With the release of its first season, the highly anticipated second season of Zendaya’s gritty teen drama Euphoria has taken the internet by storm. The HBO show, which made its debut in 2019, is known for its explicit themes and dark take on sensitive issues such as drug abuse, nudity, violence, and others. Despite receiving criticism for its triggering content, the first season of the series was a huge success, earning several nominations at prestigious award ceremonies.
In addition to Spider-Man star Zendaya, the cast also includes Eric Dane, Sydney Sweeney, Maude Apatow, Angus Cloud, Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie, and Jacob Elordi.
From its cast to its exceptional cinematography, the first season succeeded in raising fans’ expectations for the second season. As expected, the second edition of Euphoria has dominated social media since its January premiere. East Highland’s troubled teenagers have truly taken over, from memes to TikTok videos.
Euphoria is also the most inspirational TV show for the world’s makeup looks and fashion choices, taking inspiration from everything from makeup eye gems to bold swipes of highly pigmented liner favoured by Gen Z. The study by market research firm Uswitch reviewed Google search data from the previous 12 months to identify the most inspiring TV shows and characters for clothing and beauty looks. According to the report, over 1.3 million searches for Euphoria makeup and fashion were conducted.
The internet is reimagining the high school show’s legendary fashion choices, leaving very little to the fiction. The “Euphoria High” trend, which @ellio spaghettio started on TikTok, parodies cast members’ fictitious high school wardrobes and invites fashionistas to show how they’d dress for Euphoria’s insane halls.
The Internet’s impact has also had a massive influence on the show’s over-the-top beauty, which has inspired red carpet trends, corporate makeup trends, and runway shows. Doniella Davy, the show’s makeup department head, says she gets inspiration for the show’s unique beauty looks, such as dramatic under-eye glitter that resembles tears and neon eyeliner, from real-life teenagers and social media. She goes on to say that the Internet’s fast-paced nature, combined with Gen Z’s willingness to experiment, means that there is even more opportunity for Gen Z to create.
Since last season, “Euphoria” viewership has nearly doubled, with 14 million total viewers across HBO and HBO Max to date. Since its Season 2 premiere on January 9, the drama has held the top spot on Twitter, only falling to second place last week with the release of Netflix’s “All of Us Are Dead.” It received 327,695 Twitter engagements as viewers continued to catch up on the 12-episode first season, which is breaking Netflix records.
The series has managed to dominate the conversation on trending TV in the United States on Twitter, while users on TikTok are creating their own fan fiction and are already inspired by the characters’ wardrobes.
The memes and videos have now become an important part of the audience’s weekly Monday-night Euphoria viewing, and the internet’s reaction is only getting better as the series progresses (and funnier).
A scene from season two, episode three, in particular, has piqued the interest of Twitter users. While Maddy, played by Alexa Demie, criticises Cassie, played by Sydney Sweeney, for dressing “like a country music star,” the latter inquires, “In a good way or a bad way?” to which Maddy responds, “Bitch, you better be joking.” A line that made fans laugh while also inspiring them on Twitter.
Meanwhile, fans rejoiced after the show announced that they will be coming back for another season. Sharing the exciting news, the makers wrote on social media, “#EUPHORIA has been renewed for season 3.”
