In Euphoria’s fictional world of East Highland, California, everyone has their problems and secrets – and it’s so dizzying at times you’ll be forgiven for feeling a little high yourself.

Struggling with identity – be it body image, sexuality or gender – everyone is simply trying to find their way in the world as best they can.

As this is Euphoria, some are better at it than others, and none of them particularly make it easy on themselves.

Here are the key characters you need to know as you go into the world of East Highland High.

Played By: Zendaya (The Greatest Showman, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Challengers)

Our leading lady and show narrator, Rue is a struggling, queer teenage drug addict. In and out of rehab and hardly fighting to remain sober, she’s trying to find her place in the world and understand her friends and those around her, often detailing intricate details of her friends’ lives. She has an on/off relationship with Jules.

Played By: Hunter Schafer (&The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, *Cuckoo)

Jules is introduced as the fascinating and mysterious new girl at school who catches Rue’s eye. Transgender, her relationship with sex and her identity is often at the forefront of her story, and oftentimes leads her into complicated situations with men.

Played By:Jacob Elordi (Saltburn, Priscilla)

The ultimate popular jock, Nate Jacobs is the epitome of what everyone considers a classic All-American high school boy. However, he has severe anger issues and a venomously abusive streak, which he often targets towards his girlfriend at the time.

Played By: Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You, Madame Web)

Sexualized from an early age by predatory men around her, Cassie remains a girl whose self-esteem is often hanging by a thread. She continuously seeks validation from those around her by any means necessary. As a result, she’s found herself in awkward situations with her sexual relationships, and even ruins her friendships in order to achieve the popularity she’s convinced keeps evading her.

Played By: Alexa Demie (Mid90s, Ray Donovan)

Maddy is an incredibly self-assured, confident young woman who uses sex, or the promise of it, as a means to get what she wants. Constantly dressed to impress, with a signature diamante eye-liner look, she is Nate’s on/off girlfriend who bears the brunt of a lot of his aggression.

Played By: Maude Apatow (The King Of Staten Island, Hollywood)

Lexi is the opposite of her younger sister, Cassie, in nearly every way. Lacking confidence after spending her life surrounded by people who demand more space, she is often seen as quiet and introverted. However, she’s a loyal friend to Rue and is always ready to fight for her friend’s sobriety, often at the cost of her own peace of mind. She dreams of working in the theatre, and is a member of the drama club.

Played By: Angus Cloud (Abigail, Your Lucky Day)

Fezco is the local drug dealer but proves quickly he has a kind soul. He bonds with Lexi over her art, keeps an eye out for Rue despite dealing her drugs, and has even adopted a young tearaway, Ashtray, as his ‘adopted’ brother. He’s often the voice of reason, though is rarely actually listened to.

Played By: Eric Dane (X-Men: The Last Stand, Grey’s Anatomy)

The real estate mogul of East Highland, Cal Jacobs is Nate’s overbearing and pressurizing father. He also heavily struggles with balancing his ‘all-American family man’ persona with his hidden bisexuality. Marrying his high school sweetheart after discovering she was pregnant when they were teenagers, he now leads a double life and has secret trysts with trans women and men – including Jules.

Played By: Barbie Ferreira (Unpregnant, Nope)

Kat is someone that struggles with her self-confidence, but tries her best to hide it. Fighting for better body positivity, she’s conscious of her weight and how people around her react to it. She often retreats into a fantasy world aided by erotic fan-fiction, where she can fulfill her sexual fantasies, if only in her imagination.

Played By: Austin Abrams (Do Revenge, This Is Us)

Ethan has had a thing for Kat for a while, but often has to fight for her affection as she pushes him away. Compared to his high school counterparts, Ethan appears to be a genuinely nice and caring guy, who largely tries to stay out of the drama and be a source of support.

Played By: Nika King (Funny Married Stuff, Greenleaf)

A single mother to Rue and Gia following the death of her husband, Leslie is simply trying her best to be there for her girls. However, Rue’s addictions, and her seeming unwillingness to get out of it, proves to be a major issue in the household and something she’s never quite sure how to handle. Resilient and dedicated to helping her daughters, she has gone to great lengths to make sure her daughters get the best they can out of life.

Played By: Storm Reid (Missing, A Wrinkle In Time)

Rue’s little sister Gia, has always looked up to her sibling and admired her despite her consistent struggles with drugs. However, this has also affected her personally, especially after having to save Rue’s life after a near-death drug overdose. With everything they’ve gone through, the pair have an undeniably close bond.

Played By: Algee Smith (Detroit, Judas and the Black Messiah)

Once East Highland’s football star, McKay came back down to Earth with a thud once starting college, and struggles with the pressure of it. At the start of the series, he is dating Cassie.

Played By: Colman Domingo (Rustin, Fear The Walking Dead)

Born Martin, Ali has been surrounded by addiction since he was a child, something he later himself fell into. This eventually drove a wedge in his own family, with one of his daughters cutting contact with him and banning him from seeing his grandson. He converted to Islam and changed his name in rehab as a way to restart his life, and is now Rue’s sponsor for Narcotics Anonymous.

Played By: Javon Walton (The Umbrella Academy, Samaritan)

Ashtray comes from a troubled, if little known, background, having been left with Fezco’s grandmother when he was a baby. Soon he was brought into the family fold as a drug dealer, even at his young age. He is treated largely as Fez’s little brother, even though they’re not officially related.