
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Euphoria is very young compared to Degrassi: The Next Generation, which ran for 14 seasons (and is now available on Max). A revolution for its time, this CBC drama introduced the chaos of Canadian high schools around the world, showing how drugs, sex and parental drama can make final exams feel like light work.
All in a series-like format that fans will rewatch to this date. However, Degrassi is more tame than Euphoria, and Common Sense Media rates it for ages 14 and up. We doubt anyone would classify Euphoria as a show for young teens. And yes, young Drake co-stars Jamie Brooks.
a witness the above – or sample free episodes at Pluto
sex education
Big but frustrated horny Otis (Asa Butterfield) will be equally fun with all the sex and nudity in Euphoria. Likewise, his mother Jean (Gillian Anderson), a sex therapist, will likely have a lot to say on the subject.
Sex education is more fun in the form of an orgasm, but that doesn’t mean Otis and his classmates at Moordale High don’t have their fair share of tension. Eric (Ncuti Gatwa, the next Doctor Who) is the very outspoken life of the party who steals every scene he can, but much of the attention goes to Maeve (Emma Mackey), the subject of much gossip.
And much like Euphoria and the other shows on this list, the world of sex education is fueled by gossip and fabrications that create even more drama.
a witness Netflix
Riverdale
Riverdale manages to defy expectations, adapting the wholesome Archie comics into a noir high school drama with plenty of surprises. There was a cult, and later seasons brought in Sabrina (Kiernan Brennan Shipka).
And like Euphoria, no one calls Riverdale prestige. Instead, you get a lot of plot that gets more complex, brutal, and bizarre as the series progresses, and a murder mystery. Think “euphoria, but camp, and something you can watch with the family.”
a witness Netflix
industry
there rumored possibility That season three of Euphoria could take place five years after the season three finale ended, but what if you wanted to know how these teens fit into the job market?
The industry is throwing a fresh batch of young college graduates into the world of high-risk finance at investment bank Pierpont. There, we meet the ambitious Harper (Myha’la Herrold), a black New York woman who hides some skeletons in her closet, who witnesses a tragic, untimely death. One of her colleagues succumbs to the pressures of the job, and ends up taking a lot of pills at night at the office.
As tense as your favorite episode of Euphoria (season 2 episode 1 is optional), The Industry features backstabbing, dramatic personal lives, and a group of peers trying to thrive and survive.
a witness the above
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