Debuting in 2007, Skins was a drama series from the British network E4, and every two Skins seasons introduced a new cast of characters. It ran for seven seasons until 2013, following three generations of teens as they navigate the grittier parts of life in Bristol, England. The seventh season is unique in that it tells the aftermath of three of the show's most popular characters in their adult lives.
The critically acclaimed series is a blend of drama, humor, and adventure that explores topics such as mental health, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, sexuality, eating disorders, and more. The series earned praise upon its release for its gritty portrayals of being a modern teenager, but it also stirred up controversy since the cast members were very close to the ages of the teens they played at the time. Each Skins season brings with it a new set of struggles and unique relationships.
8 Skins Season 6
What would have been the final Skins season kicks off with the third generation of characters on holiday in Morocco, which turns out to be slightly less glamorous than they'd expected. Franky (Dakota Blue Richards) creates some messy Skins relationships when she leaves Matty for Luke, who is soon discovered to be a notorious drug dealer, and the season only goes downhill from there
Liv learns about Luke's dealings and gathers her friends to follow him and Franky. This results in an accident that leaves Grace in a coma, and her eventual death. Mini learns that she's pregnant with Alo's child. She gives birth in the final episode, where the couple finally makes amends. While the season has all the drama that the first season made famous, the show has also begun to lose its spark in the third generation. A big fan complaint is that Franky seems like a completely different character in this final season compared to her Skins season 5 debut.
7 Skins Season 5
The fifth season introduces the third generation, which marks a significant removal from the first two generations. None of the characters are of any relation to those who fans have grown attached in the first four seasons, unlike the transition during Skins seasons 2 and 3, which helped make the new characters work. There is no connection to the characters immediately.
At the same time, the characters in this generation feel less mature than those in the previous seasons. The first episode introduces Franky, a loner who is new to Roundview and inadvertently challenges Mini's position at the top of the social food chain. Franky's arrival results in the formation of a new group, and she's initially a fan-favorite character in the lackluster season. That's why her turn in Skins season 6 is hard to swallow.
6 MTV’s Skins
When MTV created an American reboot based on the first generation of Skins in 2011, the series was held back slightly by just what was allowed to be shown on the network. That meant it wasn’t able to become quite as graphic or cross as many lines as the original UK series, and the grittiness of the original series has been part of the appeal since it began. It debuted on MTV after the first four Skins seasons had already aired in the UK and American audiences had been trying to find ways to watch.
What is interesting about MTV’s Skins, which only aired one season, is the changes made to the characters. Michelle (Rachel Thevenard for MTV), a character present in the original series and the reboot, does little more than pine after the leader of the group in the original Skins. The MTV version of the series gives her more agency and actually allows her to find a happy relationship with another character. It might not have lived up to the original, but it is a great attempt at bringing the UK teen drama to America.
5 Skins Season 7: Pure, Fire, And Rise
Skins season 7 stands apart from the rest. It's a completely different format in that it doesn't focus on a single group. Split into three parts ("Pure," "Fire." and "Rise") of two episodes each, the season examines the lives of three of the show's most popular and iconic characters: Cassie, Effy, and Cook.
Fans are eager to learn whether Cassie and Sid end up together, but Cassie only alludes to a past of heartbreak. She becomes a model stalked by a mysterious photographer and is nothing like the airhead Cassie fans know in Skins seasons 1 and 2. In "Fire" Effy is mature and stable, working in finances. She's career-driven, but her love life is a mess. At the end of her segment, she's on her way to prison. Cook is also a mess after his last season 4 appearance, haunted by his past but trying to ignore it. His segment involves a few murders and unfaithful relationships. So, not the happiest conclusion to the series. If writers were looking to bring back the favorites of the first and second Skins generations, they might have done better to include more than just these three, and a happy ending or two since the audience sees the characters so changed.
4 Skins Season 3
Season 3 introduces the second generation in all of their unlikely compatible connections. They truly are a bunch of misfits, far more than the first generation is, but they also find that they fit in with each other. The season begins with Cook, Freddie, and JJ immediately falling in love with Effy, who enjoys the attention and playing around with their feelings.
Eventually, she chooses Freddie and breaks Cook's heart. Emily and Naomi begin a tentative relationship and eventually embrace it. JJ struggles with his Aspergers and feelings of exclusion from the group. He also accidentally reveals to Katie that her sister is a lesbian, sparking one of the best Skins stories the following season. Effy becomes jealous of Katie when she and Freddie begin a relationship, and later accidentally hospitalizes her. It is a drama-filled season in which all the characters make mistakes and turn on one another, but also all find their way back to one another and solidify their bond for the next season.
3 Skins Season 2
The second season of Skins works so well because the audience gets to know the characters much better than the first season. Michelle questions who she really is and attempts a romance with Sid, who finally realizes it's Cassie he loves. But Cassie, now in Scotland, is still bitter over him choosing Michelle in the first place. The central relationship polygon at the center of the season is Tony-Michelle-Sid-Cassie.
Tony isn't himself, having been hit by a bus at the end of Skins season 1, which leads him on a very long and roundabout road back to Michelle. Sid eventually leaves for New York to pursue Cassie after her period of darkness spent living with Chris. Effy is forced to take the reins at home as her mother falls into a deep depression, and she is strategically placed to be the lead in Skins seasons 3 and 4. Chris dies after Jal finds out she's pregnant with his child, which is the first real tragedy in the Skins series, making it even more real than its wild partying storylines had.
2 Skins Season 4
This is the second season featuring the second generation of Skins characters. The season is very much the detailed aftermath of the events of season 3. It centers around Effy's depression, which indirectly leads to Freddie's murder at the hands of Effie's psychotherapist, who becomes obsessed with her. Meanwhile, Emily learns that Naomi has cheated on her, and they struggle to heal their relationship. Katie loses her job and learns that she's infertile, JJ finds love with Lara, and Cook ends up on the run.
Skins season 4 works so well because it offers a mix of satisfying conclusions, sad stories, and open-endings for the characters, which is incredibly true to life. Unlike the similar first Skins generation storyline, it also featured a layered coming-out story for Naomi and her relationship with Katie as they both came to terms with their sexualities and had frank discussions about what their relationship could really be.
1 Skins Season 1
The original group of Skins characters and their stories take the top spot for the Skins seasons. The first season has a unique charm and sense of humor that is hard to replicate in the later segments, especially as the stakes increase. Generation 1 is (from left to right) Chris, Anwar, Tony, Sid, Maxxie, Michelle, Sketch, Jal, and Cassie.
From Tony's overlooked manipulative nature to Chris' need to have a good time all the time, the original group of Skins characters paved the way for the relationships and the dramatic storylines that would follow. The first season isn't just about love triangles as it's also about nurturing friendships and characters discovering their worth, which is something that's lost by the third generation. The first Skins season is truly the best Skins season.