Even the star of “Euphoria” is urging viewers to tread carefully. After the teen drama’s intense premiere Sunday night, Zendaya has posted a warning on her Instagram that the show can be “triggering and difficult to watch.” The show’s lead gave fans a heads up ahead of the second season premiere, which involved raw scenes of drug abuse, heroin addiction, a near-overdose and child abuse, among other mature topics. “I know I’ve said this before, but I do want to reiterate to everyone that ‘Euphoria’ is for mature audiences,” the 25-year-old wrote on Sunday. “This season, maybe even more so than the last, is deeply emotional and deals with subject matter that can be triggering and difficult to watch. Please only watch it if you feel comfortable.” Hailing from Sam Levinson, the teen drama series follows Rue (Zendaya, who became the youngest Emmy winner for the Lead Actress in a Drama category in 2020), a recovering teen drug addict. Other characters include transgender love interest Jules (Hunter Schafer), Nate (Jacob Elordi), a psychotic jock with major anger issues and Kat (Barbie Ferreria), who struggles with body image issues and briefly ventures into sex work in the form of being a cam girl. The show features topics such as drug abuse, sexual assault, violence, underage sex, sex work, self-harming, gender dysmorphia, and more. In other words, it’s the kind of subject matter that’s featured on other teen shows such as “DeGrassi,” “Sex Education” and “Riverdale,” but airing on premium cable also gives “Euphoria” carte blanche to sometimes feature locker room scenes that show a reported 30 penises. Season 2 of “Euphoria” airs Sundays at 9 p.n. on HBO Max.
