HBO Is Adding Mental Health Content Warnings to Shows Including Euphoria and Girls
The next time you sit down for a repeat viewing of Euphoria, a new mental health-related message might be there to greet you. HBO announced that it's working with the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) to identify shows on the network that include potentially triggering mental health content.
According to Variety, HBO has determined that series such as Euphoria, Girls, Barry, and The Sopranos will now begin with what it is calling a "mental health bumper." The bumpers will reportedly include a note about mental health issues depicted in the show and contact information for NAMI.
"HBO has always been at the forefront of telling stories featuring complex characters, some of whom deal with mental illness, from The Sopranos to Euphoria, encouraging more conversation around the different facets of mental health," Jason Mulderig, vice president of brand and product marketing at HBO, told Variety. "We are not saying 'viewer discretion is advised.' We are saying 'viewer conversation is encouraged.'"
As Variety explained, the decision to include the pre-episode notices is part of a continued effort at HBO to encourage conversations around mental health. Along with the bumpers, the network plans to unveil videos on its YouTube channel and hbo.com called "Doctor Commentaries." The commentary video will feature psychologist Ali Mattu discussing specific mental health-related scenes from HBO shows. The first commentary debuted on Thursday and is centered on a scene from Girls. The bumpers and commentary were purposefully unveiled on World Mental Health Day, an annual event that was created to raise awareness about mental health.
News of the bumpers comes after Netflix made a similar decision with 13 Reasons Why. As Teen Vogue previously reported, the show's second season included a video about triggering content that aired before each episode, and episodes also included information on mental health resources. Additionally, each episode came with a post-show panel that featured cast and crew from the show talking with mental health experts about what happened in the show.
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