The news concerning the US version of Skins that pretty much everyone was expecting has finally been announced … MTV has decided to cancel the series. As you may know, MTV commissioned a US version of the hit UK series Skins to be created for the US audience and right from the get-go, the show failed to find an audience. Despite sagging ratings, MTV stuck to its guns and aired all 10 episodes of the season … but as soon as the first season ended, MTV barely acknowledged that the show even existd in the first place. It was pretty much assumed by everyone that the show would be canceled and today we learn, officially, that Skins has been axed for good.

MTV will not be going with a second season of its racy teen drama Skins. The news is not particularly surprising as it’s been almost 3 months since the series ended its freshman run. “Skins is a global television phenomenon that, unfortunately, didn’t connect with a US audience as much as we had hoped,” MTV said in a statement. “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.” Skins, an adaptation of the praised British series, became one of MTV’s most talked about shows ever when TV watchdog the Parents Television Council characterized it as possibly “the most dangerous television show for children that we have ever seen.” It called on the Feds to open an investigation for possible child pornography and exploitation on the show, which, in keeping with the British original, employed (often underage) teen actors to play the characters of the same age. That led to a number of advertisers pulling from the show but MTV stuck with it and aired the entire first season with small editing of more explicit content.

At the end of the day, the show was just bad. Not only was it a poor carbon copy of the original but the actors cast in the US version were just really terrible. I do commend MTV for trying to import an amazingly cutting edge show like Skins to the US but our TV culture is just not as advanced as the TV culture in Europe. MTV knew that it could not just air the original series here so they tried to replicate it as best they could with a new cast … and sadly, it just didn’t work. I am really glad that the US version of Skins has been axed. It was painful to watch and it really did a disservice to the original series. I still suggest that those of you interested in the series seek out the original UK version of Skins and watch that instead. It’s an excellent show, one of my favorites actually. But this US version was just sad … I think it’s best for all concerned that it just go away and never be heard from again.

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