Euphoria has become one of the most talked-about shows of this decade. As much as it is praised for its bold portrayal of sensitive topics like drug addiction, as well as its acting, direction, and production, some aspects of the storyline have been criticized for being unrealistic.
This criticism is not unique to Euphoria — many teen shows throughout the years have contained similarly outlandish plot elements and tend to glorify adolescence. This makes for good entertainment, but these teen dramas are not fully relatable to an average high schooler.
'Euphoria' Teenagers Have Sex and Do Drugs All the Time
It seems like every day in the Euphoria world there is alcohol and drug use, violence, and explicit sex scenes, even though all the characters are minors (the actors, of course, are not).
Euphoria deals with issues that real kids face — of course, drug addiction happens to teenagers in some cases. Kids have parties and are introduced to alcohol and sex for the first time. But in the show, these things are happening to everyone every day, which is just not the reality for most young teenagers.
The Teachers in 'Glee' are Incredibly Unprofessional
Sue Sylvester’s (Jane Lynch) spitefulness contributed much of Glee’s comedic relief. She hates the Glee club and tries consistently to take it down. Will (Matthew Morrison) is not unhinged and evil like Sue, but he also has inappropriate relationships with his students.
Sue’s behavior towards Will and the students are unrealistically mean, and she even goes so far as to assault a student, which in real life would certainly result in her termination. Will invites the kids to his house and gets involved in their personal relationships. In one early scene, Will hides in the locker room while Finn is showering to listen to him sing. Any teacher in their right mind would have more boundaries than he does with their underage students.
The Teens in 'Pretty Little Liars' Go to School Dressed Like Fashion Models
The girls on PLL dress in outlandish outfits every day. Their hair and nails are impeccably done, and every accessory matches the rest of the ensemble every time.
Though attentive costume design makes for a compelling viewing experience, the outfits these girls wear are not realistic at all for any teenager. High school starts so early that getting up in time to do their hair and nails every day is in itself not likely. They also wear outfits that can’t possibly be comfortable to sit at a desk in for six hours — not to mention, after school, they’re gallivanting around town solving murders in these same outfits.
Students in 'Riverdale' Run Nightclubs and Crack Detective Cases
Stretching the very limits of suspending one's disbelief, Riverdale High student Veronica (Camila Mendes) buys and runs her own nightclub, La Bonne Nuit. Also, common to several teen drama shows, the high school-aged characters are somehow able to solve crimes that actual detectives can’t.
Even entering a nightclub at Veronica’s age would be illegal, let alone owning one. How a minor would acquire the amount of money it takes to buy a club or the ability and time to run one is beyond us. As for the kids' detective work, it's a little hard to swallow that they would carve out time for that instead of focusing on their social life and schoolwork.
Characters on 'Gossip Girl' Drink Martinis and Time Travel
Just like in Riverdale, the 15-year-olds in Gossip Girl are somehow allowed in bars without anyone asking for their IDs, and also travel between Brooklyn and Manhattan like they’re only minutes away.
Maybe the show writers have never lived in New York, but bars there take IDing seriously. No one is serving martinis to 14-year-olds, nor do 14-year-olds want to drink martinis. In addition, traveling between the boroughs takes at least an hour. The students are even shown eating lunch during the school day at the Met, which is way too far from campus to easily travel to.
Every Character on 'One Tree Hill' is Inexplicably Rich and Successful
On One Tree Hill, Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) has a book published one year after graduating, which was then made into a movie. Nathan (James Lafferty) and Haley (Bethany Joy Lenz) get married at 16 and have a baby, which they seem to have no trouble financing.
Most suburban teenagers in real life barely have lunch money. If they have a job, it’s working part-time at a pizza shop rather than writing novels professionally. Nathan and Haley don’t even have jobs, yet are somehow able to support themselves plus a child with no explanation as to where their money is coming from.
The Kids in 'The Vampire Diaries' Had Hours of Free Time Before School in the Mornings
Ok, obviously The Vampire Diaries isn’t supposed to be a perfectly accurate portrayal of real life, since it’s about vampires but even the parts that are meant to depict mundane day-to-day life aren’t realistic. Teenagers in the show have time to work out in the mornings, set up a school dance, and get ready for school — all before a full day of classes and fighting various monsters.
Real high school students struggle just to wake up and change into jeans before their bus comes. Most high schools start before 8 am, meaning the sun might not rise until the first class of the day. Considering how busy students are these days, no one is waking up before they absolutely have to.
Pacific Coast Academy in 'Zoey 101' Has Higher End Facilities Than an Ivy League University
Pacific Coast Academy, the boarding school which is the setting for Zoey 101, boasts an impressive range of facilities for students. It has a sushi bar, cafe, disc golf course, and movie theater all on the campus. All the students get around using scooters and have “Pear” brand laptops.
While an average boarding school is of course nicer than an average public day school, Pacific Coast Academy is unrealistically bougie. Average high schoolers eat rubbery hot dogs from the cafeteria instead of sashimi, take the bus to school, and are lucky to have their own computers at all.
Sunnydale High in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Has No Security At All
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, students at Sunnydale can leave the campus whenever they want with no one checking them, and random visitors are allowed in without any sort of pass. Students and school staff alike attempt murder on school grounds regularly, and nothing is ever questioned or investigated.
Real high schools consider security an issue of utmost importance. Random adults would never be let in without a motive and some sort of pass, and any threat of violence would result in a lockdown. Some schools even have metal detectors making it virtually impossible for anyone to enter with a weapon.
The Principal in 'Teen Wolf' is Replaced With the Show’s Antagonist Who Has No Qualifications
Teen Wolf is another one that already requires a fair amount of suspension of disbelief since it includes fantastical elements, but Beacon Hills is generally run like a normal high school, except for times like when the principal is kidnapped and replaced by the show’s villain.
Surely if the one most important employees in a school were kidnapped and replaced by a random person with no qualifications, some alarm bells would go off for the other staff members or parents?