Euphoria has been accused of ripping off British drama Skins.
The American show was labelled groundbreaking for its portrayal of teenage drug use, sex and abuse when it launched in 2019, with fans currently watching the long-awaited third season.
Yet before Euphoria came to light and launched the careers of the likes of Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi, Brits had enjoyed similar storylines with the 2007 drama, Skins.
Skins followed the lives of a group of teenagers in Bristol, England, through the two years of sixth form, and explored issues such as mental illness, sexuality, substance abuse and bullying.
The series, which ran for six years, with a new cast every two, was remade for an American audience back in 2011, but was cancelled after just one season following a loss of advertising sponsors and The Parents Television Council calling it ‘one of the worst shows a child could watch.’
Yet while the American version of Skins didn’t last, fans have noticed the influence the original show has had on Euphoria two decades on.
Euphoria is embroiled in another scandal after eagle-eyed fans accused the HBO show of ripping off British drama Skins (left, Zendaya in Euphoria; right Kaya Scodelario in Skins)
Before Euphoria came to light in 2019 and launched the careers of the likes of Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi, Brits enjoyed similar storylines with the 2007 drama (top: Mike Bailey, bottom: Maude Apatow)
Taking to Reddit, one viewer shared a post captioned: ‘Skins [handshake] Euphoria’ as they shared screenshots of the identical scenes between the shows.
The parallels haven’t gone unnoticed by the cast of Skins either.
Back in 2022, Kaya Scodelario – who played Effy Stonem in cycle two of Skins – joked about all the outrage Euphoria was causing.
‘Watching Euphoria for the first time thinking this is crazy for 17 year olds then remembering what I was doing on TV at 14,’ she posted on TikTok
She captioned the clip: ‘Will always be greatful [sic]. But yeah safeguarding really wasn’t a thing back then…’
Euphoria, which chronicles the life of drug addict Rue (Zendaya) and her high school friends, is said to have been inspired by a 2012 Israeli TV series of the same name.
However, as the third season has aired, creator Sam Levinson has faced resurfaced accusations that he copied the initial idea for the show from acclaimed photographer and director Petra Collins.
Canadian-Hungarian artist Petra previously alleged that Sam approached her before creating the show to say he had been ‘inspired by’ her photos, and he was interested in her directing the show with her aesthetic.
Petra, 33, claims she ‘created a whole world for it, did the casting. [And at] the last minute, HBO was like, “We are not hiring you because you are too young.”‘ Sam has denied her version of events, according to a source.
Fans have pointed out the similarities between Petra’s work and the first two seasons of Euphoria, but the third season – which has been critically panned – has seen Sam take a different approach.
Skins followed the lives of a group of teenagers in Bristol, England, through the two years of sixth form (top: Mike and Hannah Murray, bottom: Hunter Schafer and Zendaya)
Skins, which ran for six years, with a new cast every two, was remade for an American audience back in 2011, but was cancelled after just one season (top: Megan Prescott, bottom: Hunter)
While the American version of Skins didn’t last, fans have noticed the influence the original show has had on Euphoria two decades on (top: Luke Pasqualino and Kaya, bottom: Zendaya and Hunter)
While Petra first made the claims in 2023, her remarks have gone viral of late after Euphoria fans called for a return to the aesthetic of the previous seasons.
Taking to X/Twitter, viewers penned: ‘if there’s gonna be a euphoria season 4 i would want them to just restart the entire show and have petra collins be in charge instead of sam levinson’;
‘euphoria season one’s aesthetic is just so beautiful. shoutout to you petra collins’;
‘Watching this season of Euphoria thinking about what this show used to be is giving me deep depression but it makes me believe that what we saw in that first season was really Petra Collins’s Euphoria and not Sam Levinson’s’.
In her 2023 interview with Punkt, Petra claims she moved to Los Angeles and worked for HBO for five months on the programme before being dropped over her age.
She added: ‘A year later, I walked out of my apartment and saw this billboard [advertising Euphoria], and it’s exactly what I am, as a copy of my work. I started crying. I was so shocked. I mean, it happens to me so many times in my career but not on a scale like that.’
On the impact it had on her work, Petra continued: ‘I had to change my style because of Euphoria. Lots of people started to take photos in that style and I haven’t felt any more as mine and I felt disconnected from that.’
At the time, a source close to Sam denied Petra’s version of events to The Daily Beast, saying ‘it’s very widely known that Euphoria is a remake of an Israeli show’ and that he had merely offered to ‘throw her name in the ring’ to be considered to direct the pilot.
The insider continued: ‘As a fan of hers, he was hoping there was a possibility they could work together in that way. But by no means was anything promised.
‘That wouldn’t have even been possible for him to do because ultimately it’s the network’s decision.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Sam’s representatives and HBO for comment.
Euphoria creator Sam Levinson has faced resurfaced accusations that he copied the initial idea for the show from acclaimed photographer and director Petra Collins
Canadian-Hungarian artist Petra (left, with Euphoria star Alex Demie) has alleged that Sam approached her before creating the show to say he had been ‘inspired by’ her photos
Fans have poined out the similarities between Petra’s work and the first two seasons of Euphoria (above, the poster for season one; below, one of Petra’s photographs)
While Petra first made the claims in 2023, her remarks have gone viral of late after Euphoria fans called for a return to the aesthetic of the previous seasons
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Euphoria creator Sam Levinson is accused of making women ‘one-dimensional sex objects’
Euphoria fans have certainly noticed a shift in season three, with Sam coming under scrutiny, thanks to Sydney Sweeney’s ‘degrading’ OnlyFans storyline, which has been described as a ‘humiliation ritual’.
Since its inception in 2019, the show has been famed for breaking boundaries with graphic portrayals of teen drug use, sex and violence.
However, viewers have claimed that Sam’s ‘disturbing’ and ‘misogynistic’ storylines for the new season have ‘lost the plot’.
Fans have been appalled by how far Sydney’s character, Cassie Howard, has been willing to go, with her most X-rated scenes yet.
While shooting content for her OnlyFans, Cassie has dressed as an ‘adult baby’ as well as going fully nude for scenes.
Fans were also disturbed by Cassie’s ‘puppy play’ exploits when she dressed up as a lingerie-clad dog, which led to Sam having to defend the scenes.
Sam told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘[Cassie] has got her dog house and her little dog ears and the nose, and that has its own humour, but what makes the scene is the fact that her housekeeper is the one filming it.
‘What we wanted to always find is the other layer of absurdity that we’re able to tie into it so that we’re not too inside of her fantasy or illusion – the gag is to jump out, to break the wall.’
Meanwhile, Sydney told Entertainment Tonight: ‘I mean, Cassie’s a crazy character.
‘She will do anything and at all costs to be famous this season, and she makes a lot of very wild and interesting choices.’
Sam previously defended the explicit nature of his work, noting during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival: ‘We live in a very sexualized world. The influence of pornography is really strong in terms of the psyche of young people.’
Euphoria airs at 9pm (ET/PT) on HBO on Sundays. In the UK, the series airs at 2am and 9pm on Mondays on Sky Atlantic and streams on HBO Max and Sky Go/NOW
