15 TV Shows Like Euphoria You Should Watch Next
Zendaya is very busy. Euphoria , which she serves as a producer in addition to starring, will finally return for its third season on April 12, four years after our last visit to East Highland and nearly seven years since its premiere.
As annoying as these breaks between seasons can be, they leave plenty of time to explore other stories about the turbulent lives of high schoolers. It’s all relative, though: growing up is never easy, but there’s drama, and then there’s real drama . These 15 shows like Euphoria vary greatly in tone and style, but they all make it clear that being a young adult in the 21st century is a hell of a lot. Watch the first two seasons of Euphoria on HBO Max .
Sex Lives of College Girls (2021–2025)
Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet) is a hopelessly naive college student on scholarship; Bela (Amrit Kaur) is an aspiring comedy writer trying to catch the attention of the hottest guys; Whitney (Alia Chanel Scott) is an ambitious athlete and the daughter of a senator; and Layton (Renee Rapp) is a closeted sorority girl. They are all randomly assigned to the same room at the fictional Essex College in Vermont for their freshman year. Created by Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble, this comedy-drama isn’t as explicit as its title suggests. There’s sex, sure, but like Sex and the City before it, this funny, LGBTQ-friendly show is more about female friendship. Watch Coed Sex Lives on HBO Max .
My Crazy Fat Diary (2013–2015)
Historical dramas are all the rage right now, and this story has its roots way back… to the 1990s. In this British comedy-drama, the brilliant Sharon Rooney (you may know her as “Lawyer Barbie” ) plays Rae Earl, a 16-year-old who spent several months in a psychiatric hospital due to a variety of mental health issues, chief among them self-esteem. Returning to school, she tries to hide the truth about her absence and her ongoing struggles—with predictably mixed results. Despite the comedic elements, this is arguably one of the best coming-of-age stories with serious mental health issues you’ll find. Rooney deservedly won a BAFTA for Best Actress. Watch “My Mad Fat Diary” on Prime Video , Hulu , and Tubi.
Borders (2024 – )
This British series is a bit like a modern-day “Skins,” set in a school setting and featuring a talented young cast (including leads Josh Tedeka and Jodie Campbell). At the (fictional) prestigious boarding school St. Gilbert’s, five black teenagers are accepted on scholarships, but their integration into the existing cliques doesn’t go smoothly. The combination of coming-of-age drama and a willingness to satirize the whole “rich private school thing” makes this Tubi original incredibly engaging. Watch “Barders” on Tubi .
Gossip Girl (2007–2012)
Teen drama at its best and most scathing, Gossip Girl chronicles the numerous scandals of a group of young Upper East Side socialites and their hangers-on. The tangled teenage lives of Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), her rival-best friend Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), scholarship student Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley), and a host of other attractive young men and women are chronicled in detail by the mysterious and omnipresent Gossip Girl (voiced by Kristen Bell). Like Emily , the show boasts an impeccable sense of style, and its leads never miss a beat. It all feels a bit understated compared to Euphoria , but the show nonetheless blazed a trail, shocking parents in the mid-2000s. ( The 2021 two-season series is also available on HBO Max.) Watch Gossip Girl on HBO Max and Netflix.
Prisma (2022–2024)
Andrea and Marco are twin brothers (both played by Mattia Carrano) with a wide circle of friends living in modern-day Italy. Marco has a history of self-harm that has impacted his budding swimming career, while Andrea leads a secret life on social media, messaging men while posing as a woman. The series explores sexuality and gender identity, but it also realistically addresses issues like drugs, bullying, and a host of other growing pains. A real gem. Watch “Prisma” on Prime Video.
Elite (2018–2024)
In the style of Gossip Girl , Elite follows a group of working-class friends who receive scholarships to Las Encinas, a fictional private school that, within the show’s universe, is the most exclusive in Spain. There, they encounter snobbery, of course, but also mystery, murder, and plenty of sex (between characters of varying sexual orientations and numbers). This smart, delightfully trashy series ran for a shocking (in our modern age of streaming) eight seasons, with a couple of regional remakes.Watch Elite on Netflix .
Blood and Water (2020 – )
In this top-notch teen drama, Ama Kamata plays Puleng Khumalo, a teenager who has lived her entire life in the shadow of her sister, who was kidnapped as a baby by human traffickers (Puleng’s parents still throw a birthday party for her sister every year). When Puleng is invited to a party by the popular Fikile Bhele (Khosi Ngema), a student at an elite Cape Town school, she can’t help but notice their similarities. Immersed in her sister’s story, Puleng transfers to the school to understand the situation. The series is full of gripping high school dramas and family secrets, but its strengths lie in its unexpected dramatic depth and its many characters and storylines that reflect the LGBT community. (It’s essentially a South African remake of Elite , but its flavor and sense of identity are so unique you’ll hardly notice.)Watch Blood & Water on Netflix.
Overcompensation (2025 – )
Comedian Benito Skinner plays himself, sort of, in this acclaimed comedy about a former high school athlete who begins his freshman year of college desperately trying to convince himself and everyone else that he’s completely straight (understandable, if not for the jock part). Much of the film’s appeal lies in its skillful blend of tones: it’s often a frank college comedy and simultaneously a sweet coming-of-age story about accepting yourself without worrying about what others think. The cast includes Adam DiMarco ( White Lotus ) and Rish Shah ( Ms. Marvel ), and while the film certainly isn’t as gritty as Euphoria, it has moments of genuine drama and heartache. Watch Overcompensation on Prime Video .
Sex Education (2019–2023)
Many of us grew up in families with a less-than-positive philosophy about sex. And that’s not a good thing. This popular British series follows the life of a teenager whose parent falls on the opposite end of the spectrum: his mother (Gillian Anderson) is a sex therapist who isn’t particularly good at romance. As a result, Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) grew up with ambivalence about the topic—a lack of interest that persists until he realizes his knowledge of the intricacies of sex can win him friends (and paying clients) at school. Along with a few classmates, he opens his own clinic to help his peers with their sexual problems. Along the way, Otis and the series tackle a wide range of issues, from contraception and abortion to masturbation, sexually transmitted diseases, and the development of sexual identity. The series also stars Emma Mackey and Ncuti Gatwa ( Doctor Who ).Watch Sex Education on Netflix .
Industry (2020 – )
The series “Industry” doesn’t focus on the power struggles among those at the top of the corporate ladder; instead, it focuses on the struggle to climb that ladder. The young aspiring investment bankers it follows dream of becoming those filthy rich from another series . The main characters come from different backgrounds, but they are all vying for a limited number of permanent positions at the fictional London bank Pierpoint & Co., and they will do anything to get their chance at the top prize. The setting is seemingly very different from the undefined Los Angeles of “Euphoria ,” and the investment banking storyline almost seems like it could be the struggles of high school, but there are definitely similarities in the atmosphere, as young people face high-pressure situations and struggle to survive in a world full of traps and temptations. Watch “Industry” on HBO Max.
We Are Us (2020)
Director Luca Guadagnino ( Challengers, Queer ) created this series about two American teenagers, Fraser (Jack Dylan Grazer) and Caitlin (Jordan Christine Seaman), living with their families on a U.S. military base in Chioggia, Italy. Fraser’s mothers are both in the military, but he is new to life on the base. Caitlin, meanwhile, has lived in Chioggia for years with her conservative father. Over the course of the summer, they gradually grow closer, sharing a shared sense of isolation and exploring issues of gender and sexuality. Watch We Are Us on HBO Max .
Child (2018–2020)
Like many teen dramas, Baby opens at an elite boarding school (poor kids grow up too, you know), but this one has a rather unusual twist: it’s based ( rather loosely) on a real-life Italian scandal involving underage sex workers. Benedetta Porcaroli ( Immaculate ) plays Chiara, a rich girl who makes a new best friend in Ludovica (Alice Pagani), who’s in need of money and happens to be dating a very shady guy who might be able to help her earn it. The film’s tone is somewhat less prurient than its premise suggests, though the theme of sex work as teenage rebellion may not be for everyone.Watch Baby on Netflix .
Heartbreak High (2022–)
There’s a lot of backstory you don’t really need to know to enjoy the show, but in short, “Heartbreak High” is a soft reboot of sorts of the popular and long-running Australian series from the 1990s, which in turn was a spinoff of the 1993 film. The series successfully blends teen drama (dealing with issues of gender identity, race, and teenage sexuality) and comedy (the main characters are gathered for “Sex Literacy Lessons,” with the unfortunate acronym SLT). It all begins with Amelie and Harper, two students at a multicultural Sydney high school, who cause quite a scandal by creating a detailed map of the students’ sexual exploits.Watch “Heartbreak High” on Netflix .
Riverdale (2017–2023)
“What the hell is this doing here?” you’re probably asking yourself. And rightfully so. But listen: this reimagining of the once perfectly genteel Archie comics universe is generally over-the-top, but it tackles the challenges of growing up (including recurring drug abuse storylines) in a similarly… well, operatic manner. The series veers wildly between genres, starting with a mashup of coming-of-age storylines and a detective story about a teacher’s crush: the surly, elderly Miss Grundy from the comics becomes younger and begins an affair with Archie in the first episode, leading to a bloody murder. Soon we add supernatural horror and alternate universes, and it all gets even stranger because of how the show seems to take itself completely seriously, despite one crazy plot twist after another. It’s a crazy comic book version of Euphoria .Watch Riverdale on Netflix .
Skins (2007–2013)
The popular and controversial British series launched the careers of stars like Nicholas Hoult, Daniel Kaluuya, and Dev Patel, while tackling sensitive issues like mental illness, drug abuse, and bullying. The series also never forgets—not for a second—that it’s about teenagers, and doesn’t shy away from depicting the sex lives of its many (and constantly changing) characters. There’s a direct correlation between the success of Skins and Euphoria . Watch Skins on Hulu .