Image Credit: Jason Nocito/MTVMTV execs are scrutinizing upcoming episodes of their racy new teen-drama hit Skins to ensure they don’t violate child pornography laws, The New York Times reports today. And indeed, the unflinchingly realistic portrait of middle-class high school partiers — filled with unapologetic sex, booze, and drugs (the title itself refers to rolling papers for joints) — surely was made to court controversy. A stateside version of the edgy British sensation of the same name, it’s pretty much designed to finally make a splash in the scripted-series arena for MTV, no stranger to controversy. The Hard Times of R.J. Berger, another high-school-set show, tried and failed at the same trick — in my opinion, because it was trying too hard to be crude (its premise revolves around its title character’s ample endowment) while neglecting to add any real heart. Skins is more “dangerous” because, like its predecessor, it has soul, with well-rounded characters whose problems are, while a little melodramatic, relatable at their core (especially if you give them a chance beyond the overwrought pilot episode). Fans could actually get invested in this thing and pay attention to all the rampant naughtiness — indeed, an impressive 3.3 million tuned in for its premiere this week.
It’s also dangerous — legally — because the show cast kids as kids. Unlike most glammed-up network teen shows, like Gossip Girl and 90210, these aren’t sexy 20-somethings playing high school students. These shadowy figures tearing their clothes off and hopping into bed are actual 15- to 19-year-olds, whether or not they’re anywhere near enacting “pornography.” The character named Chris who spends the entire third episode with a pill-aided erection is played by a 17-year-old actor. The Parents Television Council — before the show even aired, and before these legal concerns were publicly aired — even called the series “the most dangerous program that has ever been foisted on your children.” (And today the PTC is calling for a boycott of Skins sponsor Taco Bell, and a federal investigation into the show. UPDATE: Taco Bell has, in fact, listened — and pulled its ads.)
And yet: Is Skins “the most dangerous program” for kids? Leaving out the casual drug and alcohol use, Skins‘ best moments come from its nuanced handling of teen relationships. In next week’s episode, a lesbian cheerleader named Tea struggles not with coming to terms with her sexuality but with her heartbreaking fear of commitment and its roots in her home life. And while the explicitness of her makeout scenes might not be critical to storytelling, their existence — and the passion behind them — is. And as for that running erection gag? Yeah, that’s just funny, at least in a few of the situations poor Chris finds himself in, tired as it may sound as a comedy trope. Incidentally, the Brits watched their similarly randy version for several seasons — as did many U.S. folk when it aired on BBC America — and everyone seems to have survived just fine. Things are just a little bit… different across the pond. As British creator/exec producer Brian Elsley, who adapted his show for MTV, told me for this week’s EW cover story about gay teens on TV, “America is a cultural atmosphere of extremes, and that’s what I’ve had to engage with.” He was speaking specifically to the issue of gay characters, but the sentiment applies here as well.
MTV, meanwhile, issued the following statement with regard to the Times story: “Skins is a show that addresses real-world issues confronting teens in a frank way. We review all of our shows and work with all of our producers on an ongoing basis to ensure our shows comply with laws and community standards. 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. We also have taken numerous steps to alert viewers to the strong subject matter so that they can choose for themselves whether it is appropriate.”
I can’t begin to rule on whether this show comes anywhere near child pornography, as I’m not a lawyer. The argument was silly when applied to the “kids” from Glee — really 20-somethings — posing scandalously in GQ; it might not be so silly, at least legally, when applied to Skins, given that a 1995 series of Calvin Klein ads attracted attention from the U.S. Department of Justice. Granted, those ads were clearly meant to imitate sleazy porn — Skins only sets out to depict teen life realistically, not (I don’t think) appeal to pervy adults. Yes, it’s a little glamorized and dramatized for the cameras, but this is a pretty real look at current teen life, whether parents like it or not. All of its plots are workshopped by a group of real-teen advisers in New York. Like MTV’s documentary series 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom before it, Skins could just be showing us what we don’t want to see about teen life.
Oh, and is there any better publicity for anything marketed to teens than a media dissection of what makes it too sexy? Just ask Gossip Girl — and Calvin Klein.
On Twitter: @jenmarmstrong
Do people even pay attention to the PTC? Not that the US Skins was great but this is why American TV sucks. The crazy thing is this is still about sex, like 16 y/o don’t have it and pedo’s are sitting at home fapping to this (pardon my language). If some sick perv wants to see some kids have sex, they aren’t gonna watch Skins. Why doesn’t the PTC attack the Jersey Shore or My Super Sweet 16? Those are way worse things I think kids are being exposed to.
My future 16-year-olds better not be having sex. I didn’t until I was in my 20s and in a years-long committed relationship (we were engaged). And I definitely knew kids in high school who got pregnant and gave each other STDs…that is just too irresponsible an age for something with such serious potential consequences, I don’t care how many parent sex talks teenagers get or what kind of sex ed is taught in their schools. I tend to be anxious and a worrier by nature, though, so people who are more accepting of risk-taking than I am are probably fine with their kids engaging in sex, and that’s their business so I don’t mean to sound like I think your attitude is wrong and evil or anything. Just that I personally don’t trust kids with sex, I hope mine won’t do it until they’re much older, and I don’t think I would let them watch this show. Nor would I let them watch Jersey Shore – I think you’re right in saying that that’s probably worse.
This series makes me REALLY EXCITED!!!
I guarantee you your 16 year old is doing something sexual
guarantee
I agree with Kat, and there are teens who don’t have sex. I didn’t.
Don’t be so Naive, the whole world is filled with sex. Kids are having sex younger and younger because TV, movies, adverts, everything, is basically telling them too. I know some kids do wait but lets be honest, the vast majority are doing it at 16 and a lot are doing it younger. Your kids will almost definitely have done it at the age of 16.
if you have netflix watch the UK verison, its wayy better IMO
Wake up Kate… Kids are having sex. That is a fact. The best thing you can do is educate them on how to be safe and support them with frank honest discussions. Just telling them that they are not allowed will do nothing. I agree Damian the problem with American Television is censorship. The show plays at 10pm on a cable network tell you kid not to watch it is that simple.
Why the double-standard for sex, assuming all teens are just GOING to do it? Why not drinking and drugs? We still try and teach kids not to drink and not to do drugs. Some still do it but we make the effort to show that they should abstain. Why not sex too? Why the assumption that all the teens just ARE having sex so quit trying to pretend otherwise? Isn’t that an insult to teens – as if they are just animals who have no will-power or ability to make smart choices and not just act like monkeys in heat? You may or may not believe that teen sex is okay. But the idea that all teens are doing it and everyone should just accept that is hypocritical, false, and insulting to the teens you’re supposedly on the side of.
Do you really think 16 year-old don’t have sex ? Because you didn’t doesn’t mean no-one should. You’re insulting teens by thinking none of them is able to have sex while being responsible. Some don’t, but that’s also the case for grown-ups. As for joblo, comparing sex to drinking and drugs is beyond bizarre. Drinking and drugs ain’t natural, sexual attraction is. The only reason while sex is demonized is because of all the cultural background I’m not going to talk about, while drugs and alcohol are DESIGNED to harm.
I’m 22. I’ve watched the first two generations of the Channel 4 Skins numerous times. I would’ve loved this in high school, and I wasn’t involved in sex, drugs or alcohol. I consumed my time with ballet for Christ’s sake. I’ve enjoyed it because it was an escape from my everyday life and because it was beautifully written. Television doesn’t always directly influence teens, some of us just enjoy it and relish in lives that we know are fictional.
Well said Liz!
I hope you don’t have future 16 year olds. You’re the problem that exists in America. Society is constantly changing – if you can’t understand that, you shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce.
Hey, I just want to put out there that I’m 16 and watch the UK version, along with some of the more racy TV shows on US TV and I’ve never engaged in any kind of sexual activity. I’m not saying other teenagers are the same. Just please don’t assume that everyone is influenced the same way by what they watch. I always saw the racy stuff in media as just part of the setting and backdrop of the story. The important parts are the characters, as Margerer said, and it’s all painfully realistic.
Okay I’m 18 and at 15 I was having sex drinking drugs and all that jazz so i am pretty sure your child may be doing the same. 90% of everyone i know(girls included) have had sex with like 5 ppl at least by the age of 16 and have also drank or smoked pot. this show is a very real look at what happens and if parents can’t stomach it then don’t watch it and if parents don’t wanna believe it then thats how you get the show 16 and pregnant which people seem to love and praise yet it is glorifying teen pregnancy. I think people need to get there head from out of the ground and accept the times we live in. Plus the story line is amazing if you quit with the stupid judgment.
Some of the subway trains here in New York City have ads for the show plastered throughout and I can’t imagine what young teens riding the train are thinking when they see these depictions. I only just turned 31 (so I don’t think I’m *that* old) but it angers me that young teens, especially the young girls, are being told through these shows that you have to be sexy and slutty to be popular. Nothing new I suppose, but these ads in the subway just annoyed me.
these characters aren’t even popular…they’re just regular ol’ kids just living their lives.
The heart of skins isn’t about doing drugs, hooking up, and going to parties. I watched the UK version when I was 17 (3 yrs ago). And I remember thinking, oh my god, this show actually connects on a deeper level with teenagers. It’s like the writers knew issues so deeply rooted. And it sucks that PTC and some of the commenters can’t see it. I think we should give teenagers more credit.
I have to agree, though I would amend what you’ve said slightly in that I hate that teenagers are being told through these shows that they need to be having sex in order to be *normal.* High school sex doesn’t have to be normal and shouldn’t be normal, in my opinion. Most kids really aren’t ready to handle it and certainly none of them are ready to deal with any unplanned results. So I hate when TV shows aimed at kids indicate that regular ol’ kids are having sex and stuff (thus implying that if you aren’t having sex, something is wrong with you).
Why do people think sex is such a great deal that teenagers can’t “handle it” ? It’s all about demonizing a thing that is just natural. It’s a mistake to think teens are all too stupid to be able to deal with it. Maybe I’m too detached but having a sex life in my teen years didn’t have any negative effects on me.
You are obviously a teenager.
Clearly you’ve never seen this show. There’s nothing about these charactrers that is “popular” and “sexy to be popular”. Actually, the shows cames from the UK, where that whole “popular” thing doesn’t apply like in US. Kids and just kids. Some have sex, some not. It’s true. People are just scared to face the truth about teens and this show tells them how it is.
American people can be really scary. Bless europe and its freedome and open minded culture.
To Catie,
Wow bless Europe? really?for what it’s Socialism and it’s growing social unrest?I would not exactly consider Europe a free continent when the EU grows ever larger and the countries in it no longer have their own currency but rather the EU’s Euro.
That being said, I am by no means saying this to boast about the US. In fact, I was not even born here but came here over 30 years ago with my family and my roots are European, my dad being full blooded Italian. Now that I addressed the end of your comment, let me now address the first part of it. This type of show should not be on television. It’s scandalous, raunchy, and irresponsible. While I realized that teens are having sex or “hooking up”, as they casually often refer to it, this does not mean it should be on tv.It’s also a sad fact of daily life that women are raped, children are sexually abused,and abortions are done. Does the fact that these horrible crimes occur make it ok to put on screen? And yes, while it is true sex is not exactly in the category of crime, it can be when expressed in an inappropriate fashion. We do not need a program such as Skins to glorify teen sexuality and drug and alcohol use.Children are dying all over our nation of drug overdoses, suicide, and alcohol intoxication and to have a show depicting drug use is irresponsible and unconscienable.The bottom line? teens are still children, they are not physiologically nor emotionally equipped for sex. It is an adult behavior and it’s bad enough that sadly so many teens are engaging in sex, we don’t need MTV promoting it.
It’s pretty obvious that people are playing moral police here. You’re not even referencing the show – likely because you haven’t seen it. Step off the high horse and base your arguments on the show, not on your personal sense of what is wrong and right. Ps – abortion is not a crime for everyone or everywhere, so be careful how you toss that around, straightupgrrl
If you don’t want your teens to watch it then don’t let them. I am tired of people who chose to have children imposing their morality inside of my television set. I am not a parent and never will be but the stuff that I like to watch has to constantly be ridiculed or watered down because of other parents who do not know how to restrict what their children are watching. Futhermore, the show is complex, rich with undertones, and deals with issues that are universal. Also, the show doesn’t glorify drugs and sex. The decisions the characters make regarding sex and drugs tend to affect them negatively (at least in the UK version).
Straightupgrl… Skins DOES NOT glorify teen sexuality. Why does everyone assume that just because it’s depicted onscreen, it’s being advocate by someone? I always felt that because the kids had such messed up families and lives, they used sex and drugs as an escape.
Then again, what do I know? I’m just a kid, apparently, and it seems that since I’m the target audience of the show i don’t know that I’m actually being brainwashed into having sex. Can you people just let each family decide whether or not to allow their kids to watch this? Don’t make the choice for other people. (if it does violate laws, however, I would definitely think it should be modified)
You are pathetic. And socialism died with the fall of the Berlin Wall.
You were 21 ten years ago and the AMerican Pie movies, show the same image of Teens being slutty, it never changed at all.
^^What he said
instead of letting kids find their role models on TV, maybe parents should actually invest in their kids like they’re supposed to and show them what a role model SHOULD be. most well-adjusted kids will see this as entertainment, and not something they should emulate their lives after. it’s not MTV’s responsibility to raise america’s children, and while i don’t much care for their programming, ot shouldn’t be expected to take the place of lazy parenting.
PTC is just ridiculous. If they watch the UK version their eyes would burn. The UK is a lot racier and shows a lot more sex and nudity.
PTC wants the teens on TV to be pure and virgins. That’s not what happens in real life.
My husband and I saw the previews of this show and felt very sick and sad for the teens who will watch this and believe they need to comply to fit in. This is a new LOW for MTV. Shame on the parents who allow their kids to partake in this and call it “acting”
Lorrie, I agree with you. It’s sad. And the truth is, how young is too young? What’s next? A show depicting sex and drug use among 10 year olds? 8 year olds? The reality is a 15 year old is still a child, and children should not be encouraged to parktake in this type of behavior. It’s very sad. Kids don’t have childhoods anymore. Media is trying to grow everyone up too soon, and trying to make us believe 15 is the new adulthood. It’s not folks. I feel sorry for anyone who believes this stuff is acceptable.
Clearly you never watched this show. The characters in this show are not doing anything to try and fit in. This show is about teens discovering who they are through situations real teens go through. Whether they’re from dysfunctional families or not, many teens can relate to these characters and the hardships they go through. This show is not nearly explicit as the original British show it’s sad everyone has to make this show a bigger deal than it really is. It doesn’t deserve the negative attention it’s getting.
“teens who will watch this and believe they need to comply to fit in.”
If you believe that any teen will seriously go out and emulate the behavior seen on Skins, then you’re just an idiot.
That’s true, Ali. Kids NEVER imitate anything they see in the media. NEVER.
Beth : Of course. EVERY KID imitates what they see in the media. EVERY single ONE of them. NONE of them is able see the difference between reality and fantasy, and, if the depiction is realistic, NONE of them is able to still refuse to do the same as the characters even though he enjoys watching it. You probably were a very stupid teenager.
Wha’ever: You are SERIOUSLY stupid. Of course teens can tell the difference between fantasy and reality – they’re not babies. They’re actually smarter than you would think. How ’bout you try talking to one before you make your judgement.
Same on you for being idiotic…You have never seen the show and do not even know what it is about. Due to the original British Version which I used to watch in High school I waited to have sex. It probably helped me. But you are just another person speaking out of their ass about something they know nothing about.
I do think that the PTC has some place in American society (especially in the television landscape), but it starts opposing EVERYTHING and it becomes a joke rather than a preventative force. I mean, it’s awkward to watch sexified victoria secret commercials with your 8 year old brother while you’re trying to enjoy some smallville…there’s a place for the PTC, it just needs to not get in an uproar about EVERYTHING.
Good point.
I don’t the PTC wants all kids on tv to be virgins, and certainly they aren’t. The trouble is the scales seem to be tipping the other way where if you graduate high school without having participated in an orgy you aren’t normal. I haven’t been out of high school that long. Kids did have sex, but it wasn’t the drug fueled sexcapades these shows depict. While I’m sure there is a segment of the population where this does occur it shouldn’t be held out as the norm. I, like Lorrie, feel bad for teens that all the shows geared toward them are all about sex and drugs. While sex is certainly a part of growing up there is so much more to life than that. And as for this show I think the problem is that you have actual minors simulating sex. No matter how you spin it it’s creepy that adults are watching that.
So well said. It irritates me that this is what is pandered to teens as the “norm”.
But the kids in the show ain’t held out as the norm !! They’re outcasts, they are actually teens in the original series that point out their behavior ; the show simply chose to depict their lives and not those of the average teen.
And to be honest, being a teen became way racier than it apparently used to be.
Well said Kate! Our culture is growing darker by the day. Pretty soon childhood will be thing of the past.
“I haven’t been out of high school that long. Kids did have sex, but it wasn’t the drug fueled sexcapades these shows depict.”
I was in high school in the early 1980s. I heard people talking about all the drug-fueled orgies that all my fellow teenagers were supposedly having. I always wondered where these orgies took place, and why neither I nor anybody I knew ever got invited to them.
In the 2000s I heard about “” which were supposedly the big thing among the twelve-year-old set, and wondered how anybody could believe such nonsense.
Now, I’m hearing (yet again) about all the wild and wooly sex teens are supposedly having today.
I’m not buying it.
dude its true. im in high-school now and the facts are the students are having sex and using drugs. just cause you never did doesnt mean its not real
Yes, students are having sex and yes, students are using drugs. They did back in the 1980s too. And the 1970s, the 1960s, etc. I believe that. What I don’t believe is that today’s teens are having more sex and using more drugs than ever before. For one thing, every generations claims that the generation that comes after them is having way too much fun. Your generation is far from lining in some teen-topia, but the truth is, there has NEVER been a teen-topia.
First comment: Hurray for Taco Bell for pulling ads. My second point: “All of its plots are workshopped by a group of real-teen advisers in New York.” — what about the rest of us who were real teens that struggled with the same issues during adolescence but didn’t engage in such behavior?
I’ve been boycotting Taco Bell for years. No one should condone that sort of awful food.
Ha!
If this show is “realistic” ………I totally missed out when I was a child. Another way to say: ARE YOU KIDS REALLY LIKE THIS THESE DAYS? I mean, really. Please say no. If yes – gross.
I’m in high school. When my friends and I want to go “crazy”, we build blanket forts and watch Phineas and Ferb while talking about the the “cool” kids did at school. Trust me, we’re not all doing drugs and having sex.
As a mother of a 17 year old who sits at home wondering why she doesn’t have a boyfriend, it is sad to see how supposed “typical” teens are portrayed on tv. No, not all teens are engaging in this kind of behavior and I believe it is unfair to present this as what everyone is doing. It is just stupid tv but it can be used to engage in dialog with your teen about risky behavior. Yeah Casey – most of the teens I know are just like you.
I totally agree with both of you. I am in high school and this show does not portray how most of the kids I know act. I think sometimes shows like these make older people think this is how kids act these days.
exactly.
I don’t know how “unflinchingly realistic” you could call this portrayal…Shows like this and Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars also shiw just a certain segment of the population. I live in VT, work as a school counselor and yes some of the kids I work with have aspects of their life that are like this, but tons of them don’t! Inherently TV shows exaggerate things to add more drama and “entertainment”, so althought this may be the way some kids live their life it is not that way for the majority of teens where I live…
I think the problem is that the more of these shows that are out there, the more kids will feel like it is the norm or should be.
EXACTLY
and why sex shouldn’t be? and parties? It’s life at its best. It’s human.
This whole thing is just ridiculous. MTV’s version of Skins is watered down beyond belief. If that’s “the most dangerous program that has ever been foisted on your children”, then I’d love to see the PTC’s reaction to watching the British original!
Though strangely enough, the UK seemed to have survived Skins just fine – the show was highly acclaimed, much loved, society hasn’t collapsed, and they are just about to enjoy season 5 and generation 3 without a shred of controversy.
American prudishness is so pathetic.
Well, the UK also has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates. The show’s probably had little effect on that but it certainly doesn’t help the situation or help your cause by calling Americans prude.
UK already had those numbers before Skins existed. What is TV meant to do to stop it? Air religious shows? Come on now. Parents have to do the parenting. Govs have to give people the info they deserve. TV has to entertein you.
last I checked the America had twice the teen pregnancy rate of the U.K.
This show is accepted in england because we as a society are developed past hampering religions we are no longer held back by people on their religious high horses. Teens understand that this is not the way most people behave and nor should they try to imitate it, if they do in my opinion they have not been brought up well enough and is inevitable, with or without the show, they would end up in some mess.
AC I think your comment is one of the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read. UK’s teenagers have an edgier life than American teens, that’s a fact, and the numbers were prior to Skins. No matter how much the show is exaggerated, British teens made the original Skins the way it is, not the other way round. Don’t be ridiculous.
This is totally insane! The whole basis of the show is that they are outcasts; us in the UK have grown up watching American programmes; if you worry about your kids getting ideas about sex and drugs, then what about them watching the OC, 90210; rich kids, too much money, parties and alcohol, I don’t know about you but I’d rather watch something that deals with some really deep issues – the UK has a lower drinking age and lower age of consent and no insane parents who think there kids are so naive as to never have heard of sex and that Skins is corrupting them – grow up!
I agree. I’m 18, and while I acknowledge that my life is nowhere near as racy as either of the versions of the show, I like how the show, at least the UK version, portrays teens dealing with real issues (like being homeless, being gay, becoming pregnant, and being killed) in a realistic way. Things are not sugarcoated with outrageous outfits or sights (like Gossip Girl or 90210) or over dramatized, taking the attention away from the real conflicts underneath. I say leave the show as it is! I personally don’t like the US version, but if they were to air the UK one, I’d be an avid viewer.
three things:
not only did the Brits survived, but they survived actual nudity AND uncensored language. so. there’s that.
it’s completely ridiculous for people to complain about “sex without consequences” after one episode. not all consequences are immediate.
one of the things I like about skins is (and it seems as though the mtv skins is following suit) that few of the adults are good mentors, sometimes to a cartoonish degree. all these kids have is each other. it’s very clear that they don’t have stable home lives. i think that’s important to consider when you look at their “scandalous” extra-curriculars, but maybe i’m the only one.
I highly doubt teens will look at this show and think that this is the “norm.” They probably already know what the norm is in their age group and don’t need television to tell them. Also, when I watched the British version, I did not envy these kids or want to be them in the slightest. Their lives are pretty awful, and a couple end up dead or alone. They’re just exaggerated versions of real teenagers so they can be entertaining but still relatable. This isn’t the end of the world people.
I agree that Mtv should have just re-aired the UK version, even if it was heavily edited (It was amusing to see what BBC America would and wouldn’t edit when they aired Skins.) The US version is just all shock with no heart. At least the UK characters had some quirk and you cared about them.
I completely agree! I loved the uk version, the us one was painful to watch. And it is funny how they edited it especially when they used subtitles for Cook!
Controversy sells, and MTV has known this since the early 80′s. They couldn’t be happy about the way this show is being talked about. And while they hide under their excuse that this is what teens do in real life, in truth, all they are doing is making it ok for everyone to view teenagers as sex objects. And they get away with it all the time
I’m 19 years old and caught up on Skins last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Does that mean I’m ready to do drugs, have meaningless relations, and get knocked up? No. I think the PTC is full of parents who simply cannot raise their children to know between right and wrong in real life or in entertainment. As a result, these parents get to together to scare other companies, etc. to parent everybody else’s kids by pulling ads from “problematic” shows.
I think I read something about the fact that some of them ain’t even parents. Anyway, the PTC is one of the organizations I dislike the most, because, while I think TV could use an organization like taht, some of their actions are so stupid and forced that any (rare) justifiable argument they have seem stupid.