‘Euphoria’ becomes biggest HBO hit since ‘Game of Thrones’
The series following Rue, Jules and the rest of the East Highland high schoolers just wrapped up it's second season on Sunday night
Euphoria is certainly leaving its mark in the television landscape. The second season of the popular drama series has officially come to a close, and according to the official ratings, the Zendaya-led hit is smashing it; reaching heights not seen on an HBO show since their global phenomenon, Game of Thrones, ended it’s run in 2019.
The highly anticipated finale of the series, which aired Sunday night, earned 6.6 million viewers, per Variety. The numbers, due to streaming on HBO Max, keep growing however, with the premiere of the season currently approaching 19 million viewers in the United States.
Per HBO, the series overall is averaging 16.3 million viewers, which Variety notes, is the highest ratings the service has seen since Game of Thrones.
The show, created by Sam Levinson, follows Rue (played by Emmy Award-winning actress Zendaya) and fellow teenagers in East Highland as they navigate high school life, dating, drug addiction and more.
While the series has heard plenty from organizations like the Parent Teacher Council due to its very dark subject matter, it has managed to become a hit, specifically among younger audiences. This has led Euphoria to massive life on social media as well, with various tweets, memes and TikToks taking over, keeping the conversation surrounding the show consistent from week to week.
Earlier this year, theGrio sat down with Zendaya and broke down her experience shooting the show, specifically episode 5 of the second season which found Rue on the run after her loved ones confronted her about her relapse. Shaped like a thriller movie, the hour of television contained one of the most physical, emotional and powerful performances to date from Zendaya.
“This season, we’re pushing Rue to the limits,” Zendaya told us at the time. “That was always intentional. We started the season off giving her everything she said she wanted or she thought she wanted, but we all know that’s going to come to a very painful end. We just don’t know when or what’s going to happen in the damage and fallout of that.”
Fans have already taken to social media to express their desire for another season of the show. While it has officially been picked up for a third season, an actual release date has yet to be announced, but hopefully it won’t be as long as the almost three-year wait between seasons 1 and 2.
Euphoria is available to stream now on HBO Max.
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