THE MOMMY ISSUE

You would think it would be easy to bring to life a web-serial with episodes each week and a continuity that reaches back years and years. Having that in your mind, the idea of it, is really the easy part. Giving birth to the series and keeping it alive for years and years is really a challenging project that takes a lot of work and a lot of passion.

What's just as hard, I think, is bringing one of these works back to life after a few years hiatus. Such is the case for EUPHORIA by Rob Hill. Euphoria's return to the webby world came at a sort of reinvigoration of the genre and what a return it has been!

With it's first grouping of Episodes behind it, the series garnered 5 2025 PHIXIE Awards nominations, and TWO Wins! Its safe to say, the citizens of Knightdale were welcomed back into the fray with their whirlwind of drama that centers around Paige Thomas & Grace Locke's return to town in a flurry of secretive and dysfunctional Blake family connections that will surely break every bow of that family tree!

I had the pleasure of chatting with writer/creator Rob Hill on his serial's incredible return!

THE PHIX: Hi Rob! Thank you so much for letting my pick your brain on all things Euphoria! Your series certainly returned to the Web-Serial world in a huge way. What makes this version of Euphoria different than its first incarnation? And what made you bring it back to life?

ROB HILL: Oh gosh, I’m humbled by that. I wasn’t trying to make a huge splash, but I guess I did, huh? Euphoria returning was sparked by a long, much-needed phone call with some friends, sorting out issues in our friendship. By the end of it, they strongly suggested I bring it back—which, honestly, had already been on my heart. I just kept putting it off. Plus, designing websites is a headache rolls eyes. But after that call (S/O to Casey and Candy), I took it as a sign and got to work.

I wish I could tell you how this version is different from the last, but truth be told, I barely remember the original storylines. The characters came back to me, but the plots? Not so much—except for Grace’s story. But that was easy. She tells her own damn story. I only wrote about 12 episodes before I hit a dark period in my life and stopped writing altogether.

What is different, though, is me. My writing has leveled up so much since my Epiguide days. Back then, I lived for the bitchy moments but didn’t put in the work to set them up or pay them off. Now, I’m actually telling the stories—making sure the characters’ wants and motives are clear. The people need meat and potatoes, honey! No more empty calories.

PHIX: There is definitely a good balance within both styles; the bitchy moments and the very deep-diving character driven stuff. On that note, I think you have some of the best dialogue out there. It feels real and I can hear real people saying the words you write. Can you tell us a bit about the way you craft your

character interactions?

RH: I’m a writer by trade, and I went to school to be a reporter. One of the biggest things I learned is to study how people talk and move. I’ll have a conversation with someone while, at the same time, studying their movements. I pay attention to voice cadences—how people say certain words or deliver sentences—and then try to incorporate that into my characters.

For instance, Evelyn is inspired by my mom. She switches from slow to fast and then back

to slow when she speaks. A lot of that comes from her being a teacher—having to slow

down for her students.

As for character interactions… honestly, it’s hard to keep up. Each of my characters is drawn from personalities I’ve been around, so I know them very… very… very well. But here’s the weird trick—and I think only creatives will understand this—my characters live in my head. When I’m not writing them, I let them keep going. Every now and then, I’ll check in on them, and when something speaks to me, I’ll write based on that.

I know that sounds crazy, but that’s how I get to know my characters. Their interactions

depend on their “daily” mood and where they’re at in life.

PHIX: There are a lot of really complex family dynamics going on, especially within the core Blake family. But what I found really interested was the several mother/daughter struggles we have going on. Grace and Diane, Grace and Shannon, Shannon and Niecy, Niecy and Paige. It’s almost like a Russian doll effect: many layers of different styles of mothers and daughters. Was that by design?

RH: When I created Euphoria, the biggest thing I wanted to showcase was family interaction. To me, that’s where the best stories come from—those generational curses, ya know? Diane passed her demons to Grace, who then passed hers to Shannon. Their boldness—that’s what I’ll call it—is hereditary. I didn’t intend to have so many mother/daughter struggles, but in families, sometimes that’s just how it goes.

And you’ll start to see the same thing with Neicy–Serena, and Paige. Their connection was a last-minute decision. Originally, Paige was supposed to come in and stir up trouble for Beau and Shannon. In the final scene, she was supposed to set her eyes on Beau, but it just wasn’t enough—she needed more depth, and honestly, Neicy’s story needed more

seasoning. So, I scrapped that ending and made Paige connected to Neicy instead.

At first, I thought about making Paige Neicy’s niece, but that still didn’t feel big enough. So I just went for it and made them mother and daughter—a decision I’m very happy with.

PHIX: Shannon is 100% one of my favorite characters not just on Euphoria but of all these amazing Web Serials, right up there with my favs Abby (ODAAT), Rosie (Footprints), Martha (T&C), Yasmine (Blissful). She is incredibly strong-willed and fierce. Will we ever see a softer

side to her?

RH: Wow!!!! Shannon was inspired by Victoria Newman and Fallon Carrington. To hear you say that makes me happy. I’m glad she’s being received in such high regard! Shannon’s mommy issues are in high gear right now since Grace returned to Knightdale so to answer that question, you probably won’t get a softer side of Shannon until she makes peace with those demons but also even still, asking Shannon to be soft might be a little too much to ask for HAHA. I can say you will see a sexier side of her.

PHIX: Niecy & Grace are the two main mother figures right now, both have incredible stories that seem to get worse the longer they hold on to old secrets and grudges, but most of all their relationships with their respective daughters is what keeps bubbling up (especially for Niecy). What can you tell us about that? How does a mom like Niecy go about repairing a very fractured connection to Paige?

RH: Niecy had a dark past—she lived a life of sex, drugs, and hip-hop with Elijah. When she

finally got tired of being on the run, she found a way out. She turned Elijah in but ended up

getting hooked on drugs herself, which she talks about in an earlier episode.

Niecy thought leaving Paige in foster care was the best decision, which is why she never

went back for her. In her mind, she was protecting her. What she didn’t realize was that life would be just as rough for Paige. I really think time will heal their relationship.

Same for Grace—but she’s not letting go of her grudge against Richard anytime soon.

There’s some deep history between those two, with two very different versions of the truth. It’s another situation where time could heal all wounds… but no one’s really wrong when it comes to Grace vs. Richard. I’ll leave that for the readers to decide once all the facts come out.

PHIX: Now for the fun question Rob! Tell us what we can expect in the world of Euphoria, what's coming our way? SPILL THE TEA!

RH: Things are about to come to a head with Grace’s revenge, which will spark some unlikely alliances and set up some damn good confrontations. I’m kicking that into high gear over the next few episodes.

Elijah is about to prove himself a worthy villain—he’s about to turn Niecy’s life completely upside down. More trouble is on the way for Shannon and Beau. I also plan to dig into Paige and Steven’s relationship, so go ahead and get ready for Grace vs. Paige.

Meanwhile, Richard’s health is about to go from bad to worse, which will force Niecy and

Shannon to work together—but there’s a twist with that too. Oh, and Evelyn? She’s about to get a great storyline out of the mess brewing in Knightdale. I might be most excited about what I’ve got planned for her.

PHIX: THANK YOU ROB! Can't wait to see where you take this incredible series!

CATCH UP ON EVERY EPISODE OF EUPHORIA

BY CLICKING HERE

MY FAVORITE MOTHER/DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIPS

Marlena Evans & Sami Brady - Days of Our Lives

Being the daughter of one of Salem's most beloved citizens & a member of the uber-good Brady clan, Sami Brady had a lot to live up to. Unfortunately for her family she wasn't about to be a chip off the old block. Sami returns to Salem in 1993 a full-on teenager from a stint with her Evans family in Colorado. And much to her family's surprise she's become quite the hellion! It's not all her fault though, you see Sami's troubles with mom truly begin when she witnesses her very married mother having a very hot & heavy affair with handsome John Black. From that point forward, there's no turning back for Sami. From bouts of bulimia, kidnapping her baby half-sister (the product of the affair) & trying to sell the child on the black-market to becoming a teen mom and lying about the identity of the baby's father in a scheme to ensnare her other half-sister's man. Hurricane Sami was born, and she created havoc and appointment TV with every new plot twist!! While they are on much better terms now, Sami gave her famed psychiatrist soap mother Marlena 3 decades worth of guilt-ridden case studies of Mother/Child toxicity!

Erica Kane & Kendall Hart - All My Children

Erica Kane's past rushes back to haunt her when Kendall Hart, the now teenaged child Erica gave up for adoption at 14 as a result of a horrifying rape, returns to Pine Valley in hopes to reconnect. Simple, no? Not in this town honey! You see Kendall didn't exactly tell Erica she was her daughter from the get. In fact, she hid the truth & got a job at Erica's company, slithered into Ms. Kane’s good graces and THEN dropped the bomb on who she really was after many weeks. A red flag if you ask me, but Erica looks past this and welcomes Kendall into the Kane family fold. Kendall of course becomes rapidly jealous of her half-sister Bianca & obsesses over who her real father is despite Erica's pleas for Kendall to let the traumatizing history of her conception go. Ever the stubborn Kane, Kendall persists and reunites with her rapist father only to be convinced by him that the story of rape wasn't true. Honestly, it only gets worse from there as Kendall conspires to break up her step-father & mother by accusing him of raping her and things spiral out of control. The trauma both women face over their shared past was truly incredible to watch unfold and Sarah Michelle Geller, at 16 years old, was brilliant as Kendall's portrayer.

Olivia Richards & Caitlyn Richards - Sunset Beach

The icy relationship between Olivia and Caitlyn was evident when the very first wave of the Pacific Ocean hit the sand of Sunset Beach in 1997. Olivia wasn't exactly the warmest person in town, and her status as the very unhappily married wife of prominent OC lawyer Gregory was an open secret. Not so open secret? Olivia's very luscious affair with jewel thief Cole Deschanel. Unbeknownst to Olivia, Cole wasn't so single, he was two-timing his girlfriend too -- Olivia's daughter Caitlyn. The messy triangle got even worse when both women got pregnant by Cole only for Caitlyn to lose her child in a car accident. Caitlyn's fears of losing Cole were so great she sought town bad girl Annie to help her fake her pregnancy and find a child to pass off as her own once it's time to give birth. Guess whose child the devious Annie chooses? You guessed it, Olivia's -- the one she conceived with Cole and is passing off as her (by this point very suspicious and jealous) husband Gregory's. A real Soapy-Sunset-Shit-Show that we absolutely devoured in the 90s!

Hillary Michaels & Amanda Woodward -- Melrose Place

Another 1990s Spelling Soap mother/daughter duo that should be mentioned is Hillary & Amanda of Melrose Place who, like Olivia & Caitlyn, aren't exactly getting mani/pedis at the Beverly Center on their weekends off from their HBIC careers. Indeed, these two were at odds since Amanda was little after Hillary's very contentious divorce from Amanda's con-artist father Palmer. As a child Amanda was poisoned by Palmer into thinking Hillary abandoned them both causing incredible animus for Amanda. Years later Jo Reynolds accidently casts models for a new ad campaign via the modeling agency Amanda banned from shoots that - SURPRISE! - Hillary owns. Hillary tries to smooth things out with her estranged daughter, and it works for a little while but as always on Melrose, things went to hell real quick! You see Hillary's much younger boyfriend comes on to Amanda who is revolted by him. When Amanda reveals this to her mother the scoundrel denies this & Hillary believes him. As a result, Hillary tries to take over D&D to oust Amanda only to be shocked to learn in a twist that the boyfriend was lying the damn whole time. In the end, Hillary apologizes for her rush to judgment & she and Amanda call a truce. Mommy dearest never returns to Melrose or D&D again BUT we do catch her on Model's Inc for a bit. Alas, trying to be a good den mom to a bunch of messy models didn't work out either!

Elizabeth Collins-Stoddard & Carolyn Stoddard - Dark Shadows

On a not so typical soap, in a not so typical town lived a not so typical mother and daughter whose relationship was a doozy! Often at odds with her head-strong offspring over her romantic relationships, the reclusive Elizabeth too harbors a mother of a secret about her own disastrous relationship to her missing husband Paul. Carolyn, who never met her father Paul, is haunted by his supposed sudden abandonment & the lack of info from Liz as to why only widens the distance between them & fuels Carolyn's jealousy of Liz's affection towards new girl (and Collins Family governess) Victoria (Liz's secret first child). To make matters worse, Liz's guilt over what happened to Paul becomes easy prey for blackmail as Paul's “buddy” & con-artist Jason McGuire swoops into Collinwood and forces the Collins matriarch to not only support him financially but marry him or he'll spill the beans on Paul's true demise. Disgusted by Liz's sudden news of marriage, Carolyn refuses to even entertain it and brandishes a gun to the wedding (as one does in soapdom) hoping to end the madness right then and there. Eventually, the truth comes out: in a fit a madness over Paul’s embezzlements Liz bludgeoned Paul to death with a fire poker and buried him in the basement with Jason’s help only to everyone's shock & surprise the tell-tale heart of Liz's past is fraud! She was only being gaslit by Jason. She never killed Paul, Paul never died. All that for Carolyn to realize her father really did just up and abandon them. Sheesh, maybe he was better off dead in the basement!

SPEAKING OF MOMS...
Let's have some fun!
Here's a puzzle of some other soap moms we love!

Can you find them all?