Zendaya to Star in HBO Adaptation of Teen Drama Euphoria

Zendaya, a paragon of style and the only redeeming quality of The Greatest Showman, a movie I inexplicably saw in theaters, is taking her talents back to the small screen. The former Disney channel star will play the lead role in HBO’s adaptation of the Israeli series Euphoria, which centered on how the death of a teen murdered outside of a club plays out among local high-school students.

The descriptions of the HBO project, which A24 will produce, make it sound steamy, sexy, and dangerous. The network’s SVP of drama called it “Kids meets Trainspotting” in a world where parents might as well be nonexistent. I personally would actually like to see more parents in teen dramas, as I get distracted wondering where they are. That’s why I liked The O.C. But that’s neither here not there. According to Variety, Zendaya will play Rue, “a lying, drug-addicted 17-year-old,” and the narrator in a tale about “drugs, sex, identity, trauma, social media, love and friendship.” Wow! That’s a lot of things. Hopefully the show will treat them all with the respect they deserve.