# Skins (2007)

> A raucous group of Bristol teenagers careens through drugs, love affairs and friendship in a comedy drama that swings between euphoric highs and painful lows.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/849

## Facts

- Seasons: 7
- Episodes: 61
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, comedy
- Created by: Bryan Elsley, Jamie Brittain
- Network: E4
- Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Dakota Blue Richards, Alexander Arnold, Mike Bailey, Freya Mavor, Ollie Barbieri , April Pearson, Sam Jackson
- TMDB rating: 8.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0840196/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: irreverent, raucous, bittersweet, frank, darkly comedic

## What critics say

Audiences broadly acclaim Skins for its raw, irreverent portrayal of teenage life, with its young cast and frank treatment of sex, drugs and friendship drawing strong praise.

## Synopsis

Skins (2007-2013) is a British teen comedy drama created by Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain for E4. Across seven seasons and sixty-one episodes, it follows a raucous group of teenage friends in Bristol, with Tony Stonem (Nicholas Hoult) as the charismatic centre of the circle, alongside Franky Fitzgerald (Dakota Blue Richards), Sid Jenkins (Mike Bailey), Michelle Richardson (April Pearson) and Chris Miles (Joe Dempsie). Each season is a self-contained run of episodes that moves the spotlight across the group, so the friends' messy romances, reckless nights out, drug experiments and sexual awakenings are pursued with urgency and little restraint. The engine is the pull between euphoric highs and inevitable lows: a party gone wrong, a secret that spreads through the school, a friendship strained by jealousy. The show is set in a contemporary English city and gives the sense of adolescence as a sensory, unfiltered rush. Its tone is irreverent and darkly funny, yet it turns openly painful when the stakes become real. Its raw, music-driven energy and frank treatment of youth recall Euphoria, Shameless and My So-Called Life, and fans of those shows will find a similar pull toward unvarnished teenage life. A standout British teen drama, it remains a touchstone for frank, youthful storytelling.

## Shows like Skins

- [The End of the F***ing World (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/64814)
- [This Is England '90 (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/40558)
- [Derry Girls (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/65970)
- [Rain Dogs (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/137107)
- [Fresh Meat (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/37252)
- [Sugar Rush (2005)](https://ember.film/tv/379)
- [Misfits (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/28833)
- [My Mad Fat Diary (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/54106)
- [Bad Education (2012)](https://ember.film/tv/52313)
- [Queer as Folk (1999)](https://ember.film/tv/2268)

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