The director of the DC “SnyderVerse” films and the Netflix originals Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon, Zack Snyder, believes that TV shows have more creative freedom than movies nowadays.
He cites Euphoria as an example, an HBO coming-of-age show that follows a group of teenagers facing different taboos. Euphoria features Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Hunter Schafer, and Alexa Demie.
Euphoria season 3 is expected to begin filming soon and has no confirmed release date yet.
Snyder joined the Pizza Film School podcast (via The Playlist) hosted by fellow filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo. The three talked about modern TV, which Snyder says is in its “golden age.”
I think we’re in a real golden age of TV in the sense that TV shows are much better at showing you something that you’ve never seen before or catching you off balance or making a turn that you didn’t see coming… They’re way riskier. ‘Euphoria,’ for instance, I was just watching the show is just unbelievable. That show shouldn’t exist; it’s so good. And that’s the kind of thing I watch that show and go, ‘This movie would never get made; this movie can’t exist.’ You could imagine ‘Squid Games’ coming here as a movie would be an arthouse [thing], maybe. ‘Euphoria’ and ‘Squid Game’ take you to places where you have no idea where you are going or what’s happening, and I think that’s what people want.
Snyder says that TV is in its “golden age” and is more adventurous than movies.
This term has been used since the late ’90s and early ’00s, with shows like The Sopranos and The Wire often seen as the pioneers of the “golden age,” later followed by titles such as Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones.
Streaming has changed the way TV works, but many series still experiment with the cinematic form in ways that movies haven’t done.
Euphoria and similar shows have much darker and more shocking themes than most mainstream movies.
Movie studios are less willing to make movies that are considered “risky” because they want to make money and reach as many people as possible. TV is usually cheaper to produce and depends on ad revenue – and subscribers for streamers – so it has more room to be creative than movies.
Also, popular networks like HBO can ensure high ratings for their shows, so it is not a big gamble for them to make more original content.
Recently, Hollywood has been flooded with franchises, with popular IPs like the Marvel Cinematic Universe often breaking box office records.
It is an ordeal for original movies to make money. Since TV can be bolder over a longer format, there is an excellent case to be made that TV is more thrilling than movies nowadays.
Though Snyder didn’t say this, he agreed that TV is inherently surprising, and can often exceed expectations more frequently than movies.
About Euphoria
Euphoria is a teen drama on HBO that is loosely based on the Israeli series of the same name. The series is written by Sam Levinson and stars Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Maude Apatow, Jacob Elordi, Alexa Demie, and others.
The show revolves around Rue, a teen drug addict who is also suffering from Bipolar disorder. She meets Jules, a transwoman, and falls in love with her. Euphoria deals with themes of sexual violence, addiction, trauma, and self-identity.
The series was renewed for season 3 in February 2022.
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