PTC Issues Warning to Parents Over HBO’s Teen-Targeted Show ‘Euphoria’

LOS ANGELES (June 11, 2019) – The Parents Television Council issued an urgent warning to parents ahead of the premiere of HBO’s teen-targeted show “Euphoria” on Sunday, June 16. “Just as MTV did with ‘Skins’ and as Netflix is doing with ’13 Reasons Why,’ HBO, with its new high school centered show ‘Euphoria,’ appears to be overtly, intentionally, marketing extremely graphic adult content - sex, violence, profanity and drug use - to teens and preteens,” said PTC President Tim Winter. “HBO might attach a content rating suggesting that it is intended for mature audiences, but let’s be real here: who watches a show about high school children, except high school and junior high school-aged children? “While HBO is a premium cable network, parents who are HBO subscribers may be blindsided by HBO’s new attempt to market such explicit content directly to minors. And the parental blindside is greatly exacerbated by ubiquitous streaming apps that deliver such explicit content directly to a teen’s phone or computer screen. Parents urgently need to be aware of HBO’s grossly irresponsible programming decision.”