When someone asks me to describe what this show is about, I find it hard to say without spoilers. It's a complicated show with many characters whose lives intersect throughout the show. Basically, I'd describe it as a show about "what people do to get their fix." Interpret that as you will.
The show 'Euphoria' had been recommended to me in passing by many of my friends, but without an HBO subscription, I wasn't able to watch it. One day a friend came over and connected her HBO account and said, "We're watching it," and thus began a troubling and addicting trip of a first season, eight hours long. Produced by Drake and starring Zendaya, it was hard to not fall into the hype. It didn't disappoint.
I'll warn you that since the show is not from Netflix or Hulu, it is not limited by many of the same boundaries that are present within those platforms; HBO has no problem making a show that is brutally honest and beautifully disturbing and makes no excuses for its social commentary and graphic images. It's incredibly relatable as the viewer follows the lives of high school and college students struggling with the dark thingsthis demographic may go through.
I found myself deeply invested in each of the characters, strongly identifying with each of their struggles and throughout the first season, I loved and hated each of them at some point. It got to a point where I didn't even want to keep watching, as I found the intensity and the images jarring. But after a short break, I'd click back into the next episode with anticipation to see how these characters lives would play out.
The emotional roller coaster of this show is one I hadn't experienced in such a short time. I found myself hooked and disturbed and connected to their struggles. In one season, I was convinced this was one of the best shows I've ever seen.
It's a trip, and not for the faint of heart. If you get access to HBO, proceed with caution.