We’re in the middle of a teen drama renaissance on television at the moment, and HBO Max’s new series Genera+ion is making quite the impression. The show, which premiered on March 11, centers around a group of high school students in California who are exploring their sexualities and identities in this chaotic modern world. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Haley Sanchez, who plays Greta, about how this show is not Euphoria. However, she understands why there are comparisons.
“It’s because you’re seeing these stories about these young people that are being told in an authentic way filled with authentic feelings and characters,” Haley told HollywoodLife. “I see why people would compare it to such an amazing show like Euphoria. Being compared to that is an honor, but it is different because I think it touches on different things. They’re both stories that need to be told. I don’t want to give away too much about the story because I do want people to kind of go in blind.”
The show’s co-creator is 19-year-old Zelda Barnz, who created the show with her father, Daniel Barnz. For Haley, working with Zelda has been a collaborative process. “I think it’s really awesome to see Zelda work because she knows Gen Z so well because she is Gen Z,” Haley said. “There have been times where I call up and I’m like, hey, how do you feel about this? And she’s so open to talking about it, or explaining why something is the way it is, or listening and making changes. It feels very collaborative, and I think that it’s been a super cool process because just watching her work and seeing that even the smallest detail is not overlooked is very cool to watch.”
Haley feels that everyone can relate to Greta’s journey of “going through this process of becoming the person that she feels like she truly is, but there’s this fear of rejection that everybody has. With that fear, just being courageous and able to still be that is really hard. It’s really inspiring to watch your character do that. And then also very inspiring that I get to show that. I think that I’ve gone through that in my own life. So it definitely makes it easier to tell that story because of that. But I really do feel like it’s something that a lot of people go through. Even if you’re not a shy person, I feel like there’s still that coming into yourself thing that happens in our lives, whether it’s in high school, in college, or really wherever you are in life.”
In the first 3 episodes of Genera+ion, it becomes clear that Greta has a crush on Riley. As the season continues, Haley revealed that Greta’s life will change as she becomes more confident in who she is. “I think that because Greta’s coming into herself, the environment around her is bound to change because she’s not living in that anymore,” Haley told HollywoodLife. “You see her develop a lot of relationships with people she would have never developed relationships with if she didn’t come into that. When change happens, naturally, I think people will notice, and then you develop more authentic relationships with people and friends and maybe different types of communities. You see her kind of talk about what’s going on inside her head and talk about her feelings with other characters. Because of this, I feel like it makes you feel less alone, and it makes other people feel less alone in the show. I feel like that’s an important story to tell. You definitely see these relationships grow into something. You get to watch our growth.” New episodes of Genera+ion are released weekly on HBO Max.