If the hype surrounding The Idol says anything, it's that people want more shows like Euphoria. But while HBO's latest unhinged drama comes from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, it's not exactly similar, and it's not exactly great, either.
So, we thought now was a great time to suggest shows to binge-watch while you wait for Euphoria season 3. You can't keep rewatching the 16 episodes and its pair of specials without people getting worried about you, right?
Each of these shows offers something similar to HBO's Euphoria, which attracted a ton of attention with its pack of teens that do everything parents would wish they shouldn't. And while no series is truly the same as Euphoria, each shows characters tackling their troubles in one way or another that will have you ready to hit play and watch the next episode.
Here’s our picks for the best teen (and slightly older) dramas that you can watch while you wait for Euphoria season 3.
Gossip Girl
Take the salaciousness of Euphoria, but make it preppy and network TV friendly, and you get Gossip Girl, the show's closest U.S. predecessor. Gossip Girl (much like Euphoria after it), widened eyes by showing teens drinking and doing drugs and barely focusing on their studies that their rich parents were paying for. All the while, the titular gossip hound spread secrets online.
The series begins as Serena (Blake Lively) returns from an unexplained absence, and has to deal with everyone's questions. We also follow Dan (Penn Badgley), who's something of an outsider in the Upper East Side world, as he's *scoffs* living in Brooklyn. This is back before Brooklyn was cool.
One thing that ties Gossip Girl and Euphoria together is how both shows love to attempt to humanize their meanest characters. In Gossip Girl, they even coupled as Serena's frenemy Blair (Leighton Meester) and the diabolical Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) were as complex as they get.
Watch on Hulu
Elite
Hailed as one of the best guilty-pleasure teen dramas on TV, Elite is a must for any Euphoria fan. The Spanish-language series features the sex and social situation nightmares you'd expect from any show on this list, and it's all wrapped up in a murder mystery that kicks off the first season.
On top of that, Elite throws in class warfare vibes, as it begins by bringing three less-well-off students into its prestigious academy. Much like Euphoria, Elite is a fun-and-trashy piece of TV that's utterly addictive.
Watch on Netflix
Skins
British teen drama Skins focused on a group of teens who got into a lot of trouble when their nearly-absentee parents weren't looking — giving parents watching at home reasons to be nervous. Each episode examines one member of the show's social circle, including the too-clever Tony (Nicholas Hoult) who starts the series off trying to make money while helping his friend Sid (Mike Bailey) out with his love life.
Skins has its own Cassie (Hannah Murray), who suffers from mental disorders and anorexia, and her episode shows how she keeps everyone around her in the dark on it. Critically hailed for tackling tough subjects with respect for its characters, Skins is possibly the best of this entire category.
Watch on Hulu
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Euphoria is quite nascent compared to Degrassi: The Next Generation, which ran for 14 seasons (which are now on Max). Revolutionary for its time, this CBC drama delivered Canadian high school chaos around the world, showing how drugs, sexuality and parental drama can make final exams sound like light work.
All in a soap opera-like format that fans rewatch to this date. That said, Degrassi is far more tame than Euphoria, and Common Sense Media rates it for ages 14 and up. We doubt anyone would ever classify Euphoria as a show for young teens. And, yes, a young Drake co-stars as Jimmy Brooks.
Watch on Max — or sample free episodes on Pluto
Sex Education
The super-horny but equally-frustrated Otis (Asa Butterfield) would have a lot of fun with all the sex and nudity in Euphoria. Similarly, his mother Jean (Gillian Anderson), a sex therapist, would probably have a lot to say about it.
Sex Education is a more-fun take on the Euphoria format, but that's not to say that Otis and his fellow classmates at Moordale High don't have their fair share of tension. Eric (Ncuti Gatwa, the next Dr. Who) is the ultra-frank life of the party who steals every scene he can, but a lot of the attention goes to Maeve (Emma Mackey), the subject of a ton of gossip.
And much like Euphoria and other shows on this list, Sex Education's world is fueled by gossip and slander that creates even more drama.
Watch on Netflix
Riverdale
Riverdale managed to defy expectations, adapting the wholesome Archie comics into a noir high school drama with plenty of surprises. There was even a cult, and later seasons brought in Sabrina (Kiernan Brennan Shipka).
And much like Euphoria, nobody's calling Riverdale prestige TV. Instead, you get a ton of plots that get more complicated, wild and weird as the series progresses, and a murder mystery. Think "Euphoria, but campier, and something you could watch with family."
Watch on Netflix
Industry
There's a rumored possibility that Euphoria season 3 could begin as many as five years after season 3 ended, but what if you want to know how these teens fit into the job market?
Industry throws a fresh young pack of college graduates into the high-stakes world of finance at the Pierpont investment bank. There, we meet the ambitious Harper (Myha'la Herrold), a Black woman from New York who's hiding some skeletons in her closet, who witnesses a tragic death early. One of her colleagues succumbs to the pressure of the job, and winds up taking too many pills at night in the office.
As tense as your favorite episode of Euphoria (season 2 episode 1 is my pick), Industry features backstabbing, dramatic personal lives and a group of peers trying to thrive and survive.
Watch on Max
