Critic Robert Daniels wrote in the Guardian that the film “turns into a self-indulgent excuse to whine about critics through the mouthpiece of John David Washington.” He hasn’t responded to the Euphoria-related discourse, but many critics and fans interpreted the script of his 2021 feature film Malcolm and Marie as a middle finger to those that critiqued him–and his 2018 film Assassination Nation -in the past. Has Levinson responded to this in any way? Some viewers have even claimed (with varying degrees of seriousness) that Levinson’s writing of Cassie is exploitative of Sweeney. Though Sweeney took great care to clarify Levinson’s openness and agreeability to these requests, many fans began to note that Cassie is still regularly featured naked in the show and questioned whether it should be an actor’s responsibility to dial down the nudity on a show about teenagers. Sweeney mentioned how, in the process of filming, she requested that her character Cassie not appear topless in certain scenes, even though they were initially written by Levinson that way. While the plentiful male and female nudity in Euphoria has stirred a bit of controversy since its 2019 premiere, a recent interview in the Independent with actress Sydney Sweeney prompted a social media furor that invigorated the drama to an all-time high-and directly pointed it at Levinson. There’s much more at stake for them than just a few mangled subplots. They’re even jokingly threatening drastic actions if their favorite characters don’t make it out of this season alive.Īccording to the internet: It’s complicated. They’re bemoaning the sexual interests and escapades of his characters (and accusing him of having non-narrative reasons for including them). What they’re saying about him is far more intense: Highly critical fans are mulling over his eternal damnation. They’re not just talking about Levinson in relation to his writing for each episode. And that’s far from the first time I’ve seen this. Last Monday, about 21 hours after the episode aired, I noticed “sam levinson” trending on Twitter, with over 49,500 tweets calling him out by name. And many of the most hilarious and absurd post-viewing tweets, memes, and reactions namecheck a person that Zendaya’s character Rue wouldn’t know by name: Euphoria creator-writer-director-showrunner-multi-hyphenate Sam Levinson. Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.Īnd yet, here we are, another week into Euphoria’s eight-week run, and nearly every character or cast member’s name has trended on Twitter multiple times. After all, that’d be a really weird way to engage in a discourse about your favorite television show. No one attributes a fictional character’s malfeasance to the marionettist show creators, floating above the fray with a camera in hand.
And of course it didn’t: no one is cursing Succession’s showrunner over Shiv’s perpetual corporate incompetence, or Kendall’s tendency toward emotional breakdowns. While the much-anticipated return of Succession last fall launched nine straight weeks of live-tweeting, showrunner Jesse Armstrong’s name never trended, despite “Kendall,” “Shiv,” and “Cousin Greg” blowing up late on Sunday nights and early on Monday mornings.
#Euphoria show series#
Though Showtime looked like it might give them a run for their money with its sleeper hit Yellowjackets, HBO Max has found huge success with the Zendaya-led, addiction drama Euphoria, which, after a two-year break, is now shattering its own series ratings records. HBO pivoted to streaming back in 2020, but the channel still holds the media conglomerate crown as the Queen of Appointment Viewing Television.