'Hate-watching' Euphoria is the latest trend as season 3 scores just 42 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes

There was much anticipation for the long-awaited third season of Euphoria - but following the premiere episode, it has scored just 42 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Initially, the season debuted with a critics' score of 56 per cent on the film and TV review aggregate website, but the score has been dropping since then as more critics weigh in with their verdicts on the HBO series created by Sam Levinson and starring Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, Alexa Demie, Hunter Schafer and Maude Apatow.

In Euphoria season 3, there is a five-year time jump from when we last saw the character in high school back in season 2, which aired four years ago in 2022. We catch up with the characters as they are navigating their adult lives, where there's plenty more danger and drama.

What are critics saying?

Patrick Wymore/HBO

Following the 42 per cent critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes (at the time of writing), the consensus among critics is that it doesn't live up to the show's previous two seasons. For context, season one's score sits at 80 per cent, and season two's score is 78 per cent.

"Euphoria season three is grim TV that seems hellbent on rattling us for the sake of it. If its cast seemed desperate to get it over and done with, well, now we know why," The Guardian''s Hannah J Davis wrote in her two-star review.

Screen Rant's Graeme Guttmann gave it a four out of 10, and said: "Without the high school setting, the only thing to cling to is Euphoria's characters, but that only makes it more apparent that Levinson may not have had a good grasp on them to begin with."

"The sins of 'Euphoria' past remain, and are only highlighted in a streamlined version of the show, which has jettisoned several characters and plot threads," USA Today's Kelly Lawler noted, as she rated it a two out of four.

Eddy Chen/HBO

Digital Spy's David Opie scored it two out of five and wrote, "Three seasons in, it feels like Euphoria hasn't grown up in the same way that these kids supposedly have."

"Euphoria may still have the gloss, budget and star power of prestige TV, but it’s no longer enough to disguise what increasingly feels like the misogynistic fantasies of a creepy old man," The Telegraph's Eleanor Halls said in her two-star review.

However, there's other who disagree, such as The Independent's Nick Hilton, who gave it a four out of five stars.

"Euphoria, set in a tortured frontier, amid the gold rush of the attention economy, is a clear-eyed, unflattering portrait of modern America: the good, the bad, and the ugly", he writes.

"The fact that Euphoria has acknowledged the passage of time in its world is a good thing... it now sees its characters really trying to figure out what the rest of their lives are going to look like, which is a level of depth they haven’t had before," said Decider's Joel Keller.

'Hate-watching' Euphoria S3 has become a thing

Meanwhile, season 3 appears to be just as divisive among general audiences, with an audience score of 51 per cent.

On social media, many have declared that they will be tuning into the new season of Euphoria - but with the purpose of "hate watching," for the purpose of mocking and criticising the show.

One person said, "Unfortunately, Euphoria will get a hate watch out of me…"

"Seated for Euphoria. It’s gonna be a hate-watch." a second person wrote.

A third person added, "Watching euphoria this season as a hate watch tbh."

"Tuning into the new Euphoria season just so me and my best friend can hate watch and discuss it together," a fourth person posted.

But even a hate watch is too much for some...

"I don’t think I got it in me to even hate-watch this season of Euphoria.. sorry Zendaya," one person said.

A second person wrote, "I'm not even tuning to Euphoria to hate watch, I don't have it in me."

"I have officially decided not to tap into Euphoria. I have seen enough, not even a hate watch can save this y'all need to find god on Sundays," a third person added.

A fourth person commented, "Honestly, side-eyeing people who even hate-watch Euphoria this go around."

Seasons 1, 2, and the season 3 premiere of Euphoria are available to watch on HBO Max.

Elsewhere from Indy100, Euphoria S3: Fans give their verdict on premiere episode, and Sydney Sweeney's 'weird ass baby scene' in Euphoria sparks debate.

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