10 Dark and Vivid Teen Dramas Worth Watching After ‘Euphoria’

‘Euphoria‘ occupies a singular space in modern television. The HBO series, created by Sam Levinson and based on an Israeli miniseries of the same name, follows a group of teenage students as they struggle with modern sexuality, substance abuse, mental illness, love, and friendship. Its mix of raw emotional honesty and visually striking filmmaking made it one of the defining dramas of its era, and fans consistently return to it for the kind of intensity that most shows simply do not attempt.

With season three set five years after the end of season two, Rue and company are now out of high school and navigating more chaos in their young adult lives. Whether the new episodes satisfy or leave something wanting, the appetite for gripping coming-of-age television is clearly not going away. The shows below share ‘Euphoria’s instinct for emotional honesty, discomfort, and the irreducible mess of being young.

‘Skins’ (2007–2013): The British Predecessor That Made It All Possible

‘Skins’ is a British teen drama that follows a group of teens in Bristol, South West England, through their two years of sixth form at Roundview College. The show is known for its exploration of dysfunctional families, mental illness, sexual orientation identity, substance abuse, and death revolving around teenagers. Created by father and son writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain, it premiered on E4 in January 2007 and ran until August 2013, entirely replacing its cast every two series when characters graduated.

All the excessive drug abuse and explicit sexuality that Sam Levinson was empowered to portray more than a decade later in ‘Euphoria’ may not have been possible without ‘Skins’. That also goes for the more delicate subject matters the HBO show explored in style and depth, such as depression, bipolar disorder, toxic relationships, suicidal ideation, and personal trauma. The show also stands out for its choice to cast actual teenagers to play teen characters, a stark contrast from the twenty-somethings who step into teen roles in Hollywood, launching the careers of Nicholas Hoult, Dev Patel, and Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya.

‘Sex Education’ (2019–2023): Radical Empathy on the Same Messy Terrain

‘Sex Education’ tackles the uncomfortable topic of sexuality with refreshing honesty and humor. Despite having little to no experience, Otis Milburn sets up an underground sex therapy clinic with Maeve to help his classmates deal with their personal issues, with his venture becoming a cathartic exercise in getting in tune with his own feelings while helping others work through theirs. Created by Laurie Nunn and running for four seasons, the Netflix series stars Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa, and Emma Mackey.

‘Sex Education’ remains one of the genre’s most celebrated achievements, anchored by a great cast of young actors with fantastic chemistry, high production values, and gorgeous framing that make it one of the smartest and most stylish entries in the teen drama canon. Where ‘Euphoria’ leans into darkness and despair, ‘Sex Education’ finds radical empathy and even optimism in the same messy adolescent terrain. For viewers who appreciated ‘Euphoria’s openness about identity and desire, ‘Sex Education’ delivers the same subject matter through a warmer and often funnier lens.

‘Elite’ (2018–2024): Class War and Murder in a Spanish Prep School

‘Elite’ is a Spanish teen drama series created by Carlos Montero and Darío Madrona for Netflix. The show is set in Las Encinas, a fictional elite high school that caters to privileged and wealthy teenagers, and focuses on three working-class students who win their enrollment through a scholarship program. The series ran for eight seasons from October 2018 to July 2024, exploring issues such as homosexuality, classism, parental neglect, drug use, crime, and murder.

‘Elite’ offers proof that a good teen drama can transcend cultures, borders, and language, presenting a soapy take on a ‘Euphoria’-style story with a distinctively European twist. The social tensions between its scholarship students and their wealthy classmates give the show a sharper political edge than most of its peers, and its murder-mystery structure keeps each season moving with a sense of genuine stakes. ‘Euphoria’ fans drawn to power dynamics and toxic relationships will find plenty to hold their attention here.

’13 Reasons Why’ (2017–2020): The Show That Laid the Ground

’13 Reasons Why’ is an American teen drama developed for Netflix by Brian Yorkey, based on Jay Asher’s novel of the same name. The series revolves around seventeen-year-old Clay Jensen and his deceased friend Hannah Baker, who leaves behind cassette tapes detailing the thirteen reasons why she chose to end her life. The show ran for four seasons, concluding with the core cast’s graduation from high school as a natural endpoint to the story.

Since its premiere, ’13 Reasons Why’ sparked a wave of similar teen-focused shows delving into the harsh realities of adolescence, with ‘Euphoria’ being a notable example. The first season in particular shares ‘Euphoria’s willingness to put trauma and social cruelty on screen without softening its impact, even as the later seasons drew controversy for how far it was willing to go. As a foundational text for the modern raw teen drama, it remains an important watch for anyone tracing the genre’s evolution.

‘Heartbreak High’ (2022–2026): Australian Chaos With a Generous Heart

‘Heartbreak High’ is an Australian comedy-drama created by Hannah Carroll Chapman, starring Ayesha Madon, Thomas Weatherall, and James Majoos. It ran for three seasons on Netflix, premiering in September 2022 and concluding in March 2026. The series follows teen girl Amerie, who becomes a social pariah after she creates a mural that exposes the secret hookups of everyone at her school, and has also just had a falling out with her best friend for reasons she cannot figure out yet.

The series is a thrilling blend of ‘Euphoria’ and ‘Sex Education’, featuring the former’s harsh realities of teenagehood and the latter’s diverse sexual representation. Creator Hannah Carroll Chapman mines ample drama and comedy from the various conflicts that arise, with sexual promiscuity, racism, gang affiliation, violence, and the threat of real legal consequences all present throughout the show. It is a sharper and more inclusive show than it first appears, and its three-season run gave its characters genuine room to grow.

‘Everything Now’ (2023): Recovery, Recklessness, and the Weight of Lost Time

‘Everything Now’ is a 2023 British Netflix series in which Mia, a 16-year-old girl from London, rejoins sixth form after a hospital stay due to anorexia nervosa. Created by 22-year-old Ripley Parker, the show follows Mia as she creates a bucket list of experiences that both thrill and terrify her, assuming the list is the only way to rebuild her life following a months-long recovery from disordered eating.

‘Everything Now’ is more gleeful in its approach to teenhood than ‘Euphoria’ is, but it should still scratch that itch, making it one of the most recommended alternatives. While Mia’s anorexia recovery serves as the show’s heart, sensitively written and expertly led by Sophie Wilde, ‘Everything Now’ manages to encapsulate so many other terrifying facets of being a teenager, including the shame and secrecy of sex, the disconnect with family, and the feeling of not belonging. It is compact and emotionally precise in a way that rewards patient viewing.

‘We Are Who We Are’ (2020): Identity and Adolescence Through Guadagnino’s Lens

‘We Are Who We Are’ is a 2020 coming-of-age drama miniseries co-created and directed by Luca Guadagnino for HBO and Sky Atlantic. Set on a fictional American military base in Chioggia, Italy, in 2016, the series follows two American teenagers, Fraser Wilson and Caitlin “Harper” Poythress. The show boasts a cast that includes Jack Dylan Grazer, Jordan Kristine Seamón, Kid Cudi, Chloë Sevigny, Alice Braga, and Francesca Scorsese.

‘We Are Who We Are’ is the show to see if you want to see a story that dives further into the arena of identity, and it is also a great watch for anyone who loved ‘Challengers’, since it is from the same writer, Luca Guadagnino. The intimate filming and layered sound design make ‘We Are Who We Are’ feel more like an immersive experience than most action movies could dream of, visceral in a way that captures what being a teenager actually feels like. Its eight-episode length makes it an easy commitment with a lasting impact.

‘Grand Army’ (2020): The Hardest-Edged Show on This List

‘Grand Army’ is a 2020 Netflix drama that follows the daily lives of teens at Brooklyn’s Grand Army High School, with racism, bullying, rape culture, and sexual identity all front and center, brought to life by an excellent cast of young actors. The ensemble includes Odessa A’zion as a young woman shaken by an assault, Odley Jean as a promising basketball star navigating daily microaggressions and more overt racial segregation, and Amir Bageria as a closeted kid reluctant to fully be himself because of his family and his athletic status.

‘Grand Army’ depicts the struggles of teenagers as they grapple with emerging sexuality, familial strife, forging their identities, the specter of sexual assault, and a range of hot-button issues, all under the relentless and unforgiving microscope of social media. Its cancellation after one season remains a genuine loss for the genre. For ‘Euphoria’ fans who respond most to the show’s ensemble structure and its willingness to sit with uncomfortable material, ‘Grand Army’ is essential viewing.

‘Gossip Girl’ (2007–2012): Where the Glamour Hides the Damage

‘Gossip Girl’ is an American teen drama based on the novel series by Cecily von Ziegesar, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, broadcast on The CW for six seasons from September 2007 to December 2012. Narrated by a mysterious blogger, the show follows a set of wealthy teenagers through their scandalous lives as Manhattan’s elite, exposing how they betray each other for their own gain.

‘Gossip Girl’ rides a potentially dubious line between depicting bad behavior and glorifying it, a line that ‘Euphoria’ has been accused of exploiting as well. The two shows were also launching pads for many young actors: ‘Euphoria’ has Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, and Jacob Elordi, while ‘Gossip Girl’ launched Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, and Penn Badgley. Lighter in tone than ‘Euphoria’ but anchored in the same fascination with self-destruction and desire, it remains a compelling piece of television history.

‘Misfits’ (2009–2013): Superpowers as a Metaphor for Being Outsiders

‘Misfits’ is a British action comedy-drama science fiction series created by Howard Overman, running on E4 from November 2009 to December 2013 across five series, starring Robert Sheehan, Iwan Rheon, Lauren Socha, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and Antonia Thomas. The show follows a group of young offenders on community service who are struck by a storm that gives each of them extraordinary powers.

A show that can be considered among the most ‘Euphoria’-like on many recommendation lists, ‘Misfits’ uses its supernatural premise as a framework for exploring the same anxieties that run through ‘Euphoria’, including identity, shame, trauma, and the desire to escape the circumstances you were born into. The characters are flawed, funny, and frequently self-destructive in ways that feel genuinely motivated rather than scripted. If the outsider energy of ‘Euphoria’ is what keeps you watching, ‘Misfits’ delivers that in spades.

Which of these ten shows do you think comes closest to filling the specific void that ‘Euphoria’ leaves behind, and is there a title on this list you feel deserves more attention than it tends to get?