From left: Gen Z touchstones Hannah Einbinder ('Hacks'), Britt Lower and Adam Scott ('Severance'), and Aimee Lou Wood ('The White Lotus'). Illustration by Pixel Pusher Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Why does television so misunderstand Gen Z? As a 20-year-old who watches a lot of TV, I pause before getting my hopes up about an authentic portrayal of a Gen Zer on a show, preparing instead for the cringiest one-liners and actors who should be playing 35-year-olds. While Euphoria is plenty entertaining, it can feel more like fantasy to many actual teens whose lives and traumas aren't so glittery - how are none of them getting dress-coded? The Sex Lives of College Girls took an honorable stab, but the characters can feel like caricatures. The executives who greenlight these things don't understand that, typically, shows targeted at younger audiences don't actually resonate with younger audiences. Related Stories News 2025 VMAs: Sabrina Carpenter Among First Group of Performers (Exclusive) TV Mike White Envisioned the Ratliffs as "the Brunette Version" of the Family From 'White Lotus' Season 1 Unlike Hannah Horvath in HBO's millennial gem Girls (resurgently popular among Gen Z), I do not claim to be the voice of my generation. But it does feel like an appropriate time to speak up about how younger audiences feel about the hottest television shows, especially since my cohort helps keeps streamers afloat. Am I at times offended when the token Gen Z character can't help but feel like they are being gaslit, gate-kept and girl-bossed? Yes. And when they cancel a friend for putting compost in the garbage? Also, yes (but seriously, composting isn't that hard). While a lot of media can't seem to pin the tail on the donkey (metaphorically speaking, of course, since who the hell in my generation played that game?), some of the big Emmy contenders did successfully lure us in - but not always for the reasons you think. So before you pat yourselves on the back for all the shows you loved creating for us 20-year olds, here's some of what we thought. [By the way, these are my qualifications and connections to television to validate, credit or debase everything I'm about to say - your call. I study film at UC Berkeley, the #1 public university in the world (sorry, UCLA) and talk to a lot of smart people about smart things (at times). I have an interest in television writing. And, well, I really like watching TV. I grew up watching a slew of shows with my siblings, parents and grandparents, shows as different as The Brady Bunch, Lizzie McGuire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and even The Little Rascals from 1922, which it turns out has not aged very well. The first TV show I binge-watched was ABC's Once Upon a Time, then Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries and during COVID, I think I watched four Criminal Minds episodes every day. I was going into sixth grade when Stranger Things was first released, and I'll be well into my junior year of college when the supernatural adventures of Hawkins come to a close - I practically grew up alongside the cast.] Perhaps I have charmed my contemporaries to read this far, which I can admit is a struggle in a 24/7 attention economy. Regardless, these are my takes on shows in 2025: what, where and with whom I watch. And spoiler alert, if you are looking for a hot take on Love Island, you won't find it here. Severance Starting off strong. I'm hooked on this intelligent and bone-chilling series, reveling in the plethora of conspiracies and Easter egg rabbit holes my TikTok and Instagram algorithms have handed me. Not only were my social platforms feeding my greedy need for details, but I was surrounded by other tuned-in 20-somethings looking down the infamous white hallways. When Berkeley students weren't neck-deep in schoolwork or connecting with each other on LinkedIn - yes you heard it here first, "add me on LinkedIn" is the new "add me on Snap" - we were geeking out over goats, Helly R and Cold Harbor. Although most of my friends are pre-workforce and haven't really experienced the erosion between office and leisure yet, we relate to its basic truth, looking at the Lumon building and getting the same existential dread as when we walk into some classes. Hacks Talk about generational communication: Hacks might be the comedy to get it right. While the character of Ava is technically a millennial, her confrontations with Deborah are hysterical, and every struggling 20-something gets her grit. Moreover, it's special to see a cross-generational friendship on TV. I relate way more to Ava, or to Hannah and Shoshanna from Girls, than Maddy or Cassie from Euphoria. Just shows that depict the specific feeling of trying to figure shit out. The White Lotus Forget what you've heard: My generation has not ki