Euphoria Characters & Their One Tree Hill Counterparts

Euphoria one of the most talked about shows ever, largely due to the fact that it follows a formula that fans know and love; the high school teen drama. Many other shows have tried to reach this level of popularity but fell short, or have aged out of relevancy. However, the best teen dramas still remain infinitely rewatchable, such as the CW’s One Tree Hill.

Euphoria and One Tree Hill aren’t explicitly similar, other than the fact that they’re both melodramatic teen dramas with a traitorous love triangle. The characters on both shows are known for their tragic pasts and questionable decision-making skills, and it’s easy to reimagine Euphoria as One Tree Hill 20 years later, just set in L.A. instead of a small town in North Carolina.

Suze Howard & Deb Scott

Suze Howard is trying her best at being a single mother to daughters Cassie and Lexi, while the former is struggling with just about everything and the latter is brilliantly observing. She’s known for always having a glass of wine in her hand, much like OTH‘s Deb Scott in her early seasons.

Deb went through a similar period of adjusting to single-motherhood after being married to Dan Scott for nearly 20 years. She had some questionable parenting moments throughout the show, but generally just wanted Nathan to grow up to be happy and nothing like his father. Suze and Deb would likely get along great or have a difficult time being in the same room with one another.

Cal Jacobs & Dan Scott

Cal Jacobs is one of, if not, Euphoria‘s greatest villains. He’s a terrible father, has inappropriate relationships with minors, and just runs away without a care for his family. His energy is eerily similar to Dan Scott, who murdered his own brother on season 3 of One Tree Hill.

Cal and Dan are both bad dads who are inherently selfish individuals. They don’t care who they’re hurting as long as they feel like they’re getting revenge. The only difference between them is that over the course of nine seasons Dan eventually is gifted a redemption arc, while Cal has yet to clear his name in any way, and by the looks of it from the season two finale, won’t get a chance anytime soon.

Elliot & Chris Keller

Chris Keller first appeared in season 2 of One Tree Hill as the bad boy threatening the marriage of Nathan and Haley. He showed up with his guitar in tow and was played by real-life musician Tyler Hilton.

Elliot’s character is pretty much the exact same, only he’s a bit more down-to-earth. Elliot befriends Rue and threatens her relationship with Jules — and then ends up hooking up with Jules. His guitar skills are also present on the show, as he is played by a real-life musician, Dominic Fike.

Kat Hernandez & Mouth McFadden

Kat Hernandez started season one of Euphoria being more mild-mannered and taking a back seat to her best friend, Maddy Perez. She soon went through a metamorphosis that elevated her confidence and allowed her to become more like her friends.

Marvin “Mouth” McFadden had a similar journey to Kat’s, standing in the shadow of his best friend Lucas for most of the first few seasons. It wasn’t until he formed friendships with the popular kids that he became more confident in who he was, and got the chance to transform into a main character whose storylines were front and center.

Lexi Howard & Julian Baker

Julian Baker showed up during season 6 of OTH as the movie director who would go on to steal Brooke Davis’ and fans’ hearts. He had a passion for entertainment and was a little bit of a smart aleck, but became a fan-favorite for his charisma and ability to tell a story.

Lexi Howard is Euphoria‘s Julian, writing and directing her own play and telling the story of everyone around her. Much like how Julian hoped to turn Lucas’s book into a film, Lexi takes Rue’s life story thus far and creates a theater performance so controversial that it resulted in breakups, catfights, and many tears.

Jules Vaughn & Haley James

Jules Vaughn is a compelling supporting character with huge main character energy. She has a sensitivity and lovingness that makes her easy to root for, much like that of One Tree Hill’s Haley James.

Haley and Jules are both supportive best friends (and significant others) who also know when to draw the line and set boundaries. For Jules, it’s when Rue is clearly relapsing that she realizes she has to step in and get her help. For Haley, it’s calling out Lucas’s unkind, playboy behavior and threatening to end things with Nathan early on if he didn’t become a better brother and person.

Cassie Howard & Peyton Sawyer

Cassie Howard and Peyton Sawyer are both the leading blonde ladies who just so happen to hook up with their best friend’s boyfriend. Even if the relationship wasn’t going to work out long term, there’s no excusing their actions.

On a deeper level, Cassie and Peyton both suffer from tragic pasts that they can’t seem to escape. Cassie’s abandonment from her father forces her to seek approval from every man in her life, while Peyton’s own abandonment issues cause her to self-isolate and make dangerous decisions. Fans can only hope that Cassie grows up to be like adult Peyton, who figured things out.

Nate Jacobs & Nathan Scott

Nate Jacobs and Nathan Scott both started their respective shows in a similar position. They were the most popular jock in school with a cheerleader girlfriend and a bad attitude about pretty much everything. They also had terrible fathers whose behavior was rubbing off on them.

While Nathan went on to be one of the most lovable characters with an astounding amount of growth, Nate has yet to show many signs of changing. He did give Jules’ the tape back with no strings attached, but he also lied to her and copied it to turn his father in to the police. At the end of the day, both Nate and Nathan want justice to be served for the horrible acts their fathers have committed, but Nate will go a lot further to make sure justice happens.

Maddy Perez & Brooke Davis

During season one of Euphoria, Maddy Perez was in an on-again-off-again relationship with Nate Jacobs that proved to be incredibly toxic. She was blinded by her love for him which led her to falsely accuse Tyler of assaulting her, and she got back together with Nate despite his abusive actions.

Brooke Davis was a bit of a mean girl at the beginning of One Tree Hill, but quickly transformed into one of the best friends anyone could ask for. She and Maddy share similar girl boss energy, both exuding confidence and proving to be wonderful friends. They also both loved a boy who could never love them back the way they deserved, and they were ultimately better off without him.

Rue Bennett & Lucas Scott

Rue Bennett is the narrator of Euphoria, recounting her story to the audience of battling drug abuse, losing a parent, and the trials and tribulations that come with young love.

Lucas Scott was the narrator of One Tree Hill, writing a book about his life that would later be published sharing all the wisdom he learned while growing up in a small town with an estranged father and half-brother. Both characters go through ups and downs that make viewers question whether or not they are on their side, and serve the purpose of telling a story so compelling fans can’t look away.

About The Author

Emily Proctor
(214 Articles Published)

Emily Proctor is an entertainment writer and avid television fan. She recently graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in Communication, Media, and Theatre Arts. In addition to writing for Screenrant, Emily frequently publishes personal essays on her Medium profile and personal blog SheWritesTV.com. She is also an aspiring actress and songwriter.

You can follow Emily on Twitter at @emproct for more of her opinions on pop culture, the latest TV and movies, and links to her work.

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