Rules on how X-rated Euphoria is allowed to get after Sydney Sweeney goes fully nude

We’ve only had two episodes available for streaming but from the way some people are going on you’d think we’d had seven hours of state-mandated footage we’re forced to watch.

Yes, I’m talking about the massive reaction to the third season of Euphoria so far.

It seems to have quickly become a show this year that people are loving to watch and complain about or to have hot takes on.

And that’s partly thanks to some of its pretty wild scenes. The hit HBO show has already served up the likes of a gag-inducing drug-stuffing scene with Rue (Zendaya) and Faye Valentine (Chloe Cherry), a racial slur and numerous nude scenes from Cassie (Sydney Sweeney).

But a chunk of the reaction online has been over how Euphoria is actually allowed to show this kind of stuff, with nudity, sex, drugs and swears flying.

Well, it all comes down to how the show is accessed, basically.

The US have a similar ‘watershed’ to the UK in that their law prohibits ‘indecent and profane content’ from being aired on TV or radio between the hours of 6am and 10pm. That’s when the FCC says there is a ‘reasonable risk that children may be in the audience’. And Euphoria is shown in the US at 9pm ET on HBO.

Here, our cut-off tends to be 9pm and Euphoria airs at 2am (thanks for that time difference America) or again at 10.15pm on Mondays. So, it’s well beyond the watershed for Brits for it to be on TV.

In the states, TV is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with the ‘obscene’ category defined as having to meet the ‘three-pronged test’: “It must appeal to an average person's prurient interest; depict or describe sexual conduct in a ‘patently offensive’ way; and, taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.”

Yeah, ok, this had my stomach churning. (HBO)

And technically, the nude scenes that seem to be filling Euphoria this year don’t quite fit that ‘obscene content’ criteria – however, you might personally feel about seeing Sweeney have ice cream drip down her, it’s art.

But it could maybe be argued to be close to ‘indecent’.

The FCC defines that as things that ‘portrays sexual or excretory organs or activities in a way that is patently offensive but does not meet the three-prong test for obscenity’.

The FCC has tried to fine networks in the past for wardrobe malfunctions on live TV, most famously when Justin Timberlake inadvertently exposed Janet Jackson's nipple during the 2004 Super Bowl.

In the end, the courts overturned the six-figure fine because the nudity was fleeting - unlike the stuff on Euphoria.

As Euphoria is on a subscription service, viewers are paying and the rules are different than broadcast. (HBO)

As for ‘profane content’, this is defined as ‘grossly offensive’ language considered to be a ‘public nuisance’. So, it’s that kind of thing that can’t be shown in the US’ watershed.

Yet, Euphoria is somewhat exempt to this anyway because it’s on HBO – a subscription service rather than a public channel.

And the FCC explains: “The same rules for indecency and profanity do not apply to cable, satellite TV and satellite radio because they are subscription services.”

So, in the UK it’s well beyond the watershed and in the US it’s separate from regulations thanks to being on HBO.