When the second season of Euphoria ended in February 2022, cliffhangers loomed over many of the storylines. So when season 3 was confirmed, viewers hoped HBO would tie up those loose ends as soon as possible. Alas, that isn't necessarily the case with the show's time-jump and compartmentalized storylines—but, after an excruciating four-year drought, the wait is finally over, with the third season of Euphoria returning in April 2026.
The new episodes of the gritty drama are set five years after the end of season 2, meaning Rue and company are out of high school and now navigating plenty more chaos in their young adult lives. Rue (Zendaya) is still very much in debt to drug dealer Laurie over the $10,000 worth of drugs that her friends flushed away; Cassie and Nate (Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi) are heading for marriage, and adapting to suburban life; Maddy and Lexi (Alexa Demie and Maude Apatow) are both starting careers in Hollywood; and Jules (Hunter Schafer) is making her way through art school.
With the series rumored to be ending after season 3—and to tide you over between each of the new episodes—we’ve rounded up other shows that are equally loaded with drama, romance, scandals, and general shenanigans, perfect for filling the Euphoria-sized hole in any fan’s heart.
The Best Shows Like 'Euphoria' on Prime Video
'Friday Night Lights' (2006–2011)
Even if you’re not a football fan, you’ll still find yourself sucked into the small-town drama of Dillon, Texas. The classic '00s series follows a cast of high school football players and their friends and family as they grapple with their relationships, as well as issues like racism, teen pregnancy, and addiction.
'Laguna Beach' (2004–2006)
While airing between 2004 and 2006, this MTV reality show earned countless complaints from media advocacy groups about its portrayal of teens using profanity and talking about sex (so, acting like teenagers). Obviously, between that and its use of Hilary Duff’s “Come Clean” as its theme song, Laguna Beach deserves a permanent spot in the teen show hall of fame.
'My So-Called Life' (1994–1995)
One of the first “real,” gritty teen shows, My So-Called Life is a one-season wonder that has since become something of a cult classic. Unlike other ‘90s teen shows, with their “very special episodes,” this one addressed issues of abuse, addiction, violence, and more, without wrapping them up in neat little bows at the end of each episode. And it stars a young Claire Danes as our perfectly angsty heroine, opposite Jared Leto as her brooding, floppy-haired love interest. Icons in the making!
The Best Shows Like 'Euphoria' on HBO Max
'Gossip Girl' (2007–2012)
It may not be quite as intense as Euphoria, but Gossip Girl should still sufficiently fill the “teenagers getting up to no good”-shaped hole in your heart. Like the HBO hit, its ensemble of private school kids is similarly connected by a tangled web of relationships, and the show also made waves in the early aughts for its depictions of teens experimenting with their sexuality and substances.
'The Idol' (2023)
Euphoria creator Sam Levinson took some time after season 2 to churn out The Idol, which stars Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn, a pop star who enters into a messy relationship with nightclub owner and cult leader Tedros (played by Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. The Weeknd). The show was widely criticized for the sleaziness of Tesfaye’s character and its toxic portrayals of abusive relationships, and it lasted only one short season before being canceled. But if you’re curious about all the controversy—and want to hear Depp belt out a few so-bad-they’re-almost-perfect pop songs—it’s a relatively quick watch, with only five one-hour episodes. And, because of Levinson's involvement, the show echoes the same stylized cinematography that defines Euphoria.
'Industry' (2020– )
Often described as a combination of Euphoria and Succession, this cult-favorite HBO series follows the chaotic personal and professional lives of several fresh-out-of-college workers at a prestigious London investment firm. It’s dark and tense and absolutely impossible to look away from—familiar territory for Euphoria fans.
‘Pretty Little Liars’ (2010-2017)
There’s perhaps no better way to distract yourself from wondering just what’s going to happen to Rue and co. by the end of season 3 than by focusing instead on figuring out who “A” is. It's the perfect time to dive into this soapy, thriller-y teen drama’s seven seasons and get to the bottom of the mystery once and for all.
The Best Shows Like 'Euphoria' on Hulu
'The O.C.' (2003–2007)
A classic mid-aughts teen drama, The O.C. became something of a pop culture phenomenon. In the years since, it's remained a beloved rewatch for many, thanks to its portrayal of a group of teenagers navigating the nonstop drama of the romantic, familial, and personal identity varieties.
'The Secret Life of the American Teenager' (2008–2013)
This might as well be the subtitle of Euphoria. If it’s adolescent drama you’re after, look no further than this Freeform classic starring Shailene Woodley. It started in 2008 with a teen pregnancy and progressed throughout its five seasons to include struggles with addiction, religious identity, grief, and plenty of love triangles.
'Skins' (2007–2013)
This U.K. series has more than a few parallels to Euphoria: It follows the lives of sixth form students (basically, high school juniors and seniors) facing very real issues. The first season alone delves into the teens’s sex lives, drug overdoses, eating disorders, love triangles, and absent parents—to name just a few of the intense topics covered on the show. Though the cast was swapped out every two seasons, the original roster is especially star-studded; look out for Nicholas Hoult, Dev Patel, and Daniel Kaluuya in some of their earliest onscreen roles.
'Tell Me Lies' (2022–2026)
Pretty much everyone on Tell Me Lies is messy and toxic to the extreme—so, it’s kind of a perfect show. Its three seasons span eight years, centered around the turbulent relationship between Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White) after they first meet in college.
The Best Shows Like 'Euphoria' on Netflix
'Baby' (2018–2020)
If you’re ever astounded at some of the very grown-up situations the Euphoria teens find themselves in, wait until you watch Baby. This Italian Netflix series kicks off with one of its main characters, Chiara (Benedetta Porcaroli), a student at an elite Roman high school, being drawn into a secret underage sex work ring.
'Elite' (2018–2024)
Elite, a Spanish Netflix original, follows a handful of working-class scholarship students and their wealthy classmates at a fancy high school. Though it sometimes borders on soap opera levels of dramatics, the thriller series has been lauded for depicting a diverse range of sexual identities and encounters, and for its dual-timeline structure, which gives viewers glimpses of future murders and other dramatic events in flashes forward throughout each season.
'Everything Sucks!' (2018)
Before she was Cassie on Euphoria, Sydney Sweeney was Emaline on Everything Sucks!, a short-lived dramedy set in Boring, Oregon (a real place!), circa 1996. The show centers on the misfits of the high school A/V and drama clubs, who join forces to make a movie, while grappling with mental health issues and their assorted sexual awakenings along the way.
'Grand Army' (2020)
There’s serious, gritty drama aplenty in this gone-too-soon Netflix series, which amassed a dedicated fanbase both before and after its unceremonious cancellation after just one season. It’s still very much worth watching, as it tracks the highs and lows of teenagerdom for five students at Brooklyn’s largest public high school.
'Heartbreak High' (2022–2026)
Heartbreak High is a reboot of an Australian show from the ‘90s. The new version, also set in Australia, centers on the web of hookups that connect a group of high-schoolers—physically represented in a diagram dubbed the “incest map” that’s graffitied on a wall at their school when the show begins. In addition to following their many sexcapades (and the ensuing fallout), the series also explores racism and the fragility of adolescent friendships, among the many other issues plaguing its young characters.
'Never Have I Ever' (2020–2023)
Much lighter than Euphoria, the Mindy Kaling-created Never Have I Ever leans much more toward smart comedy. The four seasons follow Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) in her final three years of high school, as she grapples with the death of her father, her academic ambitions, and her romantic fantasies—and, hilariously, it’s all narrated by John McEnroe, an icon for emotional teens everywhere.
'Riverdale' (2017–2023)
Riverdale started like a standard teen drama—but quickly took a turn for the weird and only continued to get more bizarre as its seven seasons went on. By its series finale in 2023, various members of the Riverdale gang had been sent to an alternate dimension, time-traveled, faced down an immortal sorcerer, and developed magical powers that were used to resurrect their fallen friends (just a few of the show’s most bonkers plot points). Hey, whoever said high school drama had to make sense?
'Sex Education' (2019–2023)
In a refreshingly blunt portrayal of teenage sexuality, this British comedy series depicts a range of high school-aged characters all learning to come to terms with their sexual identities and desires. They're helped along by the sex therapy clinic that main character Otis (Asa Butterfield), the son of a sex therapist (played by none other than Gillian Anderson), sets up at school.
'Tiny Pretty Things' (2020)
Tiny Pretty Things kicks off with a murder, and the plot thickens from there. It’s set at a ballet school in Chicago, and the students split their time between competing with each other for roles, plotting out their next hookups, and, at one point, taking down an underage sex trafficking ring—all while trying to unravel the truth behind their classmate’s murder. It only lasted one season before being quietly canceled by Netflix, but it’s still worth a watch, even if only to see all of the actors do their own (very impressive) dancing in the ballet scenes.
'Trinkets' (2019–2020)
This Netflix series is based on a novel by Kirsten Smith and centers on three teenage girls who meet in a Shoplifters Anonymous meeting and form a secret friendship, so as not to completely uproot their positions in the high school hierarchy. Trinkets lasted only two seasons, but that was plenty of time to dive into the issues that Elodie (Brianna Hildebrand), Moe (Kiana Madeira), and Tabitha (Quintessa Swindell) were dealing with, both in and out of school.
The Best Shows Like 'Euphoria' on Peacock
'One of Us Is Lying' (2021–2022)
Another suspense-filled thriller show, One of Us Is Lying is based on the book of the same name by Karen M. McManus. It revolves around the mysterious death of a high school student named Simon, who dies while in detention with four classmates, each of whom was at risk of having their secrets revealed by Simon's online gossip group and therefore had a motive to kill him. Simon’s killer is finally revealed at the end of season 1, just in time for the students to get caught up in another murder that haunts them through season 2.
