A beloved British teen drama with a stacked cast of future Hollywood stars is leaving Netflix soon. Skins, which has churned out a host of young actors including Nicholas Hoult and Dev Patel, is currently still available on the streaming platform, though not for long.
Created by father-and-son television writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain, the Bristol-set drama is tagged as “leaving soon” on Netflix UK, so take this as your sign to start your rewatch.
The series originally ran on E4 for seven seasons, aired between 2007 and 2013. Alongside Hoult and Patel, who played Tony Stonem and Anwar Kharral, Skins also starred future Game of Thrones actors Hannah Murray and Joe Dempsie as Cassie Ainsworth and Chris Miles, and The Gentlemen’s Kaya Scodelario as Tony’s younger sister Effy Stonem.
Also starring are Daniel Kaluuya as ‘Posh’ Kenneth, Jack O’Connell as James Cook and The Great’s Sebastian de Souza as Matty Levan.
Skins was hailed as a groundbreaking series, touching upon thorny themes concerning adolescence, including depression and mental illnesses, substance abuse and sexuality in a frank, gritty way.
Channel 4
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Viewers on IMDb has described the series as “one of the best” shows that’s “raw, honest and emotional beyond words”.
“Skins is a fantastic and invigorating in-look in to the lives of modern-day students,” another fan wrote in 2008.
Channel 4
A third person called the show “phenomenal” with “superb” acting from the teen and adult cast.
“What I appreciate about Skins is that it doesn’t romanticize the teenage life,” another viewer noted. “It’s the most realistic teenage drama series I have ever seen.”
The UK series spawned a short-lived American remake, aired for one season on MTV in 2011.
Skins is leaving Netflix UK soon. All seven seasons are also streaming on Prime Video, ITVX, STVPlayer, PlutoTV and 4 in the UK.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.Â
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