As if to prove that a lot of hype and controversy won’t necessarily deliver strong ratings for a TV show, MTV’s Skins will not be returning for a second season. Considering it’s been more than two months since the last episode of the series’ first season aired, viewers may have been expecting this news.
The remake drew plenty of attention for it’s racy content, prompting the Parents Television Council to call it “dangerous television for children,” which you’d think would’ve helped the series get people's attention. Maybe it did, however aside from the controversy and people posting online stating that the U.K. version was either so much better or so much racier, there wasn’t much buzz about the actual show or whether it was any good. So it’s not really surprising that Deadline reports that MTV has decided not to renew the show, stating that the series didn’t “connect with a US audience” as much as they hoped.
I'm more or less indifferent on this news. It would be unfair to claim the world is a better place without more Skins on MTV. In truth, I never saw an episode. It’s not that I’m above watching TV shows about teens. I fell in love with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars when I was far beyond my teen years. It’s my view that teen dramas can connect with people of all ages, provided the characters are relatable on some level. I didn’t see anything in the promos for Skins that I thought I’d be able to relate to. Whether it’s because the show tried too hard to recreate the magic (and success) of it’s British predecessor, or because they thought edgy and controversial would pass for quality, something didn’t work.
Anyone out there care to weigh in on Skins? Did you watch and if so, are you disappointed it’s cancelled? Do you think the series might have stood a better chance if one of the teens was a teen wolf?
