PTC Alerts Parents to “Darker” HBO Euphoria Season 2

Season 1 Contained Child Rape, Graphic Nudity, Pornography, Drug Use, Explicit Language

LOS ANGELES (January 5, 2022) – The Parents Television and Media Council (PTC) is warning parents about the new season of HBO’s Euphoria, to be released on January 9, as it may contain content that is harmful to children. Media outlets have reported that the second season promises to be “darker” than the first season. Programming Insider reported that Euphoria is the “youngest skewing drama series” on HBO’s digital platform.

“When the dark, depraved, degenerate and nihilistic program Euphoria first premiered, its creator, Sam Levinson, proudly proclaimed that ‘there are going to be parents who are going to be totally f***ing freaked out.’ His omen was correct, and unsurprisingly so because Euphoria centers on the lives of high school children, and features a Disney Channel starlet as the lead actress. Given the explicit content in the program’s first season, we are issuing our strongest warning to parents about the premiere of the new season and its imminent threat to the health and well-being of children,” said PTC President Tim Winter.

“Just how explicit is this show? Content from just the first two episodes included the full-frontal nudity of more than 30 high-school-aged boys; an adult male putting a condom on his erect penis as he prepares to engage in anal sex with a teenager; the main female character – a high school teenager – offering to perform oral sex on an adult male; and more than 80 uses of the ‘f-word,’ as well as other obscenities.

“The show frequently depicts characters, both teens and adults, engaged in sex, some scenes of which depict statutory rape; and it normalizes pornography and promotes underage drinking, smoking, drug use, among other dangerous behavior. AT&T/HBO have arrogantly claimed they have ‘creative freedom’ to show sexual violence involving children. And while Euphoria is rated TV-MA, suggesting it is intended only for mature audiences, the program has been marketed directly to children via social media, including instructions on how to view it on the HBO streaming app for free.

“We urgently call on parents to take swift measures to protect their children from this extremely explicit program. And we implore AT&T/HBO to put a halt to Euphoria and other content that not only sexualizes children, but that sexually-exploits them,” Winter said.

The PTC has a petition calling on AT&T CEO John Stankey to stop producing and distributing pornographic content, and especially that depicts underage characters.