The 2019 drama show, Euphoria, discusses the story of a group of teenagers, many of whom are going through a variety of different things. Some of these instances include drug abuse, alcoholism, sexual assault, depression, anxiety, bullying, etc. The term euphoria is a feeling of intense excitement and happiness; the title correlates to the fast pace shown throughout it all. The story follows a group of teens named Rue, Jules, Nate, Cassie, Chris, and Kat while they deal with the harsh issues in their private and public lives throughout the series of the show. The show follows them all as they deal with drama and more graphic details of being a teenager. 

Considering that this show covers heavy topics and has intense language, there is an ongoing debate on if Euphoria is either PG-13 or rated R. To be rated PG-13, a show must follow through with the guidelines made by a special board of parents and parental figures. For a show to be marked as PG-13, the show broadly includes strong language, violence, or relations with drug use and other graphic situations. The term PG-13 is more marked for audiences over the age of 13 but strongly suggests a parental figure still watches with the viewer. For a show or movie to be rated R, the show has to actively display situations in which there is drug use and other graphic details throughout the scenes. The issue with Euphoria’s ratings is based on how far they go. The show can get very detailed when it comes to certain aspects which makes it hard to actively rate it, however, this doesn’t change the impact of the show or its impact on the viewer.  

With the show becoming popular once again after its 2019 debut, there has seemed to be a lot more interest in the situations the show handles. The show started off having an older audience until its rise in popularity amongst teens during season two. With the actors in this show making more debuts in media fit for teenage audiences, it has now become more interesting for them to watch the show. With drug usage becoming popular since the rise of the 2000s, it can be understood that most teenagers with these issues have been influenced not only by the family members actively using them in their homes since they were young but also because of the popularity of it. Euphoria isn’t necessarily lying when it comes to the antics of its characters, but it’s how deep they are portraying them that affects these young teens. 

Young teens have become more impressionable than ever before. They are able to have any ad curated towards them to buy a product. They are able to now get information on things they once would have never found out about. With Euphoria having its iffy ratings, it has opened a new pool of possible viewers who wouldn’t expect to see these things. The issue isn’t with the show itself or its performance of these issues going on, but rather the impact it has which can affect teens. More teenagers are getting pushed into doing more things that could seem “adult” due to their environment. The way to solve these issues isn’t to diminish the true efforts of the show’s involvement in the issues they showcase, but rather help teens understand how unrealistic some things in the show could be. Education is important when discussing any harsh topic, but Euphoria seems to be struggling when it comes to it.