‘Euphoria’ Age Rating & Parents Guide: What Are the Content Advisories?

HBO

Although Euphoria is about a group of high school students, not all parents will find the HBO show to be suitable for their children. Read on for more details.

HBO shows are known for having a lot of violence and nudity. So parents often have to carefully consider if an HBO series is going to be suitable for their children to watch. As for Euphoria, a lot of parents might think it’s not suitable even though it’s about high school students. In fact, if you’re a parent then your best bet might be to watch each episode yourself and then decide if it’s OK for your children.

According to IMDB, Euphoria is rated TV-MA. TV-MA means the series was designed for mature audiences only and may contain foul language, graphic violence, graphic sexual activity, or a combination of these. It essentially entails that some content in the series might not be suitable for children.

IMDB’s parents’ guide goes into more detail. Under sex and nudity, six out of eight people rated it “severe” and including full frontal and rear nudity and frequent sex scenes. For some parents this will be enough for them not to approve the series for their children.

Under violence and gore, one out of three rated it moderate.

For profanity, one out of three found the rating to be moderate. It includes frequent strong and mild language along with name calling.

For alcohol, drugs, and smoking, one out of three rated this to be moderate. The references include frequent drinking, smoking, and drug use, and references to drugs and alcohol. It should be noted that HBO’s official description for the series mentions that the high schoolers will be navigating issues that include sex, drugs, and alcohol.

For the topic of frightening and intense scenes, one out of three rated it moderate. They wrote: “Some scenes feature sexual assault and rape, which may distress some viewers.” 

It should also be noted that one actor quit filming the pilot because they were uncomfortable with explicit scenes, Mashable reported. Sam Levinson himself said: “There are going to be parents who are going to be totally f***ing freaked out.”

Mashable noted that there are graphic sexual displays that are shocking, sometimes unnecessary, but also sometimes empowering. Also, there are multiple times when you’ll be seeing male genitalia on the screen, Mashable warns. And The Hollywood Reporter warns that there will be a statutory rape scene in the pilot and many other jarring moments. Apparently there is also one episode that shows 30 instances of male genitalia in one episode. The pilot also has a drug overdose scene that might be tough to watch.

In other words, most parents who are searching for a parental guide about Euphoria will likely find it too intense for their children. If you thought Game of Thrones was not suitable, then Euphoria definitely won’t be. But of course, if you have any doubt, you should watch the episode by yourself first and decide.