Euphoria made its HBO debut on June 16, 2019. The release was highly anticipated as famous Disney star Zendaya is a head producer and stars in the leading role as Rue. The cast featured some other big Hollywood names such as Kissing Booth’s Jacob Elordi and Grey’s Anatomy’s Eric Dane. The show gathered major controversy due to its explicit content such as drug addiction, sex, sexual violence and profane language. Creator Sam Levinson has been very transparent about his reasoning and writing process for the series. Levinson tells HBO viewers that he battled with addiction as a teenager. Only a month after its release, Euphoria was renewed for a second season on July 11, 2019.
In the entertainment world, any attention is good attention. Viewers were entranced by the series. The cinematic design is very distinct. Every character had their own unique color palette and style. The sparkly “euphoric” makeup and soundtrack designed by popular artist Labrinth is unique to this series.
The target audience is teenagers. Although the topics discussed may seem R-rated, the show does accentuate the harsh realities of being a teenager in modern-day society. Euphoria’s second season kept the success of its first even with the heavy backlash, receiving 25 Emmy nominations and three victories at the 2022 Creative Arts Emmys.
The cast of Euphoria includes some big-named celebrities, but the show provided a big break to many of its actors such as Barbie Ferreira, who plays Kat Hernandez. Ferreira is the only plus-sized lead actress on the show. In the first season, we watch her character overcome insecurities about her weight and blossom on a journey of self-confidence and empowerment. She realizes that her weight is not something that has any effect on her sex appeal. Her confident “Maneater” attitude draws people to her. In a society focused intensely on women empowerment, body and sex positivity, Kat Hernandez became a fan favorite.
Fans noticed that Ferreira was much more present in season one than in season two. In season two, her screen time was noticeably cut back. Fans started speculating that something may have been off when she was not present at the season two premiere.
In February 2022, rumors flew that Kat’s lack of screen time was a result of an argument between Levinson and Ferreira. Although Ferreira did not confirm this speculation, fans were given more of a reason to believe it when she took to Instagram to announce her “teary-eyed” departure from the show.
“After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character Kat, I’m having to say a very teary-eyed goodbye.”
“I hope many of you could see yourself in her like I did and that she brought you joy to see her journey into the character she is today,” she said. “I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it. Love you Katherine Hernandez.”
Although fans are disappointed that Kat Hernandez will not be returning for Euphoria’s season three, enormous amounts of support have been shown on her most recent Instagram post announcing a new role in House Of Spoils beside actress Ariana DeBose.
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