If American audiences are familiar with the British teen drama Skins at all, it’s probably a vague sense of “I think that’s that show where all those kids get naked.” After premiering on the U.K. channel E4 in 2007, it garnered a lot of headlines for the racy scenes involving its barely legal cast. Granted, the show didn’t exactly go out its way to avoid the scandal, what with marketing like this trailer for season one. Unvarnished look at the lives of modern teens or calculated exploitation? Either way, controversy is good for business, so it’s no real surprise that Variety reports MTV is working on an American version set in Baltimore.
Co-creator Bryan Elsley will write the pilot script and lend a hand as exec producer. Company Pictures’ Charlie Pattinson and George Faber, who worked together on HBO’s outstanding Iraq War miniseries, Generation Kill, will also be executive producers. At the very least, there are some talented folks involved here, although the name MTV isn’t exactly synonymous with quality scripted drama at this point. Who knows, maybe Skins will change that.
