Well Played

What ‘Euphoria’ Gets Right and Wrong About Addiction



On Sunday, “Euphoria” finally lowered the curtain on its drama-filled sophomore season, and fans and critics have a lot to say — and not just about Fexi, the Maddy-Cassie showdown or the HBO Max outage that almost caused a Twitter riot. 

Despite its popularity, the show has been under fire all season long, especially as it zeroed in on the unraveling of Zendaya's character, Rue. After season two premiered, D.A.R.E. accused the series of glamorizing addiction and teenage drug use. But the debate on whether or not TV shows correctly portray addiction — especially when it comes to teens — is something we've been wrestling with for decades. 

We’re diving into how drug use has shown up on television through the years and what this season of “Euphoria” got right — and wrong — about addiction.

You’ll hear from:

Lexi McMenamin, news and politics editor at Teen Vogue

Want more Skimm? 

  • Sign up for our free daily newsletter
  • Subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts

  • Skimm'd by Senior Producer and Host Bridget Armstrong. Produced by Alaisha Key. Engineered by Andrew Callaway. TheSkimm’s senior director of audio is Graelyn Brashear.

    ...more

    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    Well PlayedBy theSkimm

    • 4.2
    • 4.2
    • 4.2
    • 4.2
    • 4.2

    4.2

    136 ratings


    More shows like Well Played

    View all
    Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

    Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

    38,421 Listeners

    This American Life by This American Life

    This American Life

    89,578 Listeners

    Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

    Hidden Brain

    43,317 Listeners

    Code Switch by NPR

    Code Switch

    14,396 Listeners

    The Daily by The New York Times

    The Daily

    110,301 Listeners

    What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law by Roman Mars

    What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law

    3,915 Listeners

    It's Been a Minute by NPR

    It's Been a Minute

    8,786 Listeners

    American Fever Dream by Betches Media

    American Fever Dream

    2,008 Listeners

    9 to 5ish with theSkimm by theSkimm

    9 to 5ish with theSkimm

    1,862 Listeners

    The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily by American Public Media

    The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

    1,151 Listeners

    The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos by Pushkin Industries

    The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

    14,329 Listeners

    The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

    The Ezra Klein Show

    12,956 Listeners

    We Can Do Hard Things by Glennon Doyle and Audacy

    We Can Do Hard Things

    39,812 Listeners

    ParentData with Emily Oster by ParentData

    ParentData with Emily Oster

    246 Listeners

    Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus by Lemonada Media

    Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

    10,260 Listeners