Skins | |
---|---|
Genre |
Teen drama Comedy-drama |
Created by |
Bryan Elsley Jamie Brittain |
Starring |
Ensemble cast replaced biennially |
Theme music composer | Fat Segal |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of series | 7 |
No. of episodes | 61 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Bryan Elsley Charles Pattinson George Faber John Griffin John Yorke |
Producer(s) |
Chris Clough Matt Stevens |
Location(s) | Bristol, England, United Kingdom |
Camera setup | Single camera |
Running time | 44–48 minutes |
Production company(s) |
Company Pictures Storm Dog Films |
Distributor | All3Media |
Release | |
Original network | E4 |
Picture format |
576i SDTV (2007) 1080i HDTV (2008–2013) |
Audio format | Surround |
Original release | 25 January 2007 | – 5 August 2013
Chronology | |
Related shows | Skins (US) |
External links | |
Website | |
[companypictures |
Skins is a British teen drama that follows the lives of a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of sixth form. Its controversial story-lines have explored issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness (such as depression, eating disorders and bipolar disorder), adolescent sexuality, gender, substance abuse, death and bullying. Each episode generally focuses on a particular character and the struggles they face in their life. The episodes are named after the featured character. The show was created by father-and-son television writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain for Company Pictures, and premiered on E4 on 25 January 2007. The show went on to be a critical success as well as a ratings winner within its target demographic.
Over its initial six-year run, Skins proved to be atypical of ongoing drama series in that it replaced its primary cast every two years. Plans for a film spin-off were first discussed in 2009, but ultimately did not come to fruition. Instead, a specially-commissioned seventh and final series of the show was broadcast in 2013, featuring some of the cast from its 2007–10 run. The show's name comes from the cigarette rolling papers known as "skins".
Other ventures to expand the brand have included a short-lived U.S. remake, which aired on MTV in 2011 but was cancelled after one season after advertisers abandoned the series in response to low ratings and the significant controversy which arose over its depiction of teen sexuality.