Now more than ever, producers of television shows continue to bank on teen dramas to appeal to the masses. It's not all butterflies and rainbows when it comes to high school stories. Coming-of-age is an experience that viewers young and old can identify with, which is why this genre is so popular.
HBO's 2019 breakout hit Euphoria is widely considered to be a masterpiece. Everything from the wardrobe to the casting to the plot is crafted with care, to the point that it feels painfully real. Since season 1's release, fans have been eagerly discussiong season 2, but they may not have to wait that long to get their fill of gritty teen drama.
Updated on December 24th, 2020 by Svetlana Sterlin: Teen dramas are as popular as ever, especially on streaming platforms. As real-life issues like mental health and sexuality become less stigmatized, viewers can expect to see them portrayed more and more accurately in the media. Teens are also often dealing with these issues, as well as the unfortunate reality of abuse, racism, assault, and identity crises. Here are five more gritty series to watch for fans of Euphoria.
Updated on March 15, 2022, by Kevin Pantoja: With season 2 of the hit HBO series recently concluding and it trending on social media for the entire run, audiences everywhere are looking for more shows like Euphoria. It's rather difficult to find one that totally lines up since the show is pretty unique, especially from a cinematography standpoint. Alas, there are still plenty of shows similar to Euphoria out there in at least one way or another. In fact, there are so many that narrowing it down to just 15 isn't quite enough.
Gossip Girl (2007-2012, 2021-Present)
Stream On HBO Max
The things that happen on Euphoria are pretty scandalous and a bit over the top when it comes to teenagers. While Gossip Girl might seem pretty tame compared to it, the things happening in this series were quite wild for its era.
The show focuses on a group of privileged high school students and the happenings of their lives as told by a secretive blogger. The combination of their shocking sequences and their incredible fashion sense help put this in the same vein as Euphoria. Plus, the modern Gossip Girl reboot is also an HBO series.
Freaks And Geeks (1999)
Stream On Hulu & Paramount+
Whenever people discuss the Freaks and Geeks is typically mentioned. The series only ran for a single season but has become legendary for the writing, realism, and especially the performances of the cast.
That cast included future stars like Linda Cardellini, Jason Segel, Busy Phillips, and more. While the show is certainly not as gritty as Euphoria, it still tells a well-written and twisty story when it comes to teenagers and their issues.
Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001-2015)
Stream On Tubi TV
As soon as Euphoria premiered, audiences made comparisons to Degrassi: The Next Generation. This now-iconic series also dealt with high school students going through major dramas involving school shootings, discovering their sexuality, bullying, drug use, and more.
Of course, given that Euphoria is on a cable network, they can take things to the next level, basically making it Degrassi on steroids. Like Euphoria, it has also helped launch some major careers including that of Drake and Nina Dobrev.
Cruel Summer (2021)
Stream On Hulu
Most teenagers likely view summer as a time to be happy but that's not the case in a handful of dramas. For example, summer hasn't really been depicted in Euphoria yet but every time of the year is rough for the characters. Meanwhile, Cruel Summer only takes place during that particular season.
The miniseries is possibly even darker than Euphoria as it focuses on a group of girls at the center of a nationwide kidnapping of a young woman. The story also uses flashbacks to detail some of the events, and flashbacks are a Euphoria specialty.
Genera+ion (2021)
Stream On HBO Max
It's almost impossible to talk about one of these shows without mentioning the other. After Euphoria wrapped season 1 in 2019, it stayed off the air until 2022, meaning fans had a long time to wait to get more of the popular series and what it entails.
Thankfully, one of the best TV shows like Euphoria soon appeared on HBO in Genera+ion. This series also centered on a group of high school students in the modern world. It was praised for how it handled tense topics and for its diversity but it was unjustly canceled after one season.
We Are Who We Are (2020-)
Stream On HBO Max
Directed by Luca Guadagnino - We Are Who We Are is an intensely intimate and poetic exploration of coming-of-age. Jack Dylan Grazer and Jordan Seamón play the two lead characters, Fraser and Caitlin, who live on an American military base in Italy.
The series takes place during the 2016 American elections, but the teens are too preoccupied with their own little worlds. Fraser has a complicated relationship with his moms (Chloë Sevigny and Alice Braga) and doesn't know whether he's gay or not. Caitlin is questioning her gender while her father (Kid Cudi) clings to the memory of his little girl. Music plays a big part in this series, especially the work of Blood Orange.
The End Of The F***ing World (2017-2019)
Stream On Netflix
Split into two seasons of eight 20-minute episodes, The End Of The F***ing World is a British series based on a comic by Charles Forsman. The series follows two high school students as they ditch school and make their great escapade across the UK.
James believes he's a psychopath and plans to murder Alyssa, who believes she's in love with James and plans to have sex with him. Instead, they find themselves caught up in a number of crimes, including theft, breaking and entering, and murder. On their journey, the teens begin to learn about real emotions as they deal with serious mental health issues.
Elite (2018)
Stream On Netflix
Netflix's Elite is a Spanish thriller drama that deals with the very gritty topics of murder, missing persons, physical and mental illness, abusive relationships, and found family.
As if teens don't face enough in high school, the students of this prestigious school are often left to their own devices, some with too much money, and others with too little. Some of them get mixed up in drugs, either dealing or consuming, while others question their religious beliefs.
Dare Me (2019)
Stream On Netflix
Just like Euphoria, Dare Me is beautifully dark. The cinematography is gorgeous, as is the soundtrack. Beth (Marlo Kelly) has always been Top Girl of her cheer squad, but a new coach (Willa Fitzgerald) threatens to topple her from her position. Always simmering in the background is the tension of volatile female friendship.
Beth's best friend Addy (Herizen Guardiola) begins to long for more power, and she and Beth drift apart. Meanwhile, a murder mystery begins to unfold, as dark secrets about Coach become revealed. Beth is dealing with some serious mental health issues as she struggles to get attention from her friends and family, which leads her to pursue abusive sexual relationships.
Grand Army (2020-)
Stream On Netflix
Like Euphoria, Grand Army closely follows the experiences of several main characters who attend Grand Army High School. The series picks up when a bomb explodes near the school, sparking racism and xenophobia, as well as self-doubt and identity disassociation among the characters.
Joey del Marco is a popular and outspoken dancer, Leila Kwan Zimmer is a painfully needy Chinese girl adopted by white parents, Dominique has big dreams but must help provide for her family, Jayson Jackson is a jazz musician who gets into hot water with his friend, and Siddhartha is a swimmer who feels his sexuality won't be accepted by his peers. The talented cast consists entirely of unknowns, which is refreshing and pleasantly surprising.
