20 Gritty Teen Shows To Watch If You Love Euphoria

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 best TV shows to be canceled too soon, 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 premium 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 – the same man behind Call Me By Your Name – 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.

13 Reasons Why (2017-2020)

Stream On Netflix

Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why is based on Jay Asher’s young adult novel of the same name. Since the series’ first season, the show has been criticized for its overly graphic portrayal of suicide and sexual assault.

Like Euphoria, it also takes a deep dive into topics such as mental health, sexual assault, and difficult relationships people deal with in high school. Thankfully, the series now comes with a trigger warning, but this is something viewers should still keep in mind.

Skins (2007-2013)

Stream On Hulu

Skins may have concluded in 2013, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still relevant. Like Euphoria, Skins doesn’t hold back when it comes to showing the dark and scandalous sides of teens and their high school experiences.

Many characters dabble in sexuality, substance abuse, and struggle with mental health issues. At the time of its release, the show was only one of a few that portrayed young people in such a raw way. Like season 1 of Euphoria, each episode centers around a single character.

On My Block (2018-)

Stream On Netflix

One of the most memorable things about Euphoria is its incredible soundtrack. Euphoria‘s music supervisor, Jen Malone, is also responsible for the excellent music picks in On My Block.

While the music comes from the same place, the storylines of the two shows are a little different. In On My Block, four street-savvy friends navigate their way through high school in the inner city area of South Central Los Angeles. Naturally, the show features a lot of gang activity, romance, and danger.

Skam (2015-2017)

Not Available To Stream

Most episodes of Euphoria is very character-centric, which allows fans the opportunity to deep dive into their favorite characters and learn about how their life has gotten to where it is now.

The Norwegian series Skam is similar in this way. It focuses on sexuality, mental health, religion, identity, and more. This show didn’t hold itself back from any experience that a teenager might have, which makes it a stand-out series.

Sex Education (2019-)

Stream On Netflix

While Euphoria is a straight-edged teen drama, Sex Education is more of a comedy, though the two share some similarities. The Netflix series is a British comedy (or “britcom”) and drama that focuses on a socially awkward high schooler who’s a virgin.

Otis is also the son of a sex therapist, which only makes things even more awkward for him. His best friend Eric is the complete opposite – he’s obsessed with sex, though he’s a virgin, too. Otis teams up with Maeve, a rebellious female classmate, to open up an underground sex therapy clinic for fellow teens.

I Am Not Okay With This (2020)

Stream On Netflix

Like Euphoria, I Am Not Okay With This follows the main female character, Sydney, and her trials and tribulations through high school, sexuality, and family. There are a few similarities between the two television shows, but this one bleeds into the fantasy genre, as well.

Sydney discovers that she has superpowers, and she spends the first (and only) season trying to learn about their origin. The only thing she’s sure of is that they’re linked to her emotions and maybe to her father.

You (2018-)

Stream On Netflix

Fans of Dan Humphrey from Gossip Girl certainly won’t find him anywhere in You. Portrayed by Penn Badgley, Joe Goldberg is the creepy main character of this mystery-thriller. Joe, who works at a bookstore, becomes obsessed with a woman he meets in the shop.

His obsession becomes dark and deadly, and even at the end of season 2, he doesn’t seem like he’s about to change. Like Euphoria, You is narrated by Joe, which adds a nice, eerie touch to every moment.

The Society (2019)

Stream On Netflix

Netflix’s The Society starts out with a bang when all of the adults in a small, upper-class town suddenly vanish without a trace. The teen residents of this town are left to find a way to move on and live their new lives.

While parents are featured in Euphoria, the main story revolves around its teenage cast, so The Society is a natural choice. It’s full of mystery, tense moments, and, of course, drama.

Girls (2012- 2017)

Stream On HBO Max

When Girls premiered in 2012, it firmly cemented its place in the world of television. Women watching from around the world related to the characters’ lives and faithfully stuck with the show until the end.

Girls follows the lives of four young women and isn’t short on shock value to keep viewers hooked. The series also explores youth culture and all of its consequences. Girls is the perfect binge-worthy choice to dive into while waiting for season 2 of Euphoria.

Sharp Objects (2018)

Stream On HBO Max

Based on the wildly popular novel Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, the series follows a reporter named Camille Preaker, who has a drinking problem. Camille heads back to her hometown to investigate the murder of a young girl.

Amy Adams stars as Preaker as she ventures into the darkest parts of her hometown, learning secrets she wished maybe she wouldn’t. The miniseries is beautifully shot and is appropriately dark in its visuals.