'More Deranged Than Before': Critics' New Dire Warning for Parents About HBO's 'Euphoria'

A media watchdog is warning parents about the apparent ramping-up of pervasive sex and inappropriate content on HBO’s hit show “Euphoria,” warning the second season is “more deranged than before.”

The Parents Television and Media Council (PTC), a non-partisan advocacy group working to protect kids and families from violence, sex, and profanity in media, has been actively breaking down the most troubling content embedded in each episode of the show.

And the results are nothing short of disturbing.

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PTC recently noted on its website reports indicating season two of “Euphoria,” which premiered Jan. 9, would be “darker” than season one — a point raising alarm bells with the organization due to the show’s younger audience.

“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,'” PTC wrote. “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.”

PTC believes the series poses an “imminent threat to the health and well-being of children.”

In the first few months of season two, PTC has tracked some truly shocking content, finding 13 instances of sex shown with nudity, 21 instance of male nudity, and 19 moments including female nudity.

There have reportedly been 26 instances of illegal drug use as well, with 632 instances of the F-word being used, among a slew of other curse words. The first two episodes, alone, posed serious concerns for PTC.

“Just how explicit is this show?” the organization asked. “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.”

PTC president Tim Winter hit back at the sexualization of men and women alike and pondered why the show has seemingly decided to ramp up these dynamics.

“So why is it that Hollywood believes the remedy to its longstanding grotesque sexualization of women is to escalate its sexualization of men? This would be laughable if it wasn’t so tragic,” he told The Christian Post. “The rightful remedy for Hollywood’s sexualization of women is to cease its sexualization of women, not to sexualize men — or children — in equal portions.”

He also decried the “race to the bottom” so many content creators are on as they attempt to “rise above the clatter” amid rising competition between streaming services.

This is not the first time critics have voiced alarm over “Euphoria.” The show, which premiered in 2019, immediately became a concern for many Christians and conservatives worried about the impact it would have on children.

As CBN News reported at the time, HBO targeted teens and pre-teens with “Euphoria” and introduced “content that may be even more pornographic and obscene than [‘Game of thrones’].”

It was that targeting of younger audiences that seemed to pose the most concern — and that worry has persisted.

“HBO might attach a content rating suggesting that it is intended for mature audiences,” Winter said at the time. “But let’s be real here: who watches a show about high school children, except high school and junior high school-aged children?”

PTC is once again urgently calling on parents to be aware of these contents and to ensure children are protected from viewing the show. The organization is urging HBO to halt such programming, taking aim at content that “sexualizes” kids and exploits them.

Winter and his organization have unveiled a petition parents can sign here and disturbing examples of the troubling content can be seen (caution: explicit) here.

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