When You’re Too Old to Watch Teen Dramas Like ‘Euphoria’

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When Barry Levinson was 34, he helped write Mel Brooks’ Hitchcock spoof “High Anxiety.” When his son Sam Levinson was 34, he wrote about a different kind of high anxiety with his drug-fueled drama “Euphoria.”

When Levinson Sr. wanted to recreate scenes from his youth, he served up the 1982 yuk-fest that was “Diner.” When Levinson Jr. wanted to recreate scenes from his youth, he took a somewhat bland Israeli series and turned it into the darkest of shows about addiction and angst – creating HBO’s first teen drama in the process.

What’s clear is that the Levinsons had different experiences growing up, but both used these formative events to dramatic effect (though Barry did discover, while watching the Johnny Depp movie “Blow,” that a childhood friend he’d lost touch with had gone on to become America’s biggest cocaine dealer).

When season 1 of “Euphoria” came out in June 2019, I wrote here about the key differences between the Israeli and HBO versions, including the fact that the glitter budget for the U.S. version probably exceeded the entire cost of its kosher antecedent.

The prime difference, though, was Levinson, who poured his teenage suffering – and that of some of his lead actors – onto the screen, making this possibly the most autobiographical and personal adaptation of someone else’s work since Charlie Kaufman’s “Adaptation” script in 2002.

In James Andrew Miller’s heavier-than-the-Bible new book “Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers,” Levinson recalls the pitching process when HBO was looking for a screenwriter to adapt the Hot TV original.

Open gallery view Wasted opportunity? A scene from season 2 of “Euphoria.” Credit: Eddy Chen / HBO / YES

“I struggled with drug addiction when I was younger, so I was talking about that, what our struggles were growing up and a little bit about the Israeli show,” he recounted. “I said, ‘How closely do I have to stick to [the original]?’” HBO drama series co-head Francesca Orsi told him, “Just write what we just talked about.”

Whatever your views of the show, no one can deny that Levinson certainly achieved that brief. I was completely overwhelmed – not in a good way, it must be said – by the creator’s grim-yet-glitzy depiction of life among a group of U.S. Generation Z-ers in a scuzzy plot centered around sex, drugs and a hip-hop/R&B soundtrack (but not in that order).

I felt like I had to take a shower after each episode, and that normally only happens when I mistakenly flick over to Fox News.

As befits its title, though, “Euphoria” has created a sense of fervor among its many followers. I learned that two ways: First, from the emails informing me that my mother cooks socks in hell – or words to that effect – for having the temerity to dislike the show when it premiered. And second, from hearing my teenage daughters talking about the series and its lead characters – especially hard-line addict Rue (Zendaya) and transgender newcomer to suburban America Jules (Hunter Schafer) – with such passion and, it must be said, admiration.

I stopped watching halfway through season 1, worn down by the bleakness of it all. For me, it was a, um, wasted opportunity that looked sensational but felt hollow: a 30-something man projecting his own somewhat tawdry ideas of what a generation messed up by hard-core porn and parental neglect might look and act like.

But for my kids – the youngest of whom is 17, the same age as the show’s protagonists – it’s become one of the most important series on television, if not the most important. They may not share the specific problems of these characters (well, I hope they don’t), but there are people here that they strongly connect and identify with. Still, looking on the bright side, at least now I don’t need to worry that they won’t know how to take drugs, thanks to the series’ step-by-step guide.

The show is one of the biggest signs of the age/generational gap between me and my children, right up there with the meticulous documenting and publishing of every. Single. Meal. (I promise, I’ll stop doing it eventually.) I watch “Euphoria” with the same degree of confusion and bafflement my kids have when I hand them a newspaper and suggest they read it.

My youngest assures me that the series has lost none of its “charms” second time around – interestingly, it took her and her sister two viewings to truly fall in love with “Euphoria,” the second time while watching communally with friends – but I’m going to take her word for it.

In the words of Danny Glover and almost every other action movie since 1987’s “Lethal Weapon,” at 55 I’m too old for this s**t.

Thanks, but if I want to see a great high school series about adolescent angst, I’ll just revisit “My So-Called Life,” “Freaks and Geeks” or the first season of “Sex Education.” Rather than something that just wants to put the “high” into high school.

That’s enough teen spirit

When the makers of the excellent “Yellowjackets” were pitching their teen-mystery show across town a few years ago, HBO reportedly turned them down because they already had “Euphoria” on their slate.

HBO’s loss was very much Showtime’s gain, but it was an interesting insight into the thinking of the pay cable giant – which turns 50 this year. Surveys suggest that the “30 to 49” age range is the station’s biggest demographic, followed by 18-29s, so it’s telling that it didn’t want to take the risk of adding a second teen-oriented show – even though “Yellowjackets” is much more than just a series about teenagers, thanks to its combination of survival story in the mid-1990s and present-day story among the survivors.

Open gallery view A scene from season 2 of “Euphoria.” Credit: Eddy Chen / HBO / YES

This apparent aversion to flooding its schedule with teen-skewing shows becomes more noticeable when you look at HBO’s big hits in recent years: “Chernobyl,” “Succession,” “Mare of Easttown,” “The White Lotus,” “The Undoing,” “The Righteous Gemstones,” all of whose protagonists generally fit into that “30-49” demographic.

And that’s before we even mention the ongoing success of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” with its 74-year-old lead, and upcoming period drama “The Gilded Age” created by Julian “Downton Abbey” Fellowes – himself a mere 72.

This anecdote I heard recently on NPR’s “Planet Money” seems quite revealing about both HBO and its audience (if I’d just led by telling you that I love NPR, you’d already know that I’m over 50): When HBO considered replacing its sonic ID, aka the audio logo that plays before and after its original shows, it couldn’t find anything to top it. Research showed that people just preferred the Static Angel – yes, it even has its own name – which presumably inspires Proustian thoughts of the great HBO shows they’ve watched over the years, plus “Entourage.”

How much do people love that sonic ID? Well, this clip of the seven-second audio logo has been viewed nearly 600,000 times on YouTube. (I suspect it’s kids getting high and watching it over and over, joining in with the sounds every time.)

I gleaned two things from all this: HBO means an awful lot to an awful lot of people, many of whom will have grown up with the cable network; and 40-something actors should always keep the phone close, lest their agent call about a new HBO project.

Like, for instance, the delightful new HBO comedy “Somebody Somewhere,” in which comedian Bridget Everett plays an underachieving 40-something single woman not so much stuck in a rut as permanently lodged there. (I haven’t watched HBO Max’s “Peacemaker” yet, but it’s worth noting that even in a comic-book genre that traditionally skews younger, the protagonist is played by 44-year-old John Cena. Everett turns 50 this April, so she just snook in.)

The other Manhattan

As I have attended zero stand-up shows in New York, Everett isn’t a comedian I was particularly aware of, even though she appears in the brilliant Netflix drama “Unbelievable” – which I am now happily going to rewatch to see who she plays. In fact, I’ve probably been guilty of confusing her with Amy Schumer more than anything else, which is not helped by the fact that her IMDB profile features the trailer for “Expecting Amy” prominently displayed at the top of her page.

What I do know for certain is that she is excellent in “Somebody Somewhere” as Sam, who moved back to her hometown of Manhattan, Kansas – the eighth biggest town in the flyover state, we are reliably informed – to care for dying sister Holly. Six months later, she hasn’t been able to move on and is doing drudge work grading kids’ essays with all the energy of a stuffed sloth.

It’s quite telling that the show presents its title in lowercase letters, because this is a deliberately understated comedy that slowly gets its hooks into you. I’ve seen all seven episodes and while I wasn’t surprised to find myself laughing as the story unfolded, I was shocked by how moved I was by it all, and how much I came to care for all of the principal characters.

Open gallery view Bull’s-eye: Mike Hagerty and Bridget Everett in HBO’s “Somebody Somewhere.” Credit: Courtesy of HBO/Yes

That’s important, because what starts out as a low-key look at a 40-something character struggling to find their way is given real freshness by its setting of Manhattan, Kansas – and not the Manhattan we’re used to seeing people normally flounder in. As the struggling Sam tells work colleague and eventual friend Joel (Jeff Hiller), “We’re in our 40s and it hasn’t happened yet … and it definitely isn’t going to happen here.”

In some ways this Kansas town is Trumpsville, a God-fearing, GOP-loving part of the world where there are seemingly more churches than bars. (I had to google “Bull & Bear,” where one scene is set, to see if there really is a bar where you throw axes at a target – there is, but it’s in Illinois, where the show was actually filmed.)

But the “Little Apple” is also a college town, arguably Kansas’ equivalent to Austin, Texas, and the show’s writers and creators subvert any redneck stereotypes by focusing on the freaks and geeks (in a good way). It’s no surprise to learn that those creators, Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, are both actors given this show’s emphasis on character over plotline, or that the funniest, most poignant episodes are written by Patricia Breen, who cut her comedy teeth on “Frasier” some 20 years ago.

Joel is a cockeyed optimist who, in the immortal words of “Mean Girls,” is almost too gay to function, while Murray Hill steals every scene as Prof. Fred Rococo – undoubtedly the world’s most outlandish soil scientist. Even the more traditional-seeming characters, such as Sam’s bitchy sister Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison) and her farm-owning, aging parents (Mike Hagerty, Jane Brody), are much more complex than we first imagine and are an integral part of why the show succeeds.

Open gallery view Murray Hill, left, and Jeff Hiller stealing the show in “Somebody Someplace.” Credit: Courtesy of HBO/Yes

Produced by the Duplass brothers (so there’s your first sign that this is going to be worth watching), “Somebody Somewhere” may be a relatively small comedy. But its huge heart makes this the first must-watch show of 2022 – even if “Euphoria” fans may need to ask their parents about those references to Air Supply, Roberta Flack and Crystal Gayle.

“Euphoria” is on Hot and Yes VOD, and Cellcom tv/Sting TV on Mondays. “Somebody Somewhere” is on Hot and Yes VOD and Cellcom tv/Sting TV from Monday. Both shows air on HBO on Sundays and are then available on HBO Max.

Nick Hall Joins A24 To Oversee Creative For TV

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EXCLUSIVE: A24 has brought in former HBO and Amazon Studios TV executive Nick Hall to oversee creative for the company’s growing television slate.

Hall already is working on a series for A24; he is an executive producer on HBO’s upcoming The Idol, from Sam Levinson and Abel Tesfaye, which stars The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp.

A24’s TV series slate also includes HBO’s Euphoria, starring Emmy winner Zendaya, whose Season 2 return just set an HBO max viewership record; Ramy Youssef’s eponymous Hulu series, which has Season 3 coming; Ziwe, which is returning for a second season at Showtime; and the upcoming anthology Beef, starring Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, at Netflix, and Olivier Assayas’ Irma Vep at HBO.

Independent film studio A24 kicked off expansion into television in 2015. Its efforts are being spearheaded by partner and Head of TV Ravi Nandan.

Hall is coming off a three-year first-look producing deal with HBO where he has executive produced Luca Guadagnino’s We Are Who We Are, the initial installment of Mike White’s The White Lotus, as well as The Idol. He also consulted on various HBO productions including Industry, His Dark Materials, and Gentleman Jack.

Prior to that, Hall spent a couple of years at Amazon Studios, starting off as Head of Development for comedy series. He then shifted from overseeing comedy to run drama and subsequently became head of alternative, overseeing content including young adult, specialty series and supporting efforts to drive talent and new ventures to Amazon.

Hall joined Amazon Studios in 2016 after eight years at HBO, most recently as SVP Comedy. He joined the premium cable network in 2008 and was promoted to VP in 2011 and to SVP in 2014. During his tenure, Hall worked on series including Looking, The Comeback, Enlightened, Curb Your Enthusiasm, How to Make It in America, Project Greenlight, and the Judd Apatow-Pete Holmes comedy Crashing. Prior to HBO, Hall served as Manager of Comedy Development at Warner Bros TV.

On the feature side, Hall is producing the comedy Gay Bachelor Party with Lena Dunham for New Line.

Based in NY and LA, A24 is behind feature films such as Minari, Moonlight, Ex Machina, Midsommar, Uncut Gems and The Tragedy of Macbeth. Upcoming films include Ti West’s X and Daniel Scheinert’s Everything Everywhere All at Once starring Michelle Yeoh.

Euphoria Recap: That Was Awkward

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Euphoria Out of Touch Season 2 Episode 2 Editor’s Rating 3 stars * * * « Previous Next Photo: Eddy Chen/HBO

Up until now, Euphoria has stayed faithful to its structure, beginning with a cold open that establishes why each major character is, to put it lightly, such a mess. “Out of Touch” marks the first departure from the formula, but to the dismay of probably everyone, including me, the focus is back on Nate. The episode picks up right where we left off, on Nate’s bloody face after a brutal pummeling from Fez. He’s quickly taken to the hospital, the sound of a stretcher wheeling across the floor accompanied by a pair of clicking heels on either side. Nate is torn between his new, undeveloped relationship with Cassie — supposedly “in love,” he fantasizes about a white-picket-fence future with her — and Maddy, who just can’t escape from him.

This is when Euphoria’s maximalist style actually comes in handy for telegraphing Nate’s overabundant stress. Jacob Elordi has so far been required to exhibit the emotional range of a race car, so in his place, past, present, sex, rage, and fear are entangled in a cacophonous montage. It culminates in a baby wailing over his blissed-out smile, suggesting birth and (near) death going hand in hand. Or rebirth. Or something similar that looks profound on paper. It’s not like this will mean anything anyway. Despite the consequences of his actions literally smacking him in the face, he reverts back to his manipulative ways before his wounds have even healed. When Cal asks why Fez beat him up, Nate fabricates a lie about him, Rue, Jules to keep his father in the dark about his own involvement. Only now, Cal knows that his son is aware of the missing disk.

Cassie’s allure is explained in Rue’s perennial voiceover. “With Maddy, it was always a game,” she says. “Cassie was the opposite.” But it is all still a game to Nate. His ex-girlfriend is a fierce opponent, while Cassie is a pliable target. He constantly dangles the threat of Maddy finding out, sending Cassie into such a guilt-ridden spiral that she forgets to clean Nate’s blood from her legs, like an untouched crime scene. But the only thing that can take her mind off of Maddy is sneaking out to see Nate — she’s stuck in a neverending ouroboros of lust and loathing. He lies and manipulates her with such ease. “You don’t know how much power you have,” he reassures her, but the imbalance will always be in his favor.

As for Rue and Jules, I’m really unsure of where they stand right now. Not that long ago, the latter was confessing that she was in love with another girl. Now, the two are happy(ish) and officially dating. The only problem is Elliot. Since Rue’s death scare at New Year’s, she’s been taking drugs with him regularly, and an uncomfortable introduction with Jules leaves her jealous and heartbroken. The dramatic turnaround in how Rue and Jules feel about each other is abrupt, but their inability to address the train station goes in tandem with Rue’s secrecy, perhaps fueled by her resentment for what Jules did. So in Rue’s ignorance, she keeps hanging out with Elliot, and their mellow dynamic stands in such contrast to the charged connection between her and Jules. In his bedroom, she opens up to him about her dad’s death, but he won’t entertain the idea that her grief is inextricably tied with her addiction. (“I feel like everyone’s looking for a cause and effect,” he says. “Sometimes shit just is what it is.”) He’s her enabler, essentially. And though they’re both mildly aware that this strange little friendship they have isn’t healthy, they’re just in too deep to put a stop to it. “I just feel like we might not bring out the best in each other,” Elliot tells Rue. “I feel like I’m okay with that,” she concedes. At first, I was cautious of a potential love triangle with Elliot, but perhaps he’s just the catalyst needed to expose Jules and Rue’s rocky foundations.

Then there’s Kat, whose relationship is enviably perfect in the eyes of everyone except her — she just can’t understand why she isn’t head over heels for Ethan. Her confusion manifests in two dream sequences, the first involving a Dothraki-esque warrior violently murdering Ethan in one of the absolute worst cases of Euphoria’s obsession with excess. Sure, the show’s dalliances with fantasy do well to communicate the melodramatic, life or death stakes of being a teenager. Still, I also just think something like Sydney Sweeney’s evocative (and heavily memed) performance in the last episode resonates more than Kat having sex over her boyfriend’s rotting corpse.

The real problem, she decides, is herself. The Kat she was last year — the one who said that “there’s nothing more powerful than a fat girl who doesn’t give a fuck” — was only an act to hide the real girl who hates herself. Wallowing in her bedroom, she’s ambushed by an army of influencers hurling empty affirmations like, “every day you get out of bed is an act of courage.” Kat isn’t suffering in isolation but with access to the pernicious internet-famous preaching self-love. (Barbie Ferreira has criticized positive body activism, saying that what makes her “feel more empowered is quietly doing it.”) This season, Kat’s arc will likely be more complicated than simply learning to love herself and Ethan, but consider this: Does he actually have anything going for him? I adore him as much as the next Euphoria stan, but the only effusive adjectives Kat can muster for her pros and cons list are “cute,” “handsome,” and “funny.” Kat … this is the bare minimum for men!!!

After teasing us with a bigger role for Lexi last episode, “Out of Touch” follows through on that promise with her backstory. Reaffirming that she is the most well-adjusted character here, her major worry is lacking main character energy. She’s shy and quiet, willing to stand in the background while her sister steals the spotlight, but her passivity, in her mind, has also made her complicit in her father and Rue’s addictions. (Sam Levinson loves the word “passive” so much he wrote it twice into her segment.) So after Cassie rats out Fez, Lexi decides to finally take some agency by visiting him at the store — but when Cal waltzes in to intimidate the man who attacked Nate, she steps back to the sidelines once again. Baby steps. Things have moved slowly in “Out of Touch,” but for Lexi, the story is only just getting started.

Another Round

• It’s great to see Colman Domingo’s Ali return. Despite the charismatic, nonchalant air he emanates, his struggle to hide the truth about Rue from her mother is always present.

• It’s rare for any pairing (platonic, romantic, or familial) in this show to be uncomplicated, so the brief conversations between Jules and Maddy were a welcome change. For a minute, these teenagers are just teenagers supporting each other, as Jules tries to steer her friend away from Nate: “I wish you could see yourself the way the rest of the world does.”

• Speaking of, what a relief to see that the most scandalous thing Maddy is up to right now is a surreptitious fashion show at her babysitting gig. I’m assuming Faye made a more significant offense than pushing a motel manager off a balcony if the entire police force is looking for her.

• If you haven’t seen Labrinth play his transcendental score to his child … you’re welcome.

‘Euphoria’ star Barbie Ferreira went from N.J. mall job to HBO’s prestige drama. Next: a Jordan Peele film.

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Kat Hernandez is at a loss.

Her boyfriend seems sweet, but something is amiss. Maybe everything.

Her friend Maddy has a thought:

“There’s a difference between what you think you should want and what you actually want.”

“How do I know what I want?” Kat replies.

“You don’t,” Maddy says.

“Then what’s the whole world always talking about?” she asks.

Actor Barbie Ferreira knows what she wants, and Kat is proof positive.

Ferreira plays the character on “Euphoria,” HBO’s famously intense teen drama, which is back for its first full season in more than two years.

The former Maywood resident, who started out in high school as a curve model (also known as plus-size model), has seen her career flourish since the show’s 2019 debut. This summer, she’s set to hit the big screen in the Jordan Peele horror movie “Nope.”

“This is what I’ve always dreamt of,” says Ferreira, 25.

Barbie Ferreira in the first season of “Euphoria,” which premiered in 2019. Production on the second season was delayed a full year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Rich Fury | Getty Images

The second season of “Euphoria,” which premiered Jan. 9 and continues Sunday, sates a loyal fandom that can’t help but watch as an in-your-face formula of sex, drugs, trauma and violence — intended for mature audiences, not all teens — sends the ensemble cast off the rails episode after episode.

After a long delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ferreira is back as the no-nonsense Kat to explode tropes like toxic positivity and tender high school romance. The character once answered Ethan (Austin Abrams), a boy in her class — her love interest, as it happens — with the friendly greeting: “Please don’t be a mass shooter.” But she eventually lets down her guard.

“This season is such a different take on her and her restlessness,” Ferreira tells NJ Advance Media.

“Every character in this show is searching for a high in whatever way that they can,” she says.

For Kat, that often means fantasy — and reality doesn’t measure up.

Barbie Ferreira as Kat Hernandez with Austin Abrams as Ethan in “Euphoria.” Rich Fury | Getty Images

In 2020, Zendaya, who leads the cast, won an Emmy for the A24 series, created by Sam Levinson and adapted from an Israeli drama of the same name. She stars as Rue Bennett, a teen addicted to drugs who favors monotone and struggles with relapse, anxiety and mental health. Her slow-mo nighttime bike rides, bathed in blue and pink light and set to dramatic needle drops, have become emblematic of the blurry, heightened ethos of the show, which emulates her varied stages of intoxication like a series of music videos.

Ferreira, Zendaya and the cast — including Trenton native Hunter Schafer, who grew up in North Carolina and plays Jules Vaughn, Rue’s crush — were set to film the new season in March 2020. Then lockdown happened. A temporary delay turned into a year, given the challenges of proceeding with a sizable ensemble and crew.

“It was very heartbreaking,” Ferreira says. “But I think the year in between, the show evolved a lot. It’s more mature. It’s darker. The cinematography is very different. The makeup’s different. It’s more of a somber tone, but also kind of silly in a dark, twisted way.”

Barbie Ferreira as Kat Hernandez in the second season of “Euphoria,” which premiered Jan. 9 and continues Sunday.Eddy Chen | HBO

After HBO released a two-part “Euphoria” holiday special in 2020 featuring Zendaya, Schafer and a small cast, full production picked up in the spring of 2021. The season premiere sees most of the cast at a raucous New Year’s Eve house party where high stakes are laid out pretty quickly, even in a moment of celebration. (Expect a lot more chaos in the weeks ahead.)

“We would spend so many days with the entire cast there,” Ferreira says. “The way that Sam shoots is that he wants everyone there every day, and then he’ll throw us in there as it goes.”

It was an opportunity for the actor to renew bonds with friends, including Alexa Demie, who plays Kat’s good friend Maddy Perez, a hilarious “Euphoria” teen woefully entangled with abusive on-off boyfriend Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi).

Barbie Ferreira and Alexa Demie in the first season of “Euphoria.“HBO

The show tackles intergenerational trauma, self-discovery and self-destruction through teens, parents and the teens who grew up to become those parents. But it’s also known for its Emmy-winning music — an arresting soundtrack to match its vivid moods, which included an entire musical number in the first season finale (Drake and his manager are executive producers). The series’ Emmy-winning makeup is distinguished by artful eyeliner application, face jewels and strategic sparkle.

Each episode — there’s eight per season — takes about a month and a half to film, Ferreira says.

“All the attention to detail is just so inspiring. Getting to see it, the final product, you’re like, ‘Wow,’” the actor says from Los Angeles, where she lives with her partner Elle Puckett, the recording artist, guitarist and producer known as Rosie Ugly, and their cats — Magdalena (Maggie), Mortimer (Morty) and Thomas. Ferreira publicly came out as queer in 2019.

“Euphoria” is filmed in Los Angeles, but no one really knows the exact location of “Euphoria High School,” as fans call the institution (East Highland High School in the show).

“I mean, it’s kind of a mysterious high school because we don’t know where it is, kind of like Nowheresville, possibly California,” Ferreira says. “Even the actors, we don’t really know exactly where it’s set, and I think that’s kind of the point.”

Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow, Barbie Ferreira, Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney at the 2019 premiere of “Euphoria” in Los Angeles.Chris Delmas | AFP via Getty Images

Little suburban dream, big journey

Ferreira long dreamed of being an actor. But she sensed early on that she’d need a concrete plan to get there.

“I really knew what I wanted to do since I was young, so I think of myself as kind of a manifester in a lot of ways,” she says.

Ferreira was born in Spanish Harlem in 1996, a few years after her mother came to New York from Brazil as a teenager. Prior to New Jersey, the family lived in Queens.

Barbie began experimenting with theater when she was 7, at the Boys & Girls Club.

“It was very DIY and just really fulfilling,” she says. “A lot of the kids there, our parents were single parents who worked a lot and it was babysitting, but in a better way, where there was a lot of activities.”

She says the after-school hub stepped in where elementary school fell short, lacking arts and music programs. Ferreira later moved to Maywood in Bergen County.

“It was my little suburban dream,” she says.

Barbie Ferreira as Kat Hernadez in the first season of “Euphoria.” Kat explores her sexuality in the show and undergoes a transformation after some unwelcome exposure.Eddy Chen | HBO

The aspiring actor, an only child, spent most of her teen years in New Jersey with her mother, a cook-turned-private chef, and her stepfather as well as her grandmother, who moved back to Brazil (the state of Minas Gerais) after Ferreira turned 18. When she was living with Barbie, she would clean houses and take her granddaughter along, giving her an eyeful of top-flight New York apartments.

“Very humble beginnings,” Ferreira says. “It was fun. I never felt like I didn’t have what I needed, which is all thanks to my mom, who was such a hard worker.”

But when she started school at Hackensack High, she often found it stifling, like her character in “Euphoria.”

Kat is well known online for writing fan fiction under a nom de plume — especially stories of the erotic One Direction variety (yes, the boy band).

Caution: video contains profanity

In the first season of the show, Rue (Zendaya) describes how Kat would “regularly fantasize about telling her followers how much she hated her school, her town, and how everyone in it was full of sh-t and a f—ing asshole.”

Kat daydreams about enlisting her legion of fans to do battle on her behalf. In her head, they show up at the school looking like Dothraki warriors from “Game of Thrones.”

Ferreira doesn’t go that far, but she can see where Kat is coming from.

“I really resented high school, and I wanted to grow up really fast,” she says. “I relate to Kat in that way where she wanted to and still does wants to break out of the monotonous routine of high school.”

Barbie Ferreira dripping in pearls and crystals in a Jonathan Simkhai gown at her Met Gala debut in September.Theo Wargo | Getty Images

Acting was her destination — she just didn’t know how to get there.

“I remember a lot of teachers just being like, ‘That’s never going to happen,’” she says.

While she was still in school, Ferreira hatched a plan to build a professional resume and pursue what she actually wanted to do.

“I started modeling so that I could get my name out there,” she says. “My plan worked.”

The way the plan played out, Ferreira worked a retail job at the American Apparel store at Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus while also modeling for the brand (as Barbara) in 2013. (The store closed in 2017 after the company filed for bankruptcy protection following the ouster of founder Dov Charney in the wake of sexual harassment allegations.)

“Thankfully my mother was never someone that pressed me to be like a doctor or anything,” she says. “She always believed in me, really let me take the reins of my own career pretty young.”

“I tried really hard to kind of exceed everyone’s expectations, because I feel like growing up the way I did, I didn’t have any connections to the entertainment industry at all,” Ferreira says. “So I had to really create my own. And that is extremely hard. The entertainment industry, in particular, is very gatekept in a lot of ways. So it was a big journey for me.”

If there was ever any doubt she had arrived, Ferreira stepped out in September at one of the most high-profile events of the celebrity calendar. She was a veritable Botticelli’s Venus at her first Met Gala, wearing thousands of embroidered crystals and pearls in a showstopping Jonathan Simkhai gown, her hair cascading in ringlets. The look channeled Old Hollywood glamour for the ball’s “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” theme.

Ferreira credits her collaboration with another former American Apparel employee, Canadian photographer Petra Collins, with helping to launch her career.

“She really saw me in a different light than what was traditionally there for curve models,” Ferreira says of Collins, 29, who has modeled for Gucci and directed music videos for Cardi B and Olivia Rodrigo.

“When she likes to shoot people, she shoots them for the rest of their lives and, you know, become besties,” she says. “I think we both grew up together a lot. She put me in magazines, and she would shoot me for all these amazing things. I was in museums — the Tate Modern (in London) with like, videos and stuff. She really opened up a lot of opportunities for me, and I love her so much. I still collaborate with her. When my modeling career took off, it was because of her and her believing in me and us making art. That really was a game changer for me.”

Ferreira and her family moved out of Jersey when she was 17, to Mount Vernon, New York. At the time, her mother was going through a divorce, and they were dealing with foreclosure. At 18, Ferreira set out on her own on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, followed by Williamsburg and Harlem.

“As soon as I had my first check from modeling, I probably made the really irresponsible decision to just move,” she says. “Clearly did not have enough money. I just wanted to live in the city.”

Now living in Los Angeles, Ferreira sometimes longs for the creature comforts of her old Jersey digs.

In “Euphoria,” Kat Hernandez finds confidence after deciding she should take up space. Her wardrobe changes to reflect her new outlook.Rich Fury | Getty Images

“I just miss a bagel,” she says. “Like, you don’t understand. A Taylor ham and cheese — haven’t had one since I moved out of Jersey. Good Italian American food, a little baked ziti, I must say I do miss that. The diners — Saddle Brook Diner was great, and then we had the Chit Chat (in Hackensack) that was pretty close to where I lived.”

A young Ferreira would also delight in Jersey sites associated with the macabre.

“I used to go on weirdnj.com and used to go to haunted places all the time, like an abandoned zoo and like, the Devil’s Tower (in Alpine),” she says. “I had some fun there.”

The last time Ferreira returned for a visit was pre-pandemic, but when she’s in New York she’ll sometimes take a detour across the Hudson to visit a good friend.

“We’ll even go to Garden State Plaza just to see what’s going on over there,” she says with a laugh.

Barbie Ferreira at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2020.Rich Fury | Getty Images

Body positivity and toxic positivity

Ferreira got a boost in 2016 when her campaign for Aerie, the American Eagle intimate apparel brand, went viral.

An accompanying video in which she models swimwear has 2 million views. The actor, who has advocated for plus-size representation and body positivity, spoke about the importance of not retouching photos in the clip.

While body image certainly isn’t the sum total of Kat’s “Euphoria” story — nor is “frumpy best friend,” as it has been for many characters who don’t conform to a narrow range of sizes — it does play a role.

“What I realize is that my whole life, all I’ve tried to do is to take up less space,” the character says in the show’s first season.

“I’ve spent my whole life afraid people were gonna find out that I was fat,” she says, referring to her online fandom as a writer. “But honestly, who gives a sh-t? There’s nothing more powerful than a fat girl who doesn’t give a f—.”

Ferreira’s Kat Hernandez contends with toxic messaging from social media influencers in the second season of “Euphoria.” Rich Fury | Getty Images

Kat walks with a swagger as she finds a measure of power. After she’s secretly taped in a sexual encounter, she uses her wit to get out of a compromising situation at school (her exchange with the principal won’t soon be forgotten). She turns the tables on her victim status, signing up for a cam website where men start to pay for her attention — even her insults. She adopts a BDSM-inspired wardrobe at school.

But there’s another side to Kat’s body positivity journey — namely, toxic positivity. When she’s down and confused in the second season, she is harangued by a chorus of social media influencers in an imagined sequence.

“Love yourself!” they collectively demand in a scene out of a horror movie (not Jordan Peele). They just won’t let her wallow in peace, insisting on performative mantras.

“You need to smash all beauty standards!” one commands.

“But I can’t even get out of bed!” Kat replies.

Ferreira has seen nearly identical sentiments in her social media feeds.

“It felt like my comment section come to life,” she says.

That’s by design. Series creator Sam Levinson, 37, often works to incorporate aspects of the actors’ lives into characters.

As someone in the public eye who is associated with body positivity and has 3.3 million followers on Instagram, Ferreira says she can feel like she has the weight of people’s self-esteem on her shoulders. With it comes the pressure to be perfect and “super happy” all the time, she says — oversimplifying self-love.

Since her viral ad campaign as a young model, Ferreira has seen progress in representation for plus-size actors.

“When I was a teenager, I watched a lot of English programming or foreign film and TV because I feel like they’ve always caught on to having people who look like people in their shows, (like) in ‘My Mad Fat Diary’ — not everyone is this beautiful Hollywood archetype,” she says. “I think we’ve gone a long way. I think there’s a long way to go. It’s always going to be a little bit tough because we’ve been conditioned for so long. When we think of a model or an actor, we think of a certain type of person. Hopefully that’s changing.”

“Euphoria” stars Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow, Algee Smith, Sydney Sweeney and Barbie Ferreira at the 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards.Valerie Macon | AFP via Getty Images

Working with Jordan Peele and taking an abortion road trip

Ferreira eagerly awaits the July release of her next film, the highly anticipated horror movie “Nope,” written and directed by Jordan Peele.

She can’t say enough about her experience with the filmmaker, from reading the script to developing her character.

“I am a huge Jordan Peele fan,” Ferreira says. “He is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of artist and genius. And he’s so nice, too. He’s just so sweet and so good at what he does. It’s so exciting.”

The movie is Peele’s third film as a director after “Us” (2019). In 2017, he won the Oscar for best original screenplay for his hugely successful directorial debut “Get Out.”

While plot details are under wraps for now, “Nope” stars “Get Out” lead Daniel Kaluuya, who won an Oscar for “Judas and the Black Messiah,” Keke Palmer (“Hustlers”) and Oscar-nominated actor Steven Yeun (“Minari”).

“I didn’t get to really meet a lot of them, but being such a fan of their work and me being such a rookie in my own eyes — like, oh my gosh, I just got here, these are actors that I could only ever dream of working with — it was just such an incredible experience,” Ferreira says.

“I’m so excited for it to come out,” she says. “I think people are going to love it. As he always does, Jordan Peele makes the most amazing pieces of art. They’re not even movies. They’re incredibly cerebral and fun and scary, gorgeous masterpieces. That’s like the highlight of my life, working with him. I’m so lucky to be a part of that cast in my own little way.”

Ferreira made her film debut in the 2020 HBO Max movie “Unpregnant,” a road comedy about one teen’s quest to get an abortion.

Barbie Ferreira with her partner Elle Puckett, at right, at the premiere of “Unpregnant” in 2020.Amy Sussman | Getty Images

“It was an absolute joy to do,” Ferreira says. “I wanted to do something that was different than ‘Euphoria,’ where it was fun and kind of more broad. ‘Euphoria’ is such a dark show and that’s the kind of stuff I like, but there’s this taboo subject in ‘Unpregnant,’ which I’m always attracted to — something that starts a conversation.”

She co-stars with Haley Lu Richardson (”The Edge of Seventeen,” “Five Feet Apart”), who plays Veronica, a Missouri high school student who enlists Ferreira’s Bailey, her ex-best friend, to drive her 1,000 miles to Albuquerque, because it’s the closest place she can get an abortion at 17 without her parents knowing.

“Why in the hell do you need to get parental consent to have an abortion, but not to actually birth a human child?” an exasperated Veronica says in the film, directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg and based on the 2019 young adult book by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan.

Barbie Ferreira and Haley Lu Richardson play friends who travel 1,000 miles for an abortion in “Unpregnant.“Ursula Coyote | HBO Max

In one scene, Ferreira and Richardson yell “We’re gay and pregnant!” on a carnival ride in a moment of release after Bailey comes out to Veronica.

“I wanted to do something that was accessible to younger people where they could watch it and really enjoy it and really laugh with these characters, cry with these characters, and just normalize the fact that people want to end pregnancies and it doesn’t always have to be this extremely dark, gruesome experience, and it often isn’t,” Ferreira says. “It often is a pretty obvious choice for people … I love that I did a comedy that was sweet and lighthearted and also has a really deep message.”

“As an actor, I always try to do something new,” she says. “I’m glad I get to expand in that way where I get to do other projects that hopefully also have a deeper meaning. I’m always searching for that … I’m always evolving.”

But progress involves a certain amount of reflection, too. Ferreira wants kids in Jersey to know that passions aren’t a dead end just because conventional wisdom says they are.

“To this day, I’ll do Zoom meetups with the Hackensack High School Drama Club. And I’ll just talk to them, because I think it’s really nice to hear that there are opportunities outside of what people think is practical,” she says, whether that means acting, camera work or lighting design.

“There’s just so many creative opportunities out there. Even letting kids know that it’s possible and you can work towards it, I didn’t really have that in my school.”

But she did have hope — and a plan.

“I always look back,” Ferreira says. “I’m like, ‘Damn, I risked it all.’ I didn’t go to college, I started working at 16 as a little model that didn’t make any money. It was a leap of faith that I’m very thankful worked out. Every day I pinch myself.”

“Euphoria” airs 9 p.m. ET Sundays on HBO and HBO Max. “Unpregnant” is on HBO Max, and “Nope” is slated for theatrical release July 22.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter.

Lily-Rose Depp looks relaxed in black track suit and sneakers on coffee run in Studio City

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Lily-Rose Depp was seen taking a stroll while running errands in Studio City on Sunday afternoon.

The 22-year-old performer appeared to be making the most of the shining California sun as she checked her phone after stopping at a local cafe to pick up an iced coffee.

The actress’ outing comes after it was confirmed that she would be appearing in a major television series that is currently in production.

Stepping out: Lily-Rose Depp was seen taking a stroll while running errands in Studio City on Sunday afternoon

Depp sported a white graphic-printed t-shirt underneath a black zip-up jacket during her outing.

The daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis also rocked a loose-fitting pair of black pants and a stylish set of multicolored sneakers.

The A Faithful Man actress accessorized with a fashionable set of sunglasses and kept a light yellow purse slung over her right shoulder.

Her gorgeous blonde locks were tied into a loose bun and she sported a black facial covering that reduced her chances of contracting the coronavirus.

Taking it easy: Depp sported a white graphic-printed t-shirt underneath a black zip-up jacket during her outing

Depp is currently working on the upcoming drama series The Idol, which was co-created by The Weeknd.

In addition to his role as the show’s co-creator, the musician also serves as one of its executive producers and will star in the program.

The Idol is centered on a self-help guru and cult leader who begins a relationship with a rising pop star.

In addition to the singer and the actress, the show will feature performances from figures such as Suzanna Son, Troye Sivan and Steve Zissis, among others.

Staying occupied: Depp is currently working on the upcoming drama series The Idol, which was co-created by The Weeknd; she is seen in 2021

Development on the project was initially announced in June of last year, when it was made known to the public that The Weeknd was attached to the series.

It was also revealed that Euphoria creator Sam Levinson had also signed on to work on the series alongside the hitmaker.

Depp’s casting in the forthcoming project was revealed by Deadline this past September.

Much of the rest of the show’s cast was brought together over the course of last year.

Creative endeavor: Development on the project was initially announced in June of last year, when it was made known to the public that The Weeknd was attached to the series; he is seen in 2021

The project officially received a green light from network executives last November.

HBO Programming’s executive vice president, Francesca Orci, released a statement where she noted via Variety that the project would likely impress viewers.

‘When the multi-talented Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson brought us “The Idol,” it was clear their subversive, revelatory take on the cult of the music industry was unlike anything HBO had ever done before,’ she said.

She added: ‘Shortly after, the brilliant duo of Joe Epstein and Amy Seimetz joined forces with the rest of the team, and this dream became a reality.’

The Idol is currently set to premiere on HBO at an unspecified date in the future.