Editorial: Is season one of HBO’s Euphoria worth the watch?

Season one of HBO’s Euphoria has come to a conclusion. It’s received a lot of attention, but who is the target audience and is it worth the watch?

(The following includes no plot spoilers of Euphoria season one)

If you haven’t watched HBO’s Euphoria yet, you’ve likely at least heard of it. The eighth episode of the Zendaya-led Euphoria aired Sunday, August 4th, wrapping up the first season.

I had heard several interesting things about the show but decided to wait for the season’s conclusion before starting to watch. After two episodes, I decided to take a minute to assess whether to continue.

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Before watching any episodes, I associated Euphoria with “inappropriate” content and assumed this “shock” factor was generating the conversation around the show. Through two episodes, the inappropriate content is DEFINITELY there, but I wasn’t prepared for how dark the show could be.

The dark content hasn’t exactly bothered me, but it’s definitely made it tough to watch at times. This theme is surely intentional and is part of what makes the show effective for a lot of people. For me, however, the question was, “What I am putting myself through this for?”

Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why came to mind as a comparison. Although it doesn’t come particularly close to matching Euphoria in terms of “darkness,” it also has its share of cringeworthy moments; both have scenes that are hard to watch.

So how did I get through the first two seasons of13 Reasons Why? Why did I put myself through it? I think it’s because there is an underlying “mystery” to the show that kept me engaged, and I had to watch get the answers.

Through two episodes, however, I’m wasn’t sure I “needed” any answers from Euphoria. Was I curious how the characters’ storylines would play out? Sure, but for me at least, I needed more than that from this show. Not every story needs a mystery to keep me engaged, but for darker shows, I might need the extra nudge to keep me going.

I ultimately decided to watch the third episode. Even if the first two were a bit of a grind, the show is clearly unique, and I felt that had value in itself. Although I’ve still only seen three episodes, I’m glad I stuck with it. The third installment diverges a bit from the first two in a way I thought was effective. I think I’m finally on board.

Reception/Audience

HBO consistently churns out quality content, so it’s not worth questioning whether Euphoria is a “well-made” show. It also seems to have been received pretty well, scoring an 81% on both Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer and Audience Score metrics.

Zendaya and the rest of the cast is really good in it from what I’ve seen thus far, and the ratings have been strong, averaging 5.6 million viewers through the finale. HBO has already renewed it for a second season.

In terms of what kind of audiences it appeals to, Euphoria has the youngest audience of any HBO show. People under 35-years-old make up 40% of the show’s viewers.

Have you watch Euphoria? Do you plan to watch it? Let us know in the poll below!