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Skins (American TV series)

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Skins
GenreTeen drama
Comedy
Created byJamie Brittain
Bryan Elsley
StarringJesse Carere
Camille Crescencia-Mills
Sofia Black D'Elia
Daniel Flaherty
James Milo Newman
Ron Mustafaa
Britne Oldford
Rachel Thevenard
Eleanor Zichy
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes1 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerBryan Elsley
Production locationsToronto, Canada (filmed)
Running time42 minutes
Original release
NetworkMTV
Movie Central (Canada)
The Movie Network (Canada)
ReleaseJanuary 17, 2011 (2011-01-17) –
present
Related
Skins (UK)

Skins is a North American adaptation of the UK teen drama Skins. The show premiered January 17, 2011 on MTV in the U.S. and on Movie Central and The Movie Network in Canada. The original show was created by father-and-son television writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain for Company Pictures,[1] and premiered on UK digital channel E4 on January 25, 2007.[2]

As with the UK series, the North American version features a cast of amateur actors and young writers.[3]

Synopsis

The plot of the North American series will be similar to the UK series initially, but will deviate from the original's plot in subsequent episodes.[4]

Cast and characters

The characters in the North American version are also the same as in the UK version, although some names have been changed. For example, Sid has been renamed Stanley, Effy renamed Eura, and Cassie renamed Cadie. The biggest change comes in the form of Tea, a lesbian cheerleader who replaces the UK character of Maxxie.[5]

Official first season cast; From left to right: Chris, Tea, Abbud, Tony, Michelle, Daisy, Stanley, Cadie and Eura.
Character Actor UK parallel[5]
Tony Snyder James Milo Newman Tony Stonem
Michelle Richardson Rachel Thevenard Michelle Richardson
Stanley Lucerne Daniel Flaherty Sid Jenkins
Chris Collins Jesse Carere Chris Miles
Cadie Campbell Britne Oldford Cassie Ainsworth
Tea Marvelli Sofia Black D'elia Maxxie Oliver
Daisy Valero Camille Cresencia-Mills Jal Fazer
Abbud Siddiqui Ron Mustafaa Anwar Kharral
Eura Snyder Eleanor Zichy Effy Stonem

Production

Development

Elsley said he was first approached on making an American adaptation by MTV's Liz Gateley and Tony DiSanto. Elsley said that at the time he didn't feel that a North American version would work.[6] Several network and cable channels also approached Elsley about an American adaptation. Elsley said "at that end of that time it seemed clear that MTV had the clearest vision."[6] He added "[the other networks] 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."[6]

In early 2009, Elsley began finding writers for the 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."[6] After reading 400 scripts around the clock, a team of six was formed.[6]

Casting

Open casting calls were held in Toronto and New York City. Six of the nine main cast members have never acted before. Elsley said "It's very important to us that the kids are not seasoned professionals."[3] James Newman, who plays Tony Snyder, was urged to audition for the show by his older brother. Newman missed the audition but attended a later audition where he won the role.[7] Ron Mustafaa, who plays Abbud Siddiky, went to the open call for the show because his mother was a big fan of Dev Patel's (who plays Abbud's UK Skins equivalent) and wanted Mustafaa to "be the next Slumdog."[5]

Filming

The show began filming in February 2010[citation needed] in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[8]

Music

Besides several user-submitted contributions and a playlist of current Canadian and U.S. songs, it was announced in late December 2010 that out of many submitted, user-created songs, "Lina Magic" by 3D Friends was chosen to be the official theme song for the MTV version of Skins and has been reworked and remixed for the 30 second intro.[citation needed]

On his Twitter on January 4, 2011, the main composer of the UK version, Fat Segal, announced that he would be contributing tracks to the MTV version.[9]

Distribution

The first season will consist of ten episodes.[6] In Canada the show airs on Movie Central in Western Canada and The Movie Network in Eastern Canada and is commercial free and uncensored. MTV Germany has plans to air it in Germany but most of the international MTVs air the UK Skins.

Controversy

In the wake of a mounting scandal over a possible child pornography investigation of MTV as a result of the raciness of “Skins,” Taco Bell has opted to pull all of its advertising from the program.[10]Additionally, the nonpartisan television activist group the Parents Television Council filled a letter to the FCC asking them to create a child pornography charge against the series.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Skins 3". Company Pictures. 2009. Archived from the original on January 18, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Johns, Ian (January 26, 2007). "Spaced out with the Skins generation". The Times. London. Archived from the original on January 18, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
  3. ^ a b Barshad, Amos (January 7, 2011). "The Dirt on 'Skins'". New York. New York Media Holdings. Archived from the original on January 18, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  4. ^ Elsley, Bryan (October 22, 2010). "So: to be clear. The First series of Skins USA will start similar and get VERY DIFFERENT to the UK Show. Walk first then run". Twitter. Archived from the original on January 18, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c Barshad, Amos (January 9, 2011). "Lost in Translation?". New York. New York Media Holdings. Archived from the original on January 18, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Barshad, Amos (January 17, 2011). "Skins Co-creator Bryan Elsley on Adapting His Show for MTV". Vulture. New York Media Holdings. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  7. ^ Fleming, Mike (January 17, 2011). "How MTV Found Its New 'Skins' Series Star". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  8. ^ James, Caryn (January 17, 2011). "TV Review: MTV's "Skins" Takes on "Gossip Girl"". indieWire. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  9. ^ Segal, Fat (January 5, 2011). "As for 2011, look out for brand new tracks from me in forthcoming Skins UK and Skins MTV. You 'erd". Twitter. Archived from the original on January 18, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  10. ^ http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/01/20/taco-bell-pulls-ads-controversial-mtv-skins-amid-child-porn-accusations/
  11. ^ http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/news/release/2011/0120.asp
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