Teenagers in Crisis: Youth Cultures in "Glee" and "Euphoria"

The article examines contemporary depictions of youth and teenagers in post-millennial American television and their reception by critics and viewers. Traditionally, television tackled challenges and problems young people have to face in a two-fold and simplistic way, focusing on either radically pejorative situations and behaviors (crime, drugs, sex) or on superficially cheerful scenarios (entertainment, gossip, having fun) (Buckingham, 2021; Hebdige, 1988). The author analyzes the reviews of two television shows, Glee and Euphoria, which – although representing different genres and narrating different experiences – are acclaimed for offering more complex and authentic representations of teenagers by addressing issues that are often marginalized, tabooized, or even absent in contemporary American television discourses.