'Euphoria' hits its highest-ever ratings with season 2 premiere

Zendaya as Rue Bennett in 'Euphoria' season 2
Zendaya as Rue Bennett in 'Euphoria' season 2 (Image credit: Eddy Chen/HBO)

The Euphoria season 2 premiere drew the show's highest-ever ratings. According to WarnerMedia, more than 2.4 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max tuned in to watch the first episode of Euphoria season 2 on Sunday (Jan. 9).

Euphoria has been away from our screens for some time; apart from the two specials that aired in December 2020 and January 2021, we've been waiting since August 2019 for more Euphoria. By the sounds of things, the intense teen drama has gained a lot of fans in the process.

According to WarnerMedia, the highly-anticipated first episode of Euphoria's second season was "the strongest digital premiere performance of any HBO episode on HBO Max since the streaming service’s launch last May" (via Deadline).

HBO also stated that the latest episode was watched by a total viewership nearly ten times that of both winter specials, and it saw a digital audience nine times higher than the first episode of season 1 (though HBO Max did not exist at that time), and four times larger than the season 1 finale.

Euphoria was also a hit on social media; HBO described the show as "the most social premium cable series episode" since the finale of Game of Thrones in May 2019.

The second season continues to follow Rue Bennett (played by Zendaya, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Dune) a teenager grappling with love, loss, and addiction whose life crosses paths with a number of other teens living in the town of East Highland. 

The award-winning series also stars an ensemble cast including Hunter Schafer,  Maude Apatow, Angus Cloud, Eric Dane, Alexa Demie,  Jacob Elordi, Algee Smith, Sydney Sweeney, Dominic Fike, Austin Abrams, Storm Reid, and more.

Euphoria season 2 continues on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday at 9 pm ET in the US. UK viewers can watch new episodes on Sky Atlantic on Mondays at 10 pm ET and stream them on NOW. Here's how to watch Euphoria season 2 online from anywhere.

Martin Shore
Staff Writer at WhatToWatch.com

Martin is a Staff Writer with WhatToWatch.com, where he produces a variety of articles focused on the latest and greatest films and TV shows. 

Some of his favorite shows are What We Do In The Shadows, Bridgerton, Gangs of London, The Witcher, Doctor Who, and Ghosts. When he’s not watching TV or at the movies, Martin’s probably still in front of a screen playing the latest video games, reading, or watching the NFL.