Let's be honest, with its deep, dark looks at addiction issues; its insanely-high budgeted and well-attended school play; and its special standalone episodes that exist in between seasons, there probably is no other show quite like HBO's Euphoria — well, except the Israeli series from Ron Leshem that it was based on.

But Euphoria (Metascore: 70) even stands out even from its original incarnation, which was set in the 1990s and aired between 2012 and 2013, not only for its stylized depiction of today's teen life — from sex scandals and drugs to trauma and sexual identity issues — but also because of its awards acclaim. Its inaugural season was nominated for six Emmys, winning three, including Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for series star and executive producer Zendaya, who became the youngest and only the second Black winner in that category. Then, the two standalone specials that aired between Seasons 1 and 2 picked up three Emmy nominations between them in 2021.

Zendaya plays Rue Bennett, a high school student and drug addict who narrates the series as she struggles with her sobriety and an emotionally complicated relationship with Jules (Hunter Schafer). The show stars an ensemble full of breakout talent, including Schafer, who also wrote and co-executive produced the special episode titled "F--- Anyone Who's Not a Sea Blob"; Angus Cloud as Rue's dealer; Jacob Elordi as Nate, a seemingly All-American athlete who has deep-rooted anger issues; Barbie Ferreira as Kat; Storm Reid as Rue's sister, Gia; Sydney Sweeney as Cassie, who is trying to overcome her sexual past; Maude Apatow as Lexi, Rue's former best friend and Cassie's sister; and more.

The show also dives into the equally fraught lives of a few adults in this world, include Nate's dad, Cal (Eric Dane), and Rue's sponsor Ali (Colman Domingo).

Although a third season of Euphoria is coming, it will be a while before those episodes are available. So until then, Metacritic is highlighting 10 shows (ranked by Metascore) that should fill the void.

Élite

Metascore: 82
Best for: Fans of prep school drama and Spanish-language series
Where to watch: Netflix
Seasons: 4 (so far)

Las Encinas, a fictional prep school that serves as the setting for Carlos Montero and Darío Madrona's Netflix drama, educates both wealthy students and those from working-class backgrounds who attend on scholarship, which inherently ratchets up the tension between characters. Of course, there is also a heavy dose of drama due to romantic (or at least sexual) relationships between characters, but the show also begins with a mystery of a murder, relying on non-linear storytelling to showcase the various characters' relationships with the deceased and the investigation into her death. Although that mystery gets resolved early on, each season adds a new through line to follow, including a disappearance and another death. This Spanish-language series can be watched dubbed or with subtitles.

"Its commitment to breakneck melodrama is undeniably enjoyable." — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture

Sex Education

Metascore: 81
Best for: Fans of coming-of-age dramas centered on sexual awakenings, LGBTQIA+ romances, and multigenerational relationship dramas
Where to watch: Netflix
Seasons: 3 (so far)

The first season of Laurie Nunn's Sex Education begins with Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield), an unassuming high school student, starting a sex therapy clinic at school. The son of a sex therapist (played by Gillian Anderson), Otis has grown up with very frank and open discussions about the different kinds of intimacy, and he attempts to help the other students (for a price, of course). Things get increasingly complicated for him when he finds himself attracted to his business partner Maeve (Emma Mackey) and when his mother ends up working at the school later in the series. However, the show is not just from his perspective: There is a deep, emotional dive into Maeve's home life, a coming out journey for Adam (Connor Swindells), a rare and respectful depiction of asexuality on TV, and an exploration of Eric's (Ncuti Gatwa) Nigerian heritage, in addition to his relationship with Adam (to name a few key story lines). So far the show has been nominated for two GLAAD Awards in the Outstanding Comedy Series category.

"It's sprawling and intimate all at once, like several personal diaries strung together." — Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya, The A.V. Club

Grand Army

Metascore: 68
Best for: Fans of gritty public school dramas, racial and sexual commentary, and ensemble dramas
Where to watch: Netflix
Seasons: 1

If behind-the-scenes controversy doesn't deter you, Katie Cappiello's one-season drama offers takes on life at a New York City public school in the 21st century. The ensemble includes Odessa A'zion as a young woman who starts out extremely confident but is shaken by an assault committed by one friend while another did nothing to stop it, Odley Jean as a promising basketball star navigating daily microaggressions and more overt racial segregation, and Amir Bageria as Sid, a closeted kid who is reluctant to fully be himself because of his family and his status as an athlete. 

"Grand Army is at its best when it lets the stories of these young people, and the exceptional cast of unknowns who play them, especially TV first-timer Odley Jean, lead the way." — Jen Chaney, Vulture

Riverdale

Metascore: 68
Best for: Fans of mysteries that dabble in the supernatural, budding romances (including LGBTQIA+ ones), and stories about small-town friendships
Where to watch:

, Google Play, iTunes, Netflix, Vudu
Seasons: 6 (so far)

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa adapted the world of Archie Comics for The CW with quite a few surprises along the way. Following everyone's favorite redhead, Archie Andrews (K.J. Apa), his best friend Jughead (Cole Sprouse), and love interests Betty (Lili Reinhart) and Veronica (Camila Mendes), the show begins in high school, but plays and prom are far from their only worries. Their town is overrun with crime, including serial killers, gangs, and mobsters, with which these teens can't help but get involved. The show also pushes forward in time in its later seasons in order to take on even more adult themes, including parenthood.

"An eerie and offbeat take on the high school mythos — both addictive and confusing in equal parts." — Sonia Saraiya, Variety

Skins

Metascore: 66
Best for: Fans of British humor and issue-driven dramas
Where to watch:

, Google Play, Hulu, iTunes, Vudu
Seasons: 7

Created by Jamie Brittain and Bryan Elsley, Skins follows a group of English teenagers who struggle with everything from substance abuse and bullying to eating disorders, mental illnesses, and rough home lives. To fully immerse the viewer in their world, the show starts (naturally) with a house party. Although it is an ensemble show, it begins from the point of view of Tony (Nicholas Hoult), who is a schemer and manipulator. Every few seasons, the cast is switched out in order to keep the focus on particular ages in adolescence. Tony's sister, Effy (Kaya Scodelario), becomes more of a focus as part of the second wave of the ensemble, for example. Skins won three BAFTA Awards, including the Audience Award in 2009. It was also nominated for two GLAAD Awards, once in the Outstanding Comedy Series category and once in the Outstanding Drama Series category. In 2011, the show was adapted for U.S. TV via MTV.

"The pictures fill in the blanks, and even as Skins strains credibility, it achieves moments of poetry." — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times

13 Reasons Why

Metascore: 60
Best for: Fans of adaptations and those who don't shy away from stories about sexual assault and suicide
Where to watch: Netflix
Seasons: 4

Brian Yorkey adapted Jay Asher's 2007 novel of the same title, but only the first season followed the events of the books, in which a high school student named Hannah Baker (played by Katherine Langford) dies by suicide and leaves behind a series of cassette tapes to explain why she did so. Dylan Minnette stars as Clay Jensen, a quiet and sensitive student who is deeply affected by her death, and in subsequent seasons, he moves into the central position as the story expands beyond Hannah's trauma from the bullying and sexual assault she experienced to see other crimes taking place in the school, including sexual assault of a male student and a potential school shooting.

"Langford and Minnette are the magnetic core of this drama." — Melanie McFarland, Salon

Genera+ion

Metascore: 60
Best for: Those who are Generation Z and want to see themselves represented, as well as those who are not Generation Z but want to try to understand them better
Where to watch: HBO Max
Seasons: 1

Co-created by Daniel Barnz and his teenage daughter, Zelda Barnz, Genera+ion is a one-season series Lena Dunham also executive produced for HBO Max. It centers on group of high school students in Orange County, Calif., flipping between character perspectives to offer glimpses into their own unique worlds and struggles. The show begins with one of the teens about to give birth in a department store bathroom and then moves back and forth in time to show the complex relationships that led her (and the friends helping her) to such a predicament. Characters range from Nathan (Uly Schlesinger), who is exploring his bisexuality and figuring out how to explain that to his conservative mother (played by Martha Plimpton), to Chester (Justice Smith), an out and proud gay man flirting with a school employee, and Arianna (Nathanya Alexander), who constantly spits out slurs but uses her two dads to get a pass on that bad behavior.

"Episodes can fly by in a disorienting flurry of loud colors and pop music, but it knows what it is and what it wants to say." — Allison Picurro, TV Guide

Gossip Girl (2007)

Metascore: 59
Best for: Fans of privileged teens who refuse to acknowledge their privilege, fashion flashbacks, and snarky narration
Where to watch:

, Google Play, HBO Max, iTunes, Vudu
Seasons: 6

Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage based their six-season teen drama on the novel series of the same title from Cecily von Ziegesar. The show is narrated by Kristen Bell as the mysterious (and titular) blogger, who happens to get all of the hot goss about the echelon of a New York City prep school school. The show begins with a former "it" girl (Serena, played by Blake Lively) returning to the scene after an unexplained time away, resetting dynamics with her frenemy (Blair, played by Leighton Meester). Over the course of the episodes, the characters party hard, attend amazing fashion events, are soundtracked by the hottest early-aughts tracks, and get involved in a number of complicated relationships, schemes, and even crimes. (Blair marrying a prince was pulpy fun, but Ed Westwick's Chuck continually assaulting women was far less so.) Other notable cast members include Chace Crawford, Penn Badgley, Kelly Rutherford, and Michelle Trachtenberg.

"It's a sleek, glossy, musically enhanced soap opera centered on wealthy, gorgeous high school students who connive and cavort." — Alessandra Stanley, The New York Times

Gossip Girl (2021)

Metascore: 51
Best for: Fans of reimaginings, wealthy teens who do acknowledge (some of) their privilege, and love triangles with a familial twist
Where to watch: HBO Max
Seasons: 1 (so far)

Almost 10 years after the original Gossip Girl signed off, its creators joined forces with Joshua Safran to continue the world of the school through a new gossip entity that uses social media to try to spill the tea. This time around, the audience is let in on the secret identity from the jump, which adds to the plot, as story follows the machinations behind the social media accounts, in addition to the new crop of students' relationship problems. Bell is back providing the narration, while Jordan Alexander plays the new "it" girl Julien Calloway, and Whitney Peak plays Julien's half-sister who just starts attending Constance Billard and immediately shakes things up for her sister's entourage and ex (Obie, played by Eli Brown).

"A woke reboot that forgets a guilty conscience is no substitute for a guilty pleasure." — Peter Travers, ABC News

One of Us Is Lying

Metascore: N/A (not enough reviews)
Best for: Fans of adaptations and murderous twists on The Breakfast Club
Where to watch: Peacock
Seasons: 1 (so far)

Based on Karen M. McManus' 2017 novel of the same title, One of Us Is Lying follows five high school students of polar opposite types and cliques into detention, but only four of them make it out alive. Simon (Mark McKenna), who is widely despised among the school for his Drudge Report-esque website that spills his peers' secrets, suffers a fatal allergic reaction. The other four are immediately thought of as suspects, and they come together to try to get to the bottom of who is framing them and why. But of course while doing so, they have to juggle the fallout from their individual secrets being shared with the whole school, too. It's obvious from the first episode that no one is as simple as their archetype makes them out to be, but whether any of them is sinister enough to be a murderer is a question that lingers throughout the season.

"The show is a catalog of soap-opera conceits that borrow not just from Melrose Place or Dawson's Creek but '30s radio." — John Anderson, The Wall Street Journal