When the latest teen sensation TV series becomes a hit, it’s always tempting to compare it to those that have become before. There’s been Degrassi High, Beverly Hills 90210, Dawson’s Creek, The OC, One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl and more. But when HBO’s ultra-gritty Euphoria was released, there was really only one previous show that compared – the UK’s Skins.
Skins ran from 2007-2013 and was known for its shocking depictions of sex and drugs, as well as being the launching pad for many stars including; Dev Patel, Nicholas Hoult, Jack O’Connell, and Daniel Kaluuya, as well as Hannah Murray and Joe Dempsie (who would both go onto appear in Game of Thrones).
One of the main characters was Effy, played by Kaya Scodelario. The actress has since gone onto appear in Wuthering Heights, The Maze Runner movies, Crawl, and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. Scodelario was only 14 years old when she started filming Skins, which is in contrast to Euphoria’s cast, who were all in their twenties when filming began – with the exception of Hunter Schafer, who is a little younger.
Scodelario has now shared a TikTok of herself watching Euphoria for the first time with a caption saying; “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 added some additional comments; “Will always be grateful, but yeah safeguarding really wasn’t a thing back then. It was a beautiful time but also the deep rooted cause of a lot of my issues now. Still, it gave me the opportunity to do the job I loved.”
It is easy to mock High School TV shows and movies for using older actors – with Grease being a famous example – but there’s something to be said for casting slightly older people in their twenties if there will be a lot of nudity, for example.
Check out our guide to the best teen movies.