I remember that this show was controversial in using actual teens to play the teenage characters. Many of them looked their actual age, and it was refreshing to see them look like any average teenager, and not supermodels.
@@SerenaSkybourne yeah it was a much more realistic depiction. and while it wasn't *my* teenage experience (literally none of it, actually) it still read as much more believable and meaningful without being sanitized because of the age of the actors or the characters. It wasn't ever me, but yeah, my friends were sexually active at 14-15, so def by the time of the Skins kids they were into all sorts of things. I was the mom friend.
cassie was such a comfort character for me, i was 17 watching it a few years back, so i was around the same age as cassie and struggled with the same issues and i felt very seen ❤ no matter how problematic this show might be, it really helped me!!! and even though it’s pretty dark to someone who’s had a difficult upbringing it feels so relatable
In a weird way, I don’t view the two shows on the same level at all. Other than them both being about the teen experience. Skins is more similar to Degrassi and maybe I can’t compare either of those shows to Euphoria, because they both are just so millennial and Euphoria is GEN Z lol. Also, I think Skins had better storylines, acting, and was much funnier/authentic. And I appreciate that time period it came out
why do people insist euphoria wanted to be skins? they are not similar shows at all. they had different approaches to what it’s like to be a teenager and they executed them well. they are good in their own right stop comparing them they don’t even take place in the same country or time!!!
YAY I'm excited to hear your thoughts. I'm aware of how problematic skins could be, but it was also something that I found to be incredibly cathartic at ages 15-16. I can't speak for everyone, but I felt I needed it during those times, and I connected with it way more than euphoria despite being 15 when season 1 of euphoria aired.
Lol that's exactly what Skins did though? Like at least the actors in Euphoria are adults, but Skins cast literal children and made them all pretend to have sex with each other and no one addresses how fucking weird that is.
@@angeljemmett9729yes but for different reasons. Skins hired teens because their focus was being realistic, and they hated the “23 playing 16” thing. Same reason they hired writers around 21. It was, at its core, a storytelling choice. Levinson would hire teens because it turns him on. He treats his of-age actors bad enough, I don’t want him anywhere near teens.
@@ginao6810 the show being ‘realistic’ (very debatable) is irrelevant to whether the child actors were being exploited. At least three of the girls from the show have expressed discomfort over their overt sexualisation by Skins producers.
@@angeljemmett9729it's simple: instead of hiring teens to play roles that involve sex or bearded men to play 16 year olds you can just hire adult actors that look younger. Sex education did that amazingly well.
@@BiaSilva-ri3tx Ok, but who is demanding that we depict literal children having sex? Why is that necessary? I was not demanding that representation as a teen. In fact, as a teen, I felt conscious that the reason adults around me felt comfortable sexualising me was because the popular media we all watched encouraged and enabled it. I feel uncomfortable watching media of what is supposed to be teenagers in graphic situations, even if the actors are adults.
God skins was such a gamechanger.....to me it was the first show to show british teenagers how they really talked and acted rather than an adult writers perception of how teenagers talk and act. It was tough and gritty but never patronising. I can really see the euphoria similarities. If you do character specific videos for skins gen 1 i would love to see something on cassies journey from series 1 to pure. She was such an inspirational character to so many
I think at the end of the day what I loved much about Skins was that for as much as it was “dark” there was also a lot of “light” and humour thrown in the mix often unexpectedly. Like at the beginning of Season 2 Maxxie and Tony run in to the little chav girls at a time where we see Tony for the first time after he was almost killed at the end of Season 1. Or even Jal’s speech at Chris’s memorial service. It was a highly emotional and very fitting tribute to her since passed baby daddy while sharing a ridiculous story about a man jumping out of a foil ballon. Cassie having such a tragic story while having such a fun , bubbly, and quirky personality. It added so much depth to a story that often could get quite cathartic.
Just wanted to add- I said that in England, students get more independence in the final two years (11 and 12) but I misspoke! I meant years 12-13 (which is the age of our Skins characters)
I know this is super nitpicky, and I loved this video! But you’re talking about English schooling, not schooling in the U.K. The Scottish system is different to the English one. It doesn’t matter much, and people often use English/U.K/Britain interchangeably - but I just thought I’d mention it 😊
I adore Skins season 7, episode “Fire” with grown up Effy. I re-watch it every 2 years just to remind myself of its existence. It’s so real, but for some reason so reassuring.
With season 7, a lot of people (from what I've seen), don't like it much due to most of the cast not being present. I feel it makes sense as in real-life, people lose touch with friends as they go their own way.
I think Skins’ overall depiction of sex is quite well done, on the whole. *With caveats* Firstly, teenagers are sexual. They are masturbating, and curious, and do, infact, have sex. Are they always old enough? No. Does it stop them? No! Like in life, the sex in Skins is awkward and embarrassing. It can be great if you find a partner you love and respect, but otherwise it can be pretty hit and miss. Often we are doing it with the wrong people for the wrong reason. Usually it’s on not so clean sheets and you have to be quiet because your/their parents are down stairs. Did everyone need to get naked? No. Could they have shot scenes differently? Yes. Would intimacy coordinators have gone along way? Yes! Should the producers have lined up the girls in their underwear? Eff no. The actors should have been protected. But I think it would be unrealistic to take all the sex out of Skin. (You don’t have to film characters having sex to tell the audience that they had sex). Generally, Skins did sex realistically, and didn’t shy away from the awkwardness of it. And it took the consequences of sex seriously. Also, Do some of the characters have terrible attitudes towards women and sex? Yes. But, I was a teen in the 2000s, and boys had those attitudes. They spoke to girls like that. It’s not great, but it’s real.
Also it’s funny because I only hear girls and the actresses complain about it yet the lads on the show go through the exact same shit Infact you see them more naked than the girls if you actually watched it. Double standard as usual
@@LordCaedus-bl7wi in this video she talked about it, how Anwar was treated, always naked for laughs. And maybe men don’t talk about it because society doesn’t like to see men vulnerable and treat them like they are strong and should never feel weak or anything
In Effy's first major episode, she's 14, sneaking out at night, taking drugs and having s3x with older guys. Yes, it's disturbing and creepy, especially for the older guys involved. But I was a British teen at the time and I can tell you, girls that age and even younger did exactly that. The show doesn't necessarily glamorise that, but show it for how it is/was.
I actually found realistic many parts that shock or offend other people. They were really similar of my experience of being a teenager as well. Sex was over the top though. Teenagers are indeed sexual, but much less than portrayed in the show, since they have less opportunities for encounters than adults.
I agree with you 100% when you talked about how creepy and perverted the adults were in the show but wouldn't you say all of that was completely intentional and not just some weird fetishized ideas? when I rewatched skins as a grownup, I thought about how the show wants us to really understand the different realities amongst teenagers and how difficult it is to navigate through them all, there's a lot of danger and problems they don't have any clue about how to avoid or solve.
Exactly, them being creepy was the whole point. They were just trying to show things that happen irl, good and bad - I feel like people who analyse like this (portrayal equals endorsement) are the same people who think Lana Del Rey is problematic bc she sings about toxic relationships
I think a lot of the time when you’re a teenager you feel dissapointed by adults around you too, and feel like they don’t understand you. I was a teenager when Skins came out, and I remember quite a lot of it feeling quite relateable, especially with how it feels to be a teen. It was definitey one of my favourite shows growing up. I’ve rewatched it as an adult and my perspective of it has changed now, so I think it did hit its intended audience really well, I remember everyone loved this show at the time. But it does seem different and kind of off now.
I think what you said about Euphoria compared with Skins aesthetically really extends to UK media against US media in general. I've found that American media always tends to be more polished, everyone has perfect hair and makeup, perfect bodies, while UK media more often shows people closer to how they are in real life. It's probably best shown if you look at the US remakes of UK shows like Skins or The Inbetweeners
it's all very upsetting that anwar was so poorly written cause his actor is so good, and he was not given the opportunity to show it...but at least most of the cast went on to become pretty successful
Can you guys BELIEVE I managed to watch this! I'm actually proud for pushing myself outside my comfort zone and who would have thought I'd enjoy it so much!
Yeah I’m glad you liked skins because I love the show too! I don’t think it’s right for them to be sexualizing teens plus the teacher student episodes but I think they made those things in the show because it’s something that actually happens often in real life. This show is dark because it has real scenarios that happen often when it shouldn’t at all. I don’t think by them showing it is glorifying it since when you are watching as the audience they don’t make it appealing at all it’s literally shocking to the audience. I like that they even had the balls to do that because most people don’t talk about real life just like how you said euphoria was unrealistic because it was aesthetically pleasing and hard to relate too. I like how in skins, each character looked like the guy or girl next door. It made it feel like real life which I believe that was their goal and why people adored the series so much 🤷🏽♀️
Also I say the student and teacher scenarios because idk about the UK but in my American school, that has happened multiple times where teachers have been arrested at my high school for being the disgusting creep they are so I think that’s why I relate to the storyline of skins in that aspect and I’m glad they touched on this topic in the show because I haven’t come across a show that has even done that before
The ABSOLUTE HOLD this show had over me from the ages of 14-17 is insane, and it still remains one of my favorite shows to this day because of it. I got into it much later than it was aired since I think I was about 6 years old when the first season came out and I didn’t discover it until about 2015/16, but it still held up so well. Even as an adult (I’m 22 now), whenever I rewatch it, the themes and darkness still ring true. As I’ve gotten older I have become more critical of the sexualization of it (something I thought was fine when I was the characters ages, but now looking back realize how weird it was), but overall I still think it does a great job with realism and deglamorizing mental illness (with the exception of Effy in some seasons and Cassie to an extent). I’d love to hear you touch on some gen 2 characters as well. I personally was obsessed with the sister relationship between Katie and Emily and would love to hear thoughts on it. I’m a twin, and both me and my sister believe that their dynamic is one of the most accurate portrayals of twin sister relationships that we’ve come across. I’m excited to see where you go with the deep dives though, as I think this show gets slept on a lot by gen Z even though it impacted so much of modern teen drama television. ❤
I grew up with this show, it was airing when I was in high school, and I was the same age as the cast so my friends and I were very attached to it. Looking back on the content, a lot of it is very concerning LOL.
Sid is my favorite character I'm so excited to see you dive into his relationship with Michelle and Tony. I feel like abusive friendships don't get talked about often and Tony was 100% emotionally abusing Sid the same way he was Michelle
My teenage son and I came across Skins and watched it together. It gave us the opportunity to talk about things that otherwise would have been awkward. I think the actors were all very real, the casting was spot on. We felt as the series/generations went on, it became quite dark and lost much of its comedy that gave it a good balance. It will always be one of my favourite shows ever and so well made like a lot of English tv - and it was no wonder the Americans couldn't get it anywhere near right. We watched the first two EPISODES of the US version before we went "Nah" and never continued.
I love UK shows so much more than American shows, here we have actors who look like regular people, and are chosen for talent and not movie star looks, and you can bet if they cast a 30 year old man to play a teenage boy, they’ll make you believe he’s a teen, and they live in regular houses and not mansions, I also love the representation we have here, there’s so much but it feels truly natural, i didn’t realise until watching American shows that are so weird with it they make it so that any sort of difference is shoved in your face, and even if it’s not, you can feel whenever a character is purely just there so they can say ‘ok we did it now leave us alone’
I agree about the diversity but there are definitely a handful of uk shows that cast young looking adults for sex scenes as well it’s not just an American thing
I think you should diversify the us shows you’re watching. They have a lot of gems just like we do. There’s no need to claim one is just inherently better because I’ve seen my fair share of shit ones from here too
@@SandraJeanMcneil maybe that’s true, mostly I’m just talking about the popular ones I was recommended to watch as a teenager (eg PLL, teen wolf, vampire diaries etc) compared to the popular stuff we were watching (dr who, Sherlock, merlin, Tracy beaker) I feel like If you stacked up all the most popular uk shows with the popular US shows, uk would come out on top just because of how natural and realistic they feel comparatively even when they are literally fantastical stories. I’m not saying that I haven’t seen good American shows, I definitely have, but I still prefer the good uk shows over the American ones every time
completely agree with you on cassie. I think she easily had the most care put into her character in season 1 by the writers. despite how they handled her eating disorder at some parts, I think the writers were aware of the sensitivity needed and she ended up feeling like the most real character out of everyone
This was a very good video! I would love if you went through the rest of the series and talk about the ridiculous problematic things that happen after gen 1 (I’d say there is a lot more in later seasons)
I adored Skins as it told our real story as UK teenagers this makes it different is why it was so popular. It's always funny when non Brits watch this and missed this was tame compared to what we really were getting up to. Teachers were unrealistic though however each of the teenagers I could see them in my life. Also with one of my school friends being on the cast we used to say they were a snitch on our friend group 😅
I mean, you say the teachers were unrealistic and maybe for the swearing part they were, but I personally knew a girl who was "asked to leave" a school because her teacher started sleeping with her. My mum knew a teacher in her school who married her classmate. That part's really a lot more common that we'd like to believe.
I agree that the character of Anwar deserved better. Dev Patel is soo talented. I really like his homophobia plot line, because it is an uncomfortable but very important topic to tackle. He was a teenager growing up in a religious household so him questioning feelings towards homosexuality was a realistic depiction, though it sucked to see him be a complete asshole to sweet Maxxie. And as spineless as Anwar can be sometimes, him, Maxxie and his dad had a great moment when he finally told his religious father that his best friend was gay, I think at the end of season 1. And his dad’s reaction was so wholesome it made me all fuzzy and warm when I watched it. It was a great closure to his homophobia plotline but then the character was ruined again in season 2 thanks to Sketch. 😢 Also notice how the most functional families in the show are Maxxie and Anwar’s? And they are the least delulu duo on the show compared to the others with the exception of Jal (especially Maxxie has more mature mini plotlines and thoughts like trying to decide if he wants to pursue a career in dancing or helping Tony recover from his accident in season 2 etc) so it definitely says sth about how dysfunctional families affect how the kids navigate their own problems.
This show has been on my watch list for a decade and I didn't want to spoil myself, but I am watching anyway cause I love your takes and maybe this will inspire me to finally watch Skins.
It is SO worth it. The journey is worth how much you care about these stories. It's timeless and even though it's British, it's universal in the feelings portrayed. ❤❤ good luck!
I will never forget those midnights when I had to stay up late as a teen, just to watch new episodes of Skins UK on MTV Asia. One of my fave shows of all time 🫶🏻
Skins was the first British show I'd ever watched and as a non-native English speaker, it was a truly humbling experience. I could not understand a word they were saying and I needed to turn the subtitles on. 😂 I was 16 when I watched it and there are so many things that just flew over my head! Should definitely give it a rewatch. Gen 1 will always be my favourite, with Chris my fav character in the whole show. Gen 2 just never really did it for me and I couldn't get why they were so much more popular, and then gen 3... wasn't very good.
21:00 - in year 12 and 13 in the UK you didnt legally need to be in school or college at that age, so it was easily possible to fall behind without your parents knowing.
Skins is darker than Euphoria because the UK has WAY less censorship when it comes to every dark topic than the US (except for violence). Also, you should check out the Israeli Euphoria which Euphoria’s based on!
This is why I don’t care about 25 year olds playing teens on Euphoria bc having actual teens on these shows is mentally damaging as discussed and uncomfortable for viewers. See the movie Kids
I agree with you that this is a very accurate sum up of the UK version of Skins. I live in the U.S. but I got introduced to the show by people in college/studying for my bachelor’s degree. I have no intention of watching Euphoria though.
Yes !! This video was as great as I thought it would be . Honestly I wish I could enjoy teens show now as much as I enjoyed skins (well the first few seasons at least). Chris is still one of my favs characters to this day.
I think what Skins did well is depict teens as teens. They didn't all use the 'correct' language all the time and sometimes didn't know how to react to things in healthy/morally right ways. They could be offensive even when they were trying to be nice, they didn't always handle things in a mature way and they weren't expected to because they're teens. I think that's where a lot of recent teen shows go wrong and come across as forced
Idk if you watched Degrassi Next Gen but I’d be super interested in hearing your thoughts on the 2 very different portrayals of high schoolers in the same era
I’ve always preferred Degrassi over Skins. I felt the first seasons of Degrassi were fairly realistic to my teenage life. Skins felt creepy and just too much.
clicked SO fast. I finally watched more of Skins after your teacher/student relationship video having trouble getting into it just to hear you talk about it
@@SerenaSkybourne lmaoo I'd started it awhile back but found it a bit jarring and stopped watching after 2 or 3 episodes... then you posted your video and I watched the first 4 seasons within a week or 2. I'm a screenwriter so I love hearing people talk about TV and there's so little coverage of this show on TH-cam so I'm super happy that you're making it a series
If you’re starting to watch classic uk shows now, I’d recommend bbc merlin, it’s my favourite show everrr even though the writing could have really been better in terms of overall storyline, the show is still amazing and I recommend it to everyone, you don’t even have to make a video on it
@@emiliass Oh! I’m not an avid watcher of her so I didn’t know, I just skimmed through her channel and missed it so I thought I’d recommend it but I’ve found it now, thank you for telling me!
I can’t wait for the next retrospectives on this series!! 😍 Although it is so well known there is a lack of skins videos in which the plot lines and characters are being dissected and analysed properly.
The last two years of school in the UK are actually pretty intense, it's when you get to college (after leaving school at 16) that you're given a lot more freedom. I actually got into Skins because my college Media Studies teacher asked us to dissect episode 1. That was it for me, I was 16 so I guess the perfect age to start watching it, and I was absolutely obsessed. As for the sexualisation of minors, it's definitely awful, and not at all okay for all of the obvious reasons, but I do think it's important to keep in mind the audience was primarily the same age as the characters being sexualised. That doesn't make it any better but you can see how that would impact the writing choices.
Chris dies from his addiction and effy gets drugged and almost raped.... Not sure how skins didnt do a good job of depicting the grittiness of drug use. 😂😂😂
I watched this show when I was around the age of the characters, so really fell in love with it. Still think of it fondly at random all these years later. I think what resonated with me so much is that I related to it. The dysfunction, the sexuality (me and pretty much all my friends lost our virginities by 15, and those who waited were considered the weird ones), the drugs, the drinking, the parents (addicts, drunks, abusers, etc). Me and many in my friend group knew these things well, so I guess I felt a bit of a connection with the stories (despite being a Black American in the Southern US...a very different culture). They felt real and relatable and truthful. At the time, I think I related most to Cassie (and I also, eventually, picked up and moved to NY without telling anyone until about 2 weeks before the move). This has been such an interesting video and brought back a lot of memories from the show. Thank you and great job!
Skins writers objectified Effy so much and it was very evident in season 3. She was basically backed into a corner and forced to choose between Cook and Freddie. I think the fact that she was objectified so heavily is what contributed to her psychotic breakdown in season 4.
April Pearson and others have talked about many uncomfortable moments filming the show, being young actors, minors even. You want to think the standards of the industry have changed, but have they, beyond surface level, cover-the-companies-asses-from-being-sued measures? I don’t know. I’d just wish people stop barking so much about porn and social media influence and provided more honest depictions of teenagers. Skins feels transgressive because it feels real, to a point. Euphoria is an LSD trip. PEN15 is a show which premise shows how hard an honest portrayal of preteens and teens is. There has to be a way of portraying young people’s lives without fetishization and without pretending cut to black is by itself a solution. The single best scene in Euphoria to me is McKay trying to choke Cassie because people tells him she’s so “experienced” and he has these expectations about her and about himself, about what sex should be. That needed to be explicit. Teenagers had been sexually exploited inside and outside fiction long before Britney Spears. The solution is not swinging the pendulum the other side and pretend there are no highly sexual people under eighteen by not showing their behavior. How about showing how some kids hit thirteen and can’t wait to “do something,” while others by sixteen are still not all that interested, and all the spectrum in between, and how none of the options are wrong by themselves. How people around them push them, “You’re sexualizing yourself too much,” “You can’t get to college being a virgin” and so on, and how more often than not is that pressure what leads kids to make mistakes.
I started Skins several times before during the last few years, but I couldn’t get through the 1st episode, I found it weird and a bit disgusting tbh. Then I just restarted it and gave it another chance to understand your video more, then around the 2nd or 3rd episode I became sooo attached, so I binged the 1st season in 1 day. In the end I liked it a lot, so thank u I guess :D
Tbh, I don't see any similarities to Euphoria at all, I think Skins is more like Sex Education, they have a similar vibe and humor, maybe because both shows are British. Skins is like a darker and more violent version of SE
My issue with euphoria was just that euphoria felt very black and white yes you got multiple perspectives but EVERYONE was crazy and acknowledged that skins felt much more real every character had their own reasons and their relationships were so much more in depth you could understand so much of the show without putting a lot of favoritism in a few select characters
I just want to say how unfair the treatment of Michelle’s loyalty to Tony vs Sid’s loyalty to Tony is It reeks of misogyny and “I have no patience for girls who don’t respect themselves” toxicity. I actually had to pause the video to rant to my mom about it. Hell, that’s not even the end of it! like, Sid is ‘so loyal’ yet he’s a cheat and a liar, and spends the majority of the show obsessing over his best friend’s girlfriend… I’m not even a Sid hater, but boy do those double standards get me upset That’s just shitty of you, do better.
This is an interesting perspective considering I was a full on adult when Skins UK came out and I watched it 1st run. and while I have similar "okay but they're all awful, but I like this show" feelings about it, honestly you convinced me to not even bother with Euphoria. And yeah the end of the season where they're all singing together still sticks with me. Though I... I really didn't get the ending with Effy like in jail or or whatever all was going on there.
The sexualisation of the teens point makes sense there didn’t need to be as much panning to there bodies or scenes of them changing but the staring the girls get is real it is a representation of what happens and unfortunately it’s the world we’re in the minute a girl decides to dress in a way that shows her figure it draws male attention good and bad teenage boys will flat out say things cat call and more i just wish there were more scenes of the characters doing something to demonstrate that’s not ok
Its years ago when I watched the show so I may remember it false but I also really liked maxi because I could relate and I also loved that he literally just was a gay teenage boy... And not the gay trope they now do always.. You know where the show maker still in like 2023 think gay people "behave gay" "talk gay, walk gay wear pink suits and always to something like fashion or be the gay best friend who goes like omg yaaas go girl u rock that outfit oh ma gah"
Idk if you know this but there actually was an American remake of Skins. For a brief period, MTV was obsessed with doing American remakes of British teen shows and Skins was one of them. It got canceled after one season, not just because of atrocious writing, but because parents thought it was too scandalous for teens. So it’s kinda funny that we now have a show like Euphoria, which probably only gets away with its mature content because it’s an HBO show aimed at adults rather than a standard network teen drama.
Speaking of exploitation on Skins, Yhara Zayd did a good video on Gen 3 and it delved oito the production on S6 and for an example the actresses were made to go in front of a couple producers and even the showrunner (Bryan Elsley) to be judged if they "looked good enough" to be in bikinis while shooting in Morocco...so yeah. Also the whole Alo episode in S6............was a choice
you talk about not wanting to root for the boys because of the way they objectified the girls, you see i completely agree however that is the point. this was 100% intentional because it’s a depiction of the average and stereotypical teenage boy. of course it wasn’t good or nice to watch but it’s real
I tried to watch Skins but it was too much for me I liked S1 of Euphoria just for the style I watched this video too maybe want to watch Skins but I still don't really feel like the show is for me thanks for this video anyway
the themes in Skins(UK) vs the themes in Euphoria with the show Skins(UK) the situations they get into are relatively real with few fanatical situations whereas Euphoria the situations feel out there. Though I do agree that Euphoria did display the consequences of substance abuse realistically. Also I want to state that the Skins(US) version of the show was created by the same people who did the UK version and made a shot for shot remake of the UK version without understanding the issues within the US
I am so... So glad someone is tackling a TV show that as a 27 year old, still has my brain in a chokehold. Wondering if you'd be willing to do an in-depth on Cassie's ED? (EDIT: rofl I JUST got up to the bit where you said you would) She was absolutely fundamental for late-00s/early-2010s online ED culture. Her and Effy were the 'messed up girls' blueprint and you were either edgy-and-borderline, or fragile-and-anorexic. No in between. I... Love that character so much, to the point I am traumatised by her existence. It's hard. I wonder how many others here, who fell into the Twitter/Tumblr ED community, remember how much Cassie was programming for us. We love her. And yet we are so damaged by her.
sid never really reated cassie right so of course she would end up leaving, you seem to always give the women characters the short end of the stick while men get the benefit of the doubt without really looking at how men are accountable for their own actions too.
I still remember discovering UK Skins. I didn’t find out about it till the US version & my best friend said it was horrible & that I should watch the UK version lol she was correct.
Skins was what helped me understand how adults perceive their youth and the current youth. It helped me understand that other cultures have their own beauty that you can peep out through little details in the show. I’d say that skins was way more realistic than euphoria but maybe that’s because of the lack of overall exaggeration of the film style. Thanks for breaking down this nostalgia for us
I would really love to see some deep dives on the show. I remember perceiving only the depressing parts when I was younger, so it would be nice to break down the characters. I hope I could see it more as a comedy than. Also, I know the next generation can be a bit over the top, but Effy was a big crush, so I would appreciate your opinion on her too.
Sid is the OG Doomer Wojak. You know, unkempt facial hair, more bags under eyes than a shopping cart, black beanie, always smoking. Lives on Doritos and energy drinks.
I remember that this show was controversial in using actual teens to play the teenage characters. Many of them looked their actual age, and it was refreshing to see them look like any average teenager, and not supermodels.
they actually look young, it's very refreshing
@@SerenaSkybourne I don't find it refreshing to see minors in highly sexualised situations but I guess that's just me?
@@SerenaSkybourne you should watch SKAM norway
@@SerenaSkybourne yeah it was a much more realistic depiction. and while it wasn't *my* teenage experience (literally none of it, actually) it still read as much more believable and meaningful without being sanitized because of the age of the actors or the characters. It wasn't ever me, but yeah, my friends were sexually active at 14-15, so def by the time of the Skins kids they were into all sorts of things. I was the mom friend.
@@angeljemmett9729well, teens do have sex.
cassie was such a comfort character for me, i was 17 watching it a few years back, so i was around the same age as cassie and struggled with the same issues and i felt very seen ❤ no matter how problematic this show might be, it really helped me!!! and even though it’s pretty dark to someone who’s had a difficult upbringing it feels so relatable
This show is everything Euphoria wants to be
Except euphoria has good acting and diversity
@@yum_838sorry if it came off a bad way, I meant that it was real basically what euphoria wanted to be
@@yum_838which is a waste with its shit writing.
In a weird way, I don’t view the two shows on the same level at all. Other than them both being about the teen experience. Skins is more similar to Degrassi and maybe I can’t compare either of those shows to Euphoria, because they both are just so millennial and Euphoria is GEN Z lol. Also, I think Skins had better storylines, acting, and was much funnier/authentic. And I appreciate that time period it came out
why do people insist euphoria wanted to be skins? they are not similar shows at all. they had different approaches to what it’s like to be a teenager and they executed them well. they are good in their own right stop comparing them they don’t even take place in the same country or time!!!
so happy that you’re finally covering skins UK, this show is better than euphoria and in the first few seasons, it’s good!
Yes totally agree 💯
it's superior 💃💃
@@SerenaSkybourneseasons 1-3 are superior, after season 3 it went downhill.
@@jaylaalle5827gen 2 is so overrated though apart from cook the rest are trash
YAY I'm excited to hear your thoughts. I'm aware of how problematic skins could be, but it was also something that I found to be incredibly cathartic at ages 15-16. I can't speak for everyone, but I felt I needed it during those times, and I connected with it way more than euphoria despite being 15 when season 1 of euphoria aired.
I agree, it's disturbing but also cathartic at the same time
Sam Levinson seems like the type of guy that if he could hire actual teens for sexual scenes, he would. Mans a creep.
Lol that's exactly what Skins did though? Like at least the actors in Euphoria are adults, but Skins cast literal children and made them all pretend to have sex with each other and no one addresses how fucking weird that is.
@@angeljemmett9729yes but for different reasons.
Skins hired teens because their focus was being realistic, and they hated the “23 playing 16” thing. Same reason they hired writers around 21. It was, at its core, a storytelling choice.
Levinson would hire teens because it turns him on. He treats his of-age actors bad enough, I don’t want him anywhere near teens.
@@ginao6810 the show being ‘realistic’ (very debatable) is irrelevant to whether the child actors were being exploited. At least three of the girls from the show have expressed discomfort over their overt sexualisation by Skins producers.
@@angeljemmett9729it's simple: instead of hiring teens to play roles that involve sex or bearded men to play 16 year olds you can just hire adult actors that look younger. Sex education did that amazingly well.
@@BiaSilva-ri3tx Ok, but who is demanding that we depict literal children having sex? Why is that necessary? I was not demanding that representation as a teen. In fact, as a teen, I felt conscious that the reason adults around me felt comfortable sexualising me was because the popular media we all watched encouraged and enabled it. I feel uncomfortable watching media of what is supposed to be teenagers in graphic situations, even if the actors are adults.
God skins was such a gamechanger.....to me it was the first show to show british teenagers how they really talked and acted rather than an adult writers perception of how teenagers talk and act. It was tough and gritty but never patronising. I can really see the euphoria similarities. If you do character specific videos for skins gen 1 i would love to see something on cassies journey from series 1 to pure. She was such an inspirational character to so many
I think at the end of the day what I loved much about Skins was that for as much as it was “dark” there was also a lot of “light” and humour thrown in the mix often unexpectedly. Like at the beginning of Season 2 Maxxie and Tony run in to the little chav girls at a time where we see Tony for the first time after he was almost killed at the end of Season 1. Or even Jal’s speech at Chris’s memorial service. It was a highly emotional and very fitting tribute to her since passed baby daddy while sharing a ridiculous story about a man jumping out of a foil ballon. Cassie having such a tragic story while having such a fun , bubbly, and quirky personality. It added so much depth to a story that often could get quite cathartic.
Just wanted to add- I said that in England, students get more independence in the final two years (11 and 12) but I misspoke! I meant years 12-13 (which is the age of our Skins characters)
I know this is super nitpicky, and I loved this video! But you’re talking about English schooling, not schooling in the U.K. The Scottish system is different to the English one. It doesn’t matter much, and people often use English/U.K/Britain interchangeably - but I just thought I’d mention it 😊
@@HeatherHxyes you’re absolutely right! I’ve just edited my comment
I adore Skins season 7, episode “Fire” with grown up Effy. I re-watch it every 2 years just to remind myself of its existence. It’s so real, but for some reason so reassuring.
that episode is so sad. i wouldn’t be able to handle watching a fave d*e multiple times😭🫠
but fair enough it brings you something positive
Don’t forget Naomily 😭😭😭
With season 7, a lot of people (from what I've seen), don't like it much due to most of the cast not being present. I feel it makes sense as in real-life, people lose touch with friends as they go their own way.
I think Skins’ overall depiction of sex is quite well done, on the whole. *With caveats*
Firstly, teenagers are sexual. They are masturbating, and curious, and do, infact, have sex. Are they always old enough? No. Does it stop them? No!
Like in life, the sex in Skins is awkward and embarrassing. It can be great if you find a partner you love and respect, but otherwise it can be pretty hit and miss. Often we are doing it with the wrong people for the wrong reason. Usually it’s on not so clean sheets and you have to be quiet because your/their parents are down stairs.
Did everyone need to get naked? No. Could they have shot scenes differently? Yes. Would intimacy coordinators have gone along way? Yes! Should the producers have lined up the girls in their underwear? Eff no. The actors should have been protected.
But I think it would be unrealistic to take all the sex out of Skin. (You don’t have to film characters having sex to tell the audience that they had sex). Generally, Skins did sex realistically, and didn’t shy away from the awkwardness of it. And it took the consequences of sex seriously.
Also, Do some of the characters have terrible attitudes towards women and sex? Yes. But, I was a teen in the 2000s, and boys had those attitudes. They spoke to girls like that.
It’s not great, but it’s real.
Also it’s funny because I only hear girls and the actresses complain about it yet the lads on the show go through the exact same shit Infact you see them more naked than the girls if you actually watched it. Double standard as usual
@@LordCaedus-bl7wi in this video she talked about it, how Anwar was treated, always naked for laughs. And maybe men don’t talk about it because society doesn’t like to see men vulnerable and treat them like they are strong and should never feel weak or anything
I agree with your take on it, very much needed in the show but could have been done better.
In Effy's first major episode, she's 14, sneaking out at night, taking drugs and having s3x with older guys. Yes, it's disturbing and creepy, especially for the older guys involved. But I was a British teen at the time and I can tell you, girls that age and even younger did exactly that. The show doesn't necessarily glamorise that, but show it for how it is/was.
I actually found realistic many parts that shock or offend other people. They were really similar of my experience of being a teenager as well. Sex was over the top though. Teenagers are indeed sexual, but much less than portrayed in the show, since they have less opportunities for encounters than adults.
I agree with you 100% when you talked about how creepy and perverted the adults were in the show but wouldn't you say all of that was completely intentional and not just some weird fetishized ideas? when I rewatched skins as a grownup, I thought about how the show wants us to really understand the different realities amongst teenagers and how difficult it is to navigate through them all, there's a lot of danger and problems they don't have any clue about how to avoid or solve.
That’s exactly what it was!
Exactly, them being creepy was the whole point. They were just trying to show things that happen irl, good and bad - I feel like people who analyse like this (portrayal equals endorsement) are the same people who think Lana Del Rey is problematic bc she sings about toxic relationships
I think a lot of the time when you’re a teenager you feel dissapointed by adults around you too, and feel like they don’t understand you. I was a teenager when Skins came out, and I remember quite a lot of it feeling quite relateable, especially with how it feels to be a teen. It was definitey one of my favourite shows growing up.
I’ve rewatched it as an adult and my perspective of it has changed now, so I think it did hit its intended audience really well, I remember everyone loved this show at the time. But it does seem different and kind of off now.
I think what you said about Euphoria compared with Skins aesthetically really extends to UK media against US media in general. I've found that American media always tends to be more polished, everyone has perfect hair and makeup, perfect bodies, while UK media more often shows people closer to how they are in real life. It's probably best shown if you look at the US remakes of UK shows like Skins or The Inbetweeners
it's all very upsetting that anwar was so poorly written cause his actor is so good, and he was not given the opportunity to show it...but at least most of the cast went on to become pretty successful
they did my boy anwar so dirty
Anwar didn’t have an episode he clearly wasn’t important
I would say Dev Patel is the most successful one now!
Season 2 especially did him dirty. They basically made him a cartoon character.
Can you guys BELIEVE I managed to watch this! I'm actually proud for pushing myself outside my comfort zone and who would have thought I'd enjoy it so much!
Please season 3 and 4 where it’s Effy (Tony’s sisters generation). That generation is the best to me
Yeah I’m glad you liked skins because I love the show too! I don’t think it’s right for them to be sexualizing teens plus the teacher student episodes but I think they made those things in the show because it’s something that actually happens often in real life. This show is dark because it has real scenarios that happen often when it shouldn’t at all. I don’t think by them showing it is glorifying it since when you are watching as the audience they don’t make it appealing at all it’s literally shocking to the audience. I like that they even had the balls to do that because most people don’t talk about real life just like how you said euphoria was unrealistic because it was aesthetically pleasing and hard to relate too. I like how in skins, each character looked like the guy or girl next door. It made it feel like real life which I believe that was their goal and why people adored the series so much 🤷🏽♀️
Also I say the student and teacher scenarios because idk about the UK but in my American school, that has happened multiple times where teachers have been arrested at my high school for being the disgusting creep they are so I think that’s why I relate to the storyline of skins in that aspect and I’m glad they touched on this topic in the show because I haven’t come across a show that has even done that before
The ABSOLUTE HOLD this show had over me from the ages of 14-17 is insane, and it still remains one of my favorite shows to this day because of it. I got into it much later than it was aired since I think I was about 6 years old when the first season came out and I didn’t discover it until about 2015/16, but it still held up so well. Even as an adult (I’m 22 now), whenever I rewatch it, the themes and darkness still ring true. As I’ve gotten older I have become more critical of the sexualization of it (something I thought was fine when I was the characters ages, but now looking back realize how weird it was), but overall I still think it does a great job with realism and deglamorizing mental illness (with the exception of Effy in some seasons and Cassie to an extent). I’d love to hear you touch on some gen 2 characters as well. I personally was obsessed with the sister relationship between Katie and Emily and would love to hear thoughts on it. I’m a twin, and both me and my sister believe that their dynamic is one of the most accurate portrayals of twin sister relationships that we’ve come across. I’m excited to see where you go with the deep dives though, as I think this show gets slept on a lot by gen Z even though it impacted so much of modern teen drama television. ❤
I grew up with this show, it was airing when I was in high school, and I was the same age as the cast so my friends and I were very attached to it. Looking back on the content, a lot of it is very concerning LOL.
It's been like 15 years since I first watched this show & I still love Chris so much.
Fuck it for Chris!
Sid is my favorite character I'm so excited to see you dive into his relationship with Michelle and Tony. I feel like abusive friendships don't get talked about often and Tony was 100% emotionally abusing Sid the same way he was Michelle
As iconic a trio as Tony, Sid and Michelle are, it's for the best that they all go their separate ways.
My teenage son and I came across Skins and watched it together. It gave us the opportunity to talk about things that otherwise would have been awkward. I think the actors were all very real, the casting was spot on. We felt as the series/generations went on, it became quite dark and lost much of its comedy that gave it a good balance. It will always be one of my favourite shows ever and so well made like a lot of English tv - and it was no wonder the Americans couldn't get it anywhere near right. We watched the first two EPISODES of the US version before we went "Nah" and never continued.
I love UK shows so much more than American shows, here we have actors who look like regular people, and are chosen for talent and not movie star looks, and you can bet if they cast a 30 year old man to play a teenage boy, they’ll make you believe he’s a teen, and they live in regular houses and not mansions, I also love the representation we have here, there’s so much but it feels truly natural, i didn’t realise until watching American shows that are so weird with it they make it so that any sort of difference is shoved in your face, and even if it’s not, you can feel whenever a character is purely just there so they can say ‘ok we did it now leave us alone’
Not saying that all American shows are like this but if u look at the popular UK shows vs popular US shows, you’ll see it
I agree about the diversity but there are definitely a handful of uk shows that cast young looking adults for sex scenes as well it’s not just an American thing
I think you should diversify the us shows you’re watching. They have a lot of gems just like we do. There’s no need to claim one is just inherently better because I’ve seen my fair share of shit ones from here too
Shameless, the office and being human are all us versions that are infinitely better than the uk ones
@@SandraJeanMcneil maybe that’s true, mostly I’m just talking about the popular ones I was recommended to watch as a teenager (eg PLL, teen wolf, vampire diaries etc) compared to the popular stuff we were watching (dr who, Sherlock, merlin, Tracy beaker) I feel like If you stacked up all the most popular uk shows with the popular US shows, uk would come out on top just because of how natural and realistic they feel comparatively even when they are literally fantastical stories. I’m not saying that I haven’t seen good American shows, I definitely have, but I still prefer the good uk shows over the American ones every time
The u.k version of skins is really great it's way better than euphoria to me 🇬🇧
completely agree with you on cassie. I think she easily had the most care put into her character in season 1 by the writers. despite how they handled her eating disorder at some parts, I think the writers were aware of the sensitivity needed and she ended up feeling like the most real character out of everyone
PRAYING for a video about the internet’s insane obsession with effy (and cassie) and how it affected an entire generation of young girls
This was a very good video! I would love if you went through the rest of the series and talk about the ridiculous problematic things that happen after gen 1 (I’d say there is a lot more in later seasons)
I love this show! One of my all time favourite shows.
Maxxie is my favourite character
I adored Skins as it told our real story as UK teenagers this makes it different is why it was so popular. It's always funny when non Brits watch this and missed this was tame compared to what we really were getting up to. Teachers were unrealistic though however each of the teenagers I could see them in my life. Also with one of my school friends being on the cast we used to say they were a snitch on our friend group 😅
How would you say the UK teen experience differs from the American teen experience ?
I mean, you say the teachers were unrealistic and maybe for the swearing part they were, but I personally knew a girl who was "asked to leave" a school because her teacher started sleeping with her. My mum knew a teacher in her school who married her classmate. That part's really a lot more common that we'd like to believe.
@@katharineeavan9705 that actually wasn't the part I thought was unrealistic
I agree that the character of Anwar deserved better. Dev Patel is soo talented. I really like his homophobia plot line, because it is an uncomfortable but very important topic to tackle. He was a teenager growing up in a religious household so him questioning feelings towards homosexuality was a realistic depiction, though it sucked to see him be a complete asshole to sweet Maxxie. And as spineless as Anwar can be sometimes, him, Maxxie and his dad had a great moment when he finally told his religious father that his best friend was gay, I think at the end of season 1. And his dad’s reaction was so wholesome it made me all fuzzy and warm when I watched it. It was a great closure to his homophobia plotline but then the character was ruined again in season 2 thanks to Sketch. 😢
Also notice how the most functional families in the show are Maxxie and Anwar’s? And they are the least delulu duo on the show compared to the others with the exception of Jal (especially Maxxie has more mature mini plotlines and thoughts like trying to decide if he wants to pursue a career in dancing or helping Tony recover from his accident in season 2 etc) so it definitely says sth about how dysfunctional families affect how the kids navigate their own problems.
Just wanted to say I recently found you covering Gilmore girls. Love your videos and appreciate what you do.
i would love for you to make a video on cassie! like the ed themes and maybe a style analysis
i am SO excited for all your upcoming videos on this show omg
This show has been on my watch list for a decade and I didn't want to spoil myself, but I am watching anyway cause I love your takes and maybe this will inspire me to finally watch Skins.
It is SO worth it. The journey is worth how much you care about these stories. It's timeless and even though it's British, it's universal in the feelings portrayed. ❤❤ good luck!
YOU ARE TAKLING ABOUT SKINS AND I AM FREAKING OUTTTT
yay this is so awesome, skins is one of my favorite shows ever and it surprises me how many people have yet to discover it and enjoy it.
I loved Effie so much when the show first aired. Now she just makes me sad.
I will never forget those midnights when I had to stay up late as a teen, just to watch new episodes of Skins UK on MTV Asia.
One of my fave shows of all time 🫶🏻
Loved your video. It deserves as much attention as the PLL ones bc this series is just as amazing. 🎉
Thank you so much! 💃💃☺️☺️
thank you so much for watching skins. im looking forward to every video related to it)
More to come!
that was great, i truly believe this is as real as it gets !! pure docu-drama, the British always know what they're doing. 🌟🌟
no sorry, i just can´t bring myself to forgive tony for his behaviour in season 1, he was an absolute psychopath
And people hate Michelle more i dont understand
@@Ganasdemejorar misogyny
Skins was the first British show I'd ever watched and as a non-native English speaker, it was a truly humbling experience. I could not understand a word they were saying and I needed to turn the subtitles on. 😂 I was 16 when I watched it and there are so many things that just flew over my head! Should definitely give it a rewatch. Gen 1 will always be my favourite, with Chris my fav character in the whole show. Gen 2 just never really did it for me and I couldn't get why they were so much more popular, and then gen 3... wasn't very good.
effie from skins taught me how to smoke... thanks babes
21:00 - in year 12 and 13 in the UK you didnt legally need to be in school or college at that age, so it was easily possible to fall behind without your parents knowing.
Even in my time in year 12&13 in the UK which started in 2016, skins was still so relevant and still is for UK culture because it is that accurate
Skins is darker than Euphoria because the UK has WAY less censorship when it comes to every dark topic than the US (except for violence). Also, you should check out the Israeli Euphoria which Euphoria’s based on!
I needed a commentary skins video so bad
I personally can't wait for Tony's character video. I find him fascinating.
Yessss I’m so ready for this skins series! I remember watching it as a teen and all my friends were obsessed with it
This is why I don’t care about 25 year olds playing teens on Euphoria bc having actual teens on these shows is mentally damaging as discussed and uncomfortable for viewers. See the movie Kids
Kids is such an uncomfortable movie to watch I didn't like it. The whole plot is gross which I'm sure the director is intending that
I agree with you that this is a very accurate sum up of the UK version of Skins. I live in the U.S. but I got introduced to the show by people in college/studying for my bachelor’s degree. I have no intention of watching Euphoria though.
Yes !! This video was as great as I thought it would be . Honestly I wish I could enjoy teens show now as much as I enjoyed skins (well the first few seasons at least). Chris is still one of my favs characters to this day.
I think what Skins did well is depict teens as teens. They didn't all use the 'correct' language all the time and sometimes didn't know how to react to things in healthy/morally right ways. They could be offensive even when they were trying to be nice, they didn't always handle things in a mature way and they weren't expected to because they're teens. I think that's where a lot of recent teen shows go wrong and come across as forced
Skins felt a lot like my teenage years…obviously a bit more dramatic but I found it incredibly relatable while growing up in Britain.
This video really made my day! Hoping to get more skin content soon :)
I would really love to hear your opinions on gen 2 as well! I loved this video so much
Idk if you watched Degrassi Next Gen but I’d be super interested in hearing your thoughts on the 2 very different portrayals of high schoolers in the same era
I’ve always preferred Degrassi over Skins. I felt the first seasons of Degrassi were fairly realistic to my teenage life. Skins felt creepy and just too much.
I love your videos! This is so good.... drinking my tea..
you drink that tea 💅💅
how did you manage to sit through it.... but I get it!
clicked SO fast. I finally watched more of Skins after your teacher/student relationship video having trouble getting into it just to hear you talk about it
hahaha i love your commitment
@@SerenaSkybourne lmaoo I'd started it awhile back but found it a bit jarring and stopped watching after 2 or 3 episodes... then you posted your video and I watched the first 4 seasons within a week or 2. I'm a screenwriter so I love hearing people talk about TV and there's so little coverage of this show on TH-cam so I'm super happy that you're making it a series
If you’re starting to watch classic uk shows now, I’d recommend bbc merlin, it’s my favourite show everrr even though the writing could have really been better in terms of overall storyline, the show is still amazing and I recommend it to everyone, you don’t even have to make a video on it
she's already seen it and did make a video about it. idk how you missed it as it was quite recent.
@@emiliass Oh! I’m not an avid watcher of her so I didn’t know, I just skimmed through her channel and missed it so I thought I’d recommend it but I’ve found it now, thank you for telling me!
I can’t wait for the next retrospectives on this series!! 😍
Although it is so well known there is a lack of skins videos in which the plot lines and characters are being dissected and analysed properly.
Skins is real and gritty. My secondary and college experience definitely resonated with eff and the rest of the cast. Euphoria is just romantised.
i’ve never said it out loud, but had this videos title as a thought in my head for a while. crazy stuff, glad to come across 😂
The last two years of school in the UK are actually pretty intense, it's when you get to college (after leaving school at 16) that you're given a lot more freedom. I actually got into Skins because my college Media Studies teacher asked us to dissect episode 1. That was it for me, I was 16 so I guess the perfect age to start watching it, and I was absolutely obsessed. As for the sexualisation of minors, it's definitely awful, and not at all okay for all of the obvious reasons, but I do think it's important to keep in mind the audience was primarily the same age as the characters being sexualised. That doesn't make it any better but you can see how that would impact the writing choices.
Chris dies from his addiction and effy gets drugged and almost raped.... Not sure how skins didnt do a good job of depicting the grittiness of drug use. 😂😂😂
Chris dies from a brain hemorrhage. It was a hereditary condition that his brother died from also. It has nothing to do with his addiction
I watched this show when I was around the age of the characters, so really fell in love with it. Still think of it fondly at random all these years later. I think what resonated with me so much is that I related to it. The dysfunction, the sexuality (me and pretty much all my friends lost our virginities by 15, and those who waited were considered the weird ones), the drugs, the drinking, the parents (addicts, drunks, abusers, etc). Me and many in my friend group knew these things well, so I guess I felt a bit of a connection with the stories (despite being a Black American in the Southern US...a very different culture). They felt real and relatable and truthful. At the time, I think I related most to Cassie (and I also, eventually, picked up and moved to NY without telling anyone until about 2 weeks before the move). This has been such an interesting video and brought back a lot of memories from the show. Thank you and great job!
I hope you will do 2nd and 3rd generations too!
Off topic, but I love the way this makeup looks on you!!
Loved watching this and cant wait to see the other videos!!!
Skins writers objectified Effy so much and it was very evident in season 3. She was basically backed into a corner and forced to choose between Cook and Freddie. I think the fact that she was objectified so heavily is what contributed to her psychotic breakdown in season 4.
Yay! You are covering one of my favorite shows as a teen. Such a great show! Classic!
April Pearson and others have talked about many uncomfortable moments filming the show, being young actors, minors even. You want to think the standards of the industry have changed, but have they, beyond surface level, cover-the-companies-asses-from-being-sued measures? I don’t know. I’d just wish people stop barking so much about porn and social media influence and provided more honest depictions of teenagers. Skins feels transgressive because it feels real, to a point. Euphoria is an LSD trip. PEN15 is a show which premise shows how hard an honest portrayal of preteens and teens is.
There has to be a way of portraying young people’s lives without fetishization and without pretending cut to black is by itself a solution. The single best scene in Euphoria to me is McKay trying to choke Cassie because people tells him she’s so “experienced” and he has these expectations about her and about himself, about what sex should be. That needed to be explicit.
Teenagers had been sexually exploited inside and outside fiction long before Britney Spears. The solution is not swinging the pendulum the other side and pretend there are no highly sexual people under eighteen by not showing their behavior. How about showing how some kids hit thirteen and can’t wait to “do something,” while others by sixteen are still not all that interested, and all the spectrum in between, and how none of the options are wrong by themselves. How people around them push them, “You’re sexualizing yourself too much,” “You can’t get to college being a virgin” and so on, and how more often than not is that pressure what leads kids to make mistakes.
I started Skins several times before during the last few years, but I couldn’t get through the 1st episode, I found it weird and a bit disgusting tbh. Then I just restarted it and gave it another chance to understand your video more, then around the 2nd or 3rd episode I became sooo attached, so I binged the 1st season in 1 day. In the end I liked it a lot, so thank u I guess :D
Tbh, I don't see any similarities to Euphoria at all, I think Skins is more like Sex Education, they have a similar vibe and humor, maybe because both shows are British. Skins is like a darker and more violent version of SE
My issue with euphoria was just that euphoria felt very black and white yes you got multiple perspectives but EVERYONE was crazy and acknowledged that skins felt much more real every character had their own reasons and their relationships were so much more in depth you could understand so much of the show without putting a lot of favoritism in a few select characters
I just want to say how unfair the treatment of Michelle’s loyalty to Tony vs Sid’s loyalty to Tony is
It reeks of misogyny and “I have no patience for girls who don’t respect themselves” toxicity.
I actually had to pause the video to rant to my mom about it.
Hell, that’s not even the end of it! like, Sid is ‘so loyal’ yet he’s a cheat and a liar, and spends the majority of the show obsessing over his best friend’s girlfriend…
I’m not even a Sid hater, but boy do those double standards get me upset
That’s just shitty of you, do better.
This is an interesting perspective considering I was a full on adult when Skins UK came out and I watched it 1st run. and while I have similar "okay but they're all awful, but I like this show" feelings about it, honestly you convinced me to not even bother with Euphoria. And yeah the end of the season where they're all singing together still sticks with me. Though I... I really didn't get the ending with Effy like in jail or or whatever all was going on there.
I’ve never gotten past gen one. I cried and I didn’t want to finish it anymore
Gen 2 would absolutely fuck you up, especially Season 4. Probably not a good idea to proceed.
The sexualisation of the teens point makes sense there didn’t need to be as much panning to there bodies or scenes of them changing but the staring the girls get is real it is a representation of what happens and unfortunately it’s the world we’re in the minute a girl decides to dress in a way that shows her figure it draws male attention good and bad teenage boys will flat out say things cat call and more i just wish there were more scenes of the characters doing something to demonstrate that’s not ok
Its years ago when I watched the show so I may remember it false but I also really liked maxi because I could relate and I also loved that he literally just was a gay teenage boy... And not the gay trope they now do always.. You know where the show maker still in like 2023 think gay people "behave gay" "talk gay, walk gay wear pink suits and always to something like fashion or be the gay best friend who goes like omg yaaas go girl u rock that outfit oh ma gah"
i love your videos so muchhh! thank you for this ❤
Idk if you know this but there actually was an American remake of Skins. For a brief period, MTV was obsessed with doing American remakes of British teen shows and Skins was one of them. It got canceled after one season, not just because of atrocious writing, but because parents thought it was too scandalous for teens. So it’s kinda funny that we now have a show like Euphoria, which probably only gets away with its mature content because it’s an HBO show aimed at adults rather than a standard network teen drama.
I completely agree however I’d put Maxxi up at #3 spot
Also RIP Chris my god 😭😭😭😭
23:20 that’s so funny to me bc I’m pretty sure after 9th grade all my teachers would constantly swear in class too
and I literally went to a catholic school lmaoo
Speaking of exploitation on Skins, Yhara Zayd did a good video on Gen 3 and it delved oito the production on S6 and for an example the actresses were made to go in front of a couple producers and even the showrunner (Bryan Elsley) to be judged if they "looked good enough" to be in bikinis while shooting in Morocco...so yeah. Also the whole Alo episode in S6............was a choice
you talk about not wanting to root for the boys because of the way they objectified the girls, you see i completely agree however that is the point. this was 100% intentional because it’s a depiction of the average and stereotypical teenage boy. of course it wasn’t good or nice to watch but it’s real
Yeah it’s uncomfortable and I didn’t like it but also happens a lot
I had no business watching this at 12/13 but it made me excited to be 16 and haha my life was nothing like that
I tried to watch Skins but it was too much for me I liked S1 of Euphoria just for the style I watched this video too maybe want to watch Skins but I still don't really feel like the show is for me thanks for this video anyway
You should make a video on My Mad Fat Diary!!! I think it has all the good aspects of skins but also fixes some of the flaws
the themes in Skins(UK) vs the themes in Euphoria with the show Skins(UK) the situations they get into are relatively real with few fanatical situations whereas Euphoria the situations feel out there. Though I do agree that Euphoria did display the consequences of substance abuse realistically. Also I want to state that the Skins(US) version of the show was created by the same people who did the UK version and made a shot for shot remake of the UK version without understanding the issues within the US
I am so... So glad someone is tackling a TV show that as a 27 year old, still has my brain in a chokehold.
Wondering if you'd be willing to do an in-depth on Cassie's ED? (EDIT: rofl I JUST got up to the bit where you said you would) She was absolutely fundamental for late-00s/early-2010s online ED culture. Her and Effy were the 'messed up girls' blueprint and you were either edgy-and-borderline, or fragile-and-anorexic. No in between. I... Love that character so much, to the point I am traumatised by her existence. It's hard. I wonder how many others here, who fell into the Twitter/Tumblr ED community, remember how much Cassie was programming for us. We love her. And yet we are so damaged by her.
sid never really reated cassie right so of course she would end up leaving, you seem to always give the women characters the short end of the stick while men get the benefit of the doubt without really looking at how men are accountable for their own actions too.
I still remember discovering UK Skins. I didn’t find out about it till the US version & my best friend said it was horrible & that I should watch the UK version lol she was correct.
i’d love to see a video comparing skins to euphoria! ❤
Im watching all your videos about skins, and they are great! I cant wait to watch one about Effy
Coming soon!
Skins was what helped me understand how adults perceive their youth and the current youth. It helped me understand that other cultures have their own beauty that you can peep out through little details in the show. I’d say that skins was way more realistic than euphoria but maybe that’s because of the lack of overall exaggeration of the film style. Thanks for breaking down this nostalgia for us
OMG same! I first didn't like Skins at all. I don't even know when or how it hooked me but it did.
I would really love to see some deep dives on the show. I remember perceiving only the depressing parts when I was younger, so it would be nice to break down the characters. I hope I could see it more as a comedy than. Also, I know the next generation can be a bit over the top, but Effy was a big crush, so I would appreciate your opinion on her too.
to me it seemed like sid didn’t really know cassie that well when she was obsessing about him
I hated sid, I think he's nasty hahaha like actually unhygienic. The show was already very dirty but he is just 😷😷😷
“Unhygienic” I can’tttt you’re so funny 😂😂
Sid is the OG Doomer Wojak. You know, unkempt facial hair, more bags under eyes than a shopping cart, black beanie, always smoking. Lives on Doritos and energy drinks.