Before Euphoria premiere, Zendaya posts content warning online

There’s a good chance that you will be hearing a lot in relation to Euphoria over the next few weeks, and some of it may be controversial. The teen drama has been the subject of a number of advance headlines because of its described graphic content. There have been comparisons to it and 13 Reasons Why in terms of its severity, and in some ways, Euphoria may be even more extreme.

Here is where things get a little bit challenging when it comes to HBO’s promotion of the show. This is a series toplined by Zendaya, who to a certain generation is best known for her work in children’s shows KC Undercover and Shake It Up. This is about as far a departure from these shows as you’re ever going to see and because of that, the actress is doing what she can in order to make sure that her fans are ready.

Leading up to tonight’s premiere at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time, here is what she had to say in a post on Instagram:

“Just a reminder before tonight’s premiere, that Euphoria is for mature audiences … It’s raw and honest portrait of addiction, anxiety and the difficulties of navigating life today. There are scenes that are graphic, hard to watch and can be triggering. Please only watch if you feel you can handle it. Do what’s best for you. I will still love you and feel your support. Love, Daya.”

It was a kind move for her to say this, and in a lot of ways, the best thing for Euphoria is that it’s airing on HBO as opposed to a service in Netflix that is a little more easily accessible to a lot of young viewers. Our feeling is that other than for Game of Thrones, the premium-cable network is not so attached to viewers in their teens or early twenties. They may have to go out of their way a little more in order to find it, which may help viewers to stumble upon it out of curiosity. Our hope is that those who do find it do with a sense of intentionality to it, and they know what they are getting themselves into before they watch.

Euphoria may end up being a wonderfully-crafted work of art, but just remember that everyone has different limitations in terms of the sort of art they are able to digest. This is a show that will bring up traumatic stuff in a lot of people, and there are different outlets out there that could be a better, healthier alternative for some.

We are admittedly quite curious to see how Euphoria ends up performing, mostly because it may be a little too young for most devoted HBO viewers while, at the same time, a little too mature for the standard Zendaya fans. We can’t speak to the quality yet, so time will tell.

What are your thoughts on Euphoria heading into tonight’s premiere episode? Be sure to sound off now in the comments. (Photo: HBO.)