Skins (American TV series)


Skins is an American teen comedy-drama television series that premiered on January 17, 2011, on MTV in the United States. It is a remake of the original UK show of the same name, and follows the lives of a group of teenagers in Baltimore, Maryland, through their final two years of high school. As with the UK series, the American version features a cast of amateur actors and young writers.
The series generated controversy in the United States over its sexual content, in which several advertisers withdrew and there were some accusations of child pornography since most of its cast members were under the age of 18. On June 9, 2011, MTV announced that they would not renew Skins for a second season, with a statement that "Skins is a global television phenomenon that, unfortunately, did not connect with a U.S. audience as much as we had hoped. We admire the work that the series creator Bryan Elsley did in adapting the show for MTV, and appreciate the core audience that embraced it."

Cast and characters

The characters in the American version are the same as those in the UK version, although some first names have been changed and all last names have been changed except for Michelle Richardson. The biggest change comes in the form of new character Tea Marvelli, a lesbian cheerleader who replaces the UK character Maxxie Oliver.
The first and the third episodes are both almost shot-for-shot remakes of their UK counterpart, but the U.S. show deviates from the UK show's plot in subsequent episodes.
No.TitleDirected byWritten byFeatured
character		Original air dateU.S. viewers

Production

Development

Elsley said he was first approached on making a U.S. adaptation by MTV's Liz Gateley and Tony DiSanto. Elsley said that at the time he didn't feel that a U.S. version would work. Several network and cable channels also approached Elsley about a North American adaptation. Elsley said "at that end of that time it seemed clear that MTV had the clearest vision." He added " were missing a commitment to the core values of the show. Which is to say that MTV is clearly taking a risk with this show and they were prepared to take that risk."
In early 2009, Elsley began finding writers for the North American version. Elsley said "We started at the top of the Hollywood tree and worked our way down, and it wasn't until we got to the bottom that we actually found writers we liked. We started saying to agents, 'Who have you just taken on? Who's got a great play on somewhere?' And that turned up just incredible writers that have never done anything." After reading 400 scripts around the clock, a team of six was formed.

Casting

Open casting calls were held in New York City. Six of the nine main cast members had never acted before. Elsley said "It's very important to us that the kids are not seasoned professionals" in keeping with UK version where most had no prior acting experience.
James Newman, who plays Tony Snyder, was urged to audition for Skins by his older brother. Newman missed the audition but attended a later audition where he won the role. Ron Mustafaa, who plays Abbud Siddiqui, went to the open call for the show because his mother was a big fan of Dev Patel, Anwar, and wanted Mustafaa to "be the next Slumdog."

Filming

The show production began in mid 2010 in Toronto, changed from the initially planned location of Baltimore.

International broadcasting

Critical response

gives the series a weighted average score of 57% based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
James Poniewozik of Time magazine concluded that the show is tamer than the British original, but believes if the controversial subject matter leaves parents reaching for antacid, then the show is doing its job. Although the show is raunchy, Poniewozik judges Skins to have "more sweetness than snarky teen soaps like Gossip Girl". He questions if this American remake of a British show will be able to find its American voice, but commends the strong source material. He calls the show "unsettling, flawed but ambitious" and credits it with the secret that "it wears its heart on its skin".
Troy Patterson of Slate describes the show as a "sporadically excellent adaption" that is "superior teensploitation, enabling youth to rejoice in the fantasy of their corruption". He admonishes those who call the show child pornography, scolding them for "trivializing terrible crimes with flabby language" and judges it to be more an indication of the show's success that it angers some parents and sets itself on the far side of a generation gap.

Controversy

The show has gathered controversy from various conservative groups for its teenage depictions of casual sex and drug use, especially with regard to underage actors. In the wake of a mounting scandal over a possible child pornography investigation of MTV as a result of the show's content, Yum! Brands, Mars, Incorporated, General Motors, Doctor's Associates, Foot Locker, H&R Block, Schick, Guthy-Renker, L'Oréal, Reckitt Benckiser and Kraft all opted to pull their advertising from the program.
Additionally, the television activist group the Parents Television Council filed a letter to the Department of Justice, asking them to bring a child pornography charge against the series, alleging a violation of 18 USC 1466A.
Due to the controversy in the U.S. and because the show is made in Canada, Bob Tarantino, an entertainment and intellectual property lawyer, reviewed section 163.1 of the Canadian Criminal Code and found that "it would be exceedingly unlikely that Skins would be found to constitute 'child pornography' for purposes of Canadian criminal law."
In 2011, MTV rated the series "TV-MA", meaning that it is unsuitable for viewers under the age of 17. Nielsen reported that 1.2 million of the premiere episode's 3 million viewers were under the age of 18. MTV told advertisers, "Now is the time to influence their choices." They also defended the show, stating that it addresses "real-world issues" teenagers are confronted with on a daily basis, and in a "frank" way. "We are confident that the episodes of Skins will not only comply with all applicable legal requirements, but also with our responsibilities to our viewers," they said.

Ratings

The series debut had 3.26 million viewers, with a 3.4 rating and 2.7 million viewers in the 12-34 demo, the most viewers in that demo for a show launch in MTV history. However, its demo rating was down 55% from its lead-in, Jersey Shore, which drew 7.7 million viewers. The second episode dropped to 1.6 million viewers, with a 1.0 share and 1.4 million viewers in the key demo. The third episode did not fare much better, dipping to 1.5 million viewers. Episodes 4 through 10 averaged about 1 million viewers, peaking at 1.2 million for episode 4 and hitting its lowest point at 0.962 million for episode 5. The last four episodes got 1.170, 1.088, 1.107 and 1.2 million viewers respectively.

Cancellation

On June 9, it was announced that MTV had canceled Skins because it wasn't connecting to the U.S. audience, in addition to the controversy that went with it. Elsley defended the show's content as not so much controversial, "but a serious attempt to get in the roots of young people's lives."