“Euphoria” is a show about high school students, but it is rated for mature audiences due to its graphic and intense content. The show is supposedly about us, yet it’s not made for real teenagers.
Even though “Euphoria” and shows like it seemingly aim to raise awareness of teen issues, they can also make unhealthy behaviors seem normal or even glamorous. When the characters are supposed to be our age but are constantly caught up in extreme situations, it can mess with how teens see themselves and what they think is normal for them. This disconnect can lead to pressure on teens to live up to dramatic standards that never reflected reality in the first place.
“The majority of shows labeled to be for teens are more made for adults than actual teens themselves. It’s not really relatable representations for teens,” says Madison Johnson, 18.
TV shows and movies are rated so families and parents know what’s appropriate to watch. However, TV and movie ratings are different. TV ratings are more detailed, with content labels in addition to the general rating grade. The current ratings we have are because of the improvement from the Hays Code, which restricted films from talking about or including things like nudity, homosexuality, and profanity.
When you think of teen shows, you’ll probably think of the 90s and early 2000s, where shows like “Sister Sister,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Drake and Josh,” and “Freaks and Geeks” were on air. They included real teenagers, awkward moments, and fun friendships, which made it easy to connect with the characters they portrayed. You don’t see much of that anymore for lots of reasons.
A statistic from HBO’s “Showbiz Kids” documentary showed that, out of 20,000 child actors who audition for roles in Hollywood, 95% don’t book a single job.
TV and movie stars who started their careers as kids or teenagers during that era have come out and said that it was a traumatizing experience. Being a child in an industry surrounded by adults makes them very vulnerable. Actors like Drake Bell, Lori Beth Denberg, and Matthew Underwood have spoken out about the sexual abuse they went through while being on set.
A documentary series called “Quiet on Set” was released in 2024. Many former Nickelodeon stars came forward and talked about the alleged abuse they faced from director Dan Schneider and his involvement in Nickelodeon shows produced in the early 2000s and 2010s. They shared their experiences and the manipulation they went through. Dan left Nickelodeon in 2018 after an investigation confirmed he was, at least, verbally abusive.
The documentary forced audiences to reconsider how much exploitation has been ignored and normalized in the industry in general, but also with kids. To change this, we need to change a system that has been accepted for so long. Young actors need better protection and production sets that care about their safety and dignity.
When talking to teens today, many said they are not looking for over-the-top shows. Shows like “The Runarounds” on Prime Video and “Never Have I Ever” on Netflix came up over and over as favorites.
“The Runarounds or Never Have I Ever are way better in the way they show representation for teens. They focus on the struggles teens truly face, such as fitting into high school, dating, family issues, and figuring out how life works, all without over exaggerating it with non-age-appropriate themes,” says Johnson.
The fundamental shift we need is simple. If the industry truly wants to make teen shows, it needs to do more research about what teens actually want to watch. Real representation is possible. But it requires paying attention to the people living the experience.
