show name	Skins
genre	Teen drama
camera	Single camera
company	Company Pictures
picture format	HDTV 1080i
audio format	Surround
runtime	44-48 minutes
creator	Bryan ElsleyJamie Brittain
producer	Chris CloughMatt Stevens
executive producer	Bryan ElsleyCharles PattinsonGeorge FaberJohn Griffin
starring	Ensemble cast, replaced biennially Currently:Dakota Blue RichardsSebastian de SouzaSean TealeFreya MavorWill MerrickAlex ArnoldJessica SulaLaya LewisSam Jackson
theme music composer	Fat Segal
country	United Kingdom
location	Bristol, England, UK
language	English
network	E4
first aired
last aired	present
num series	6
num episodes	55
list episodes	List of Skins episodes
related	''Skins'' (U.S.)
website	http://www.e4.com/skins/
production website	http://www.companypictures.co.uk/production.aspx?codeskins5
bgcolour	#E0CEF2 }}

''Skins'' is a BAFTA Award-winning British teen drama that follows the lives of a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of sixth form. Its controversial storylines have explored issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness (such as eating disorders), adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death. The show was created by father-and-son television writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain for Company Pictures, and premiered on E4 on 25 January 2007. The show went on to be a critical success as well as a ratings winner within its target demographic. As an ongoing drama series, ''Skins'' is atypical in that it replaced its primary cast every two years. In 2009, producers announced a ''Skins'' film was being discussed, but as of 2012 announcement of the show's cancellation, nothing has come of these plans. A specially-commissioned final seventh series is set to broadcast in 2013 which will feature the three casts from its 2007-12 run.

Other ventures to expand the brand have included a failed North American adaptation, which aired on MTV in 2011; it was cancelled after one season after advertisers abandoned the series in response to low ratings and the significant controversy which arose over its depiction of teen sexuality.

Cast and characters [link]

First generation [link]

Tony Stonem (Nicholas Hoult) is an attractive, intelligent and popular boy. His manipulative ways often go unnoticed by many, and are a catalyst for the majority of the events in the series. Sid Jenkins (Mike Bailey) is Tony's best friend, but has an entirely opposite personality. He lacks confidence, is socially uneasy and struggles with school work. Tony's girlfriend is Michelle Richardson (April Pearson), a girl who can never stay angry at his mischievous behaviour for long. Outwardly, Michelle appears shallow, vain and conceited, but she works hard, has a strong interest in French and Spanish, and is very emotionally mature. She is friends with Cassie Ainsworth (Hannah Murray), an eccentric girl who suffers from an eating disorder. Cassie attempts to hide her own struggles with mental health while her flamboyant parents ignore her in favour of their new baby.

Chris Miles (Joe Dempsie) is the party animal of the group. He has a difficult home life; he lost his brother to a hereditary subarachnoid haemorrhage at a young age, and is living alone due to his ambivalent father and absent mother. He has a crush on his psychology teacher Angie (Siwan Morris). Jal Fazer (Larissa Wilson) is a sensible girl with a talent for playing the clarinet. Her runaway mother has left her to live with her famous musician father and aspiring rapper brothers. Maxxie Oliver (Mitch Hewer) loves to dance. Unlike most openly gay characters on British television, he is still considered "one of the lads". He is portrayed as attractive, seductive and talented, and is well accepted by his friends and peers. His best friend Anwar Kharral (Dev Patel) takes a pick-and-choose approach to Islam, and has no qualms about indulging in pre-marital sex, alcohol and drugs, despite his religion's polices against them. He has a slightly off-the-wall personality, known for his silly antics and sense of humour. Only appearing in the second series, Lucy, better known as "Sketch" (Aimee-Ffion Edwards), is a quiet Welsh girl who is polite yet unnerving. She is a young carer for her mother Sheila, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.

As well as the regular cast, there are several important recurring characters. Effy Stonem (Kaya Scodelario) is Tony's younger sister, and shares many of her brother's qualities. She is mysterious and manipulative, and selectively mute during the first series; she regularly breaks the fourth wall. Abigail Stock (Georgina Moffat) is an upper class school girl with sociopathic tendencies, and one of Tony's many sexual conquests. "Posh" Kenneth (Daniel Kaluuya) goes to the same college as the main cast and often spends time with the boys. Madison "Mad" Twatter (Stephen Walters) features as Sid's emergency drug dealer, Doug (Giles Thomas) is a senior teacher at Roundview College, and British comedian and co-writer Josie Long appears as the college's careers counsellor.

The central cast's parents are often played by well-known British actors credited in a guest starring role. Harry Enfield portrays Tony and Effy's father, Jim Stonem, and Morwenna Banks plays his wife Anthea Stonem. Peter Capaldi and Josie Lawrence act as Sid's parents, Mark and Liz Jenkins. Neil Morrissey and Naomi Allisstone play Cassie's parents Marcus and Margeritte. Arabella Weir acts as Michelle's mother, Anna Richardson, and Danny Dyer as her step father Malcolm. Ronnie Fazer (Mark Monero) is Jal's musician father, and Elaine (Josette Simon) her estranged mother. Mark Heap portrays Graham Miles, Chris' father, and Sarah Lancashire his stepmother Mary. Inder Manocha, Istiak Kharral plays Anwar's father, with Nina Wadia as Anwar's mother, Bibi Kharral. Heidi Monsen acts as Dr. Victoria Stock, Abigail's mother. Maxxie's parents, Walter and Jackie Oliver, are played by Bill Bailey and Fiona Allen.

Second generation[link]

Elizabeth "Effy" Stonem (Kaya Scodelario), Tony's younger sister, becomes the lead character for the second generation. Effy is pretty, popular and, like her brother, a natural leader. She is also quiet and distant, attempting to keep her own troubles hidden. Pandora Moon (Lisa Backwell) is her friend, having appeared for the first time in a second series episode. She is innocent to the sexual and narcotic world in which Effy indulges, but is ready and willing to explore it. Thomas Tomone (Merveille Lukeba) is an immigrant from the Congo, with a morally upright outlook and good-hearted nature, and his storyline sees him become romantically involved with Pandora.

James Cook (Jack O'Connell), Freddie Mclair (Luke Pasqualino) and JJ Jones (Ollie Barbieri) have been best friends since childhood. Though Cook is charismatic and sociable, he is also boisterous and not afraid of authority. His womanising drives many of the events in the series. By contrast, Freddie is an easy-going skater who likes to smoke weed, and as the more sensible and responsible friend, is often put out by Cook's behaviour. Cook and Freddie are both drawn to Effy, which drives a rift in their friendship. JJ's autism makes it difficult for him to fit in socially, but he has learnt to use magic tricks to make friends. His friends view him kindly but with a degree of amusement and sometimes irritation, but he knows Cook and Freddie will always take care of him. He is the kindest of the three, and by far the least worldly.

Katie (Megan Prescott) and Emily Fitch (Kathryn Prescott) are very different identical twin sisters. Katie thinks of herself as something of a WAG and wants to usurp Effy's place as queen bee of the group. Katie's homophobic attitudes cause problems between them, as Emily comes to terms with her homosexuality. The quieter of the two, Emily is used to being in her sister's shadow. She is sulky but perceptive. She is in love with Naomi Campbell (Lily Loveless), a fiery, politically charged and passionate young woman with idealistic views and an abundance of ambition. Emily also develops a good friendship with JJ, becoming close confidantes to one another.

Other characters include Karen McClair (Klariza Clayton), Freddie's sister who is desperate to become famous. Mackenzie Crook guest stars as Johnny White, a psychotic Bristol gangster with comedians Jordan Long and Justin Edwards as his inept henchmen. Ardal O'Hanlon is the gang's careless Northern Irish college tutor, Kieran MacFoeinaiugh (pronounced Mac-Phew). As with the first generation, the central cast's parents are played by established British comedic actors. Harry Enfield and Morwenna Banks return as Effy's parents, with Banks' real life partner David Baddiel appearing as her fictional husband's work colleague. Sally Phillips is introduced as Pandora's mother Angela, and Maureen Lipman as her Aunt Elizabeth. Other parents include Cook's father (Matt King) and mother (Tanya Franks), JJ's mother (Juliet Cowan) and father (Douglas Hodge), Freddie's dad (Simon Day) and grandfather Norman (Dudley Sutton), Naomi's mother (Olivia Colman), and Katie and Emily's parents played by impressionist Ronni Ancona and stand-up comedian John Bishop. Guest stars for the series include Georgia Henshaw, who appears as Lara, JJ's new girlfriend, and singer Will Young who plays a school counsellor. Chris Addison appears as Roundview College's new "Cameronian" headmaster, David Blood. Pauline Quirke recurs as the detective who investigates Sophia's suicide.

Third generation[link]

Franky Fitzgerald (Dakota Blue Richards) is seen as an outsider, having arrived to her first year at Roundview three weeks late upon moving to Bristol from Oxford. She is an intelligent and creative girl, but is seen by others as strange, largely due to her androgynous dress sense. Aloysius "Alo" Creevey (Will Merrick), something of an optimist, loves his dog and his van foremost. He is best friends with Rich Hardbeck (Alexander Arnold), a boy from a very middle-class home who immerses himself in heavy metal subculture. He uses musical elitism as a means to cover up his own shyness around, among other things, girls.

Mini McGuinness (Freya Mavor), Liv Malone (Laya Lewis), Grace Violet (Jessica Sula) are best friends. By the time Franky arrives, image-conscious Mini has already established herself as Roundview's new "queen bee". She obscures her own insecurities (such as her body image, and her virginity), and is cruel to Franky and others. Of her two friends, Liv is the more devoted to Mini, and is more worldly and sexually voracious. By contrast, Grace — sweet, kind, and positive in her outlook — begins to disassociate herself from Mini after seeing Franky's example, and in the first episode establishes a friendship with outsiders Franky, Alo and Rich. Mini's boyfriend is Nick Levan (Sean Teale). His popularity makes him something of a status symbol for Mini, but his feelings for her are shallow and uncomplicated. His brother Matty (Sebastian de Souza) has strained relationships with his family, engages in criminal behavior, and lives rough following an altercation with their father. In series six, the group befriend Alex Henley (Sam Jackson), who is gay and in particular forms a close friendship with Liv.

Giles Thomas returns as Doug, Roundview's deputy headmaster as does comedian Chris Addison for a second year as headmaster David Blood. Josie Long returns in series six, once again as guidance counsellor. Gordon Kennedy plays English teacher Alan Precopp, and Alistair McGowan plays Coach Pooter, Nick's South African rugby coach.

Plot[link]

Series 1[link]

Episode one, "Tony", is an ensemble piece that introduces the characters and the format. We meet the effortlessly attractive, popular and intelligent Tony as he arranges for his friends to attend a party held by upper-class girl Abigail Stock (Georgina Moffat). The second episode, "Cassie", focuses on Cassie's final visit to an eating disorder clinic under the supervision of Abigail's mother Dr Stock. In her day-to-day life, she hallucinates messages instructing her to eat which seem to come from Sid. Jal's episode follows her attempt to win BBC Young Musician of the Year, and her strained relationship with her famous musician father. When a drug dealer 'Mad Twatter' smashes her clarinet as pay back for Sid not giving him money for drugs he bought, Jal's father sees to it he will not bother the gang again. In "Chris", Chris' mother abandons him, leaving £1,000 in cash. He blows the money on a party, and is eventually helped into temporary student accommodation by his psychology teacher, Angie (Siwan Morris). Episode five, "Sid", shows Sid's struggle with his parents' breakup while Tony organises a scheme to set him up with Michelle. A heartbroken and fragile Cassie attempts suicide by drug overdose.

"Maxxie and Anwar" focuses on the conflict between Anwar's Muslim faith and Maxxie's homosexuality. On a school trip to Russia, which Cassie does not attend as she is still in hospital, Michelle sees Tony trying to seduce Maxxie, because he wants to 'try something new'. In "Michelle", Michelle faces up to Tony's manipulative and cheating ways. She begins to date Josh Stock (Abigail's brother, played by Ben Lloyd-Hughes) until Tony breaks them up by sending naked photos of Abigail from Josh's phone. In "Effy", Josh seeks revenge on Tony and his younger sister Effy, by drugging her and effectively taking her for ransom. In the finale episode, it is Anwar's birthday. Anwar and Maxxie are reconciled when Anwar's father welcomes Maxxie to the birthday party, accepting his homosexuality. Chris's relationship with Angie ends violently when her fiancé returns. Tony confesses to Michelle that he loves her and wants to change his manipulative ways (whilst on the phone), only to be hit by a bus, as Effy watches on from Sid's dad's car. The characters begin to sing "Wild World" by Cat Stevens as Tony lies unconscious and Sid searches for Cassie.

Series 2[link]

The second series premiered on E4 on 11 February 2008, however the first episode was available in four parts to MySpace users prior to airing. "Maxxie and Tony" starts the series, showcasing Tony's impairments following his accident and Maxxie's involvement to his recovery. The episode also reveals more about Maxxie's life; we learn of his ambitions to be a dancer, his surname, his difficulties with homophobic bullies, and encounter his parents (played by Bill Bailey and Fiona Allen). The second episode introduces a new character in Maxxie's stalker, young carer Lucy, also known as "Sketch". Sketch disrupts the school play organized by drama lecturer Bruce (Shane Richie) in order to steal a kiss from Maxxie. To spite Maxxie, Sketch begins a sexual relationship with Anwar. Episode three focuses on Sid's life, coping with Cassie's departure to Scotland, and he suspects her of cheating. When his Scottish relatives visit, his father is driven to despair, drinking and smoking himself to death unintentionally. Sid reconnects with brain-damaged Tony when he is able to open up to him about the incident. For "Michelle", the group go on a camping trip to Michelle's father's home in Wales. Maxxie discovers Sketch having sex with Anwar, and Sid sleeps with Michelle, starting a relationship; he comes home to find Cassie waiting for him. In "Chris", Chris agrees to start a job and Jal learns to start being more open to new things, and the two end up in a relationship. Although Chris cheats on her with Angie, they move back in together, and Jal discovers she is pregnant.

"Tony", directed by recurring actor Harry Enfield, sees Tony Stonem attend a university open day not long after taking an ecstasy tablet that awakens elements of his old personality. In a visual metaphor for Jungian psychology, a mysterious girl who is a projection of Tony's subconscious helps him conquer his mental impairments. His old self again, he confronts Michelle and Sid and tells them their relationship is "wrong". With the Stonem parents unable to run the house, Effy takes over in episode seven. She starts a new private school and befriends weird girl Pandora Moon (Lisa Backwell), and resolves to solve her brother's and his friends' relationship problems. Cassie is hurting and turning to promiscuity, but through Effy's machinations, she and Sid get back together, as do Tony and Michelle. Actor Daniel Kaluuya wrote "Jal", which sees her struggle with her pregnancy, while Chris is rushed to hospital with a blood clot in his brain. Meanwhile, Maxxie introduces his new boyfriend, James (Sean Verey). In "Cassie", Jal tells Chris she is having an abortion. Cassie feels without her eating disorder and other problems, she is disempowered; she is traumatised when Chris dies in her arms of a subarachnoid haemorrhage and flees to New York City. In the series finale, the gang get their A Level results, collectively mourn Chris and eventually part ways, with Sid following Cassie to New York, Anwar moving with Maxxie and James to London, and Sketch left behind. The series ends with Effy in Tony's bed, reveling in the art work of emotions she has created as she claims her top place in their social world, and also as series' lead in the upcoming series.

Series 3[link]

We are introduced to the new cast on their first day at Roundview College in the series premiere, "Everyone". JJ Jones, James Cook and Freddie McClair are best friends to begin with; twins Katie and Emily Fitch know Naomi Campbell from school but are distant with her because Katie is homophobic and suspects her of being a lesbian. The gang meet Effy, and sidekick Pandora; Katie wants to become Effy's best friend, and both Cook and Freddie are instantly smitten. Cook passes the test set by Effy and begins a casual sex relationship with her. Episode two focuses on Cook who invites the whole group over, but their friendships are not very strong yet; chaos ensues, and Cook angers local gangster Johnny White (Mackenzie Crook). Thomas Tomone is only introduced in the third episode. He is an immigrant from the Congo, and develops a crush on Pandora. He endears himself to the group when he is able to get Johnny White off their backs by besting him in a pepper-eating competition. However, despairing at his decadent life in Bristol, Mrs. Tomone brings Thomas back to the Congo. In "Pandora", Pandora's innocent slumber party becomes an MDMA-fuelled rave after Katie spikes the brownies. Emily and Naomi kiss; Naomi denies being gay, but urges Emily to admit that she is, who also denies it. Pandora allows Cook to take her virginity, but regrets it when later Thomas returns from Congo.

Freddie's episode shows his difficult relationship with his widower father (Simon Day) and his sister Karen (Klariza Clayton), who has ambitions to be a celebrity. His father converts Freddie's shed—his personal sanctuary—into a dance studio for Karen. He witnesses Effy's parents' breakup, discovers that Cook slept with his sister, gets punched in the face by his father, and when he goes to tell Effy how he feels about her discovers she is with Cook. In "Naomi", Naomi runs against Cook for student president on the basis that if he wins she will have to sleep with him; when he wins however, he does not force her to take it further than kissing. She and Emily begin a sexual relationship, but Naomi is unwilling to accept the reality of its romantic nature. In "JJ", Freddie and Cook's feud over Effy negatively affects JJ. At Emily's encouragement, he manages to confront them both about it, and later loses his virginity when Emily decides to have pity sex with him. Thomas discovers that Pandora has been cheating on him, and while high on JJ's medication, Cook reveals to Freddie that Effy loves Freddie and not him. In Effy's episode, she has nothing: her Queen Bee status has been usurped by Katie, sex with Cook means nothing, and her home life is a wreck. She finally feels something when she has sex with Freddie, but after being tormented by Katie, an intoxicated Effy hits her with a rock. Katie is recovering in "Katie and Emily" but her relationship with her sister is falling apart. However, at the college ball, Emily is able to assert herself and Naomi confesses she loves Emily back. Thomas and Pandora also reunite. The finale, also an "Everyone" episode, sees Cook and Effy hiding out with Cook's father (Matt King). JJ tracks them down however, and forces Effy to confess it is Freddie that she loves, but Cook is adamant he loves her too. Freddie closes the series, asking "What do we do now?".

Series 4[link]

Series four begins with the suicide of a girl named Sophia (Amberley Gridley) while she is high on MDMA at a club Thomas works at. A police inspector (Pauline Quirke) questions the entire gang, and Thomas is expelled by the new headmaster (Chris Addison) for his unseemly connection to the incident. Thomas gives into temptation and sleeps with another girl, resulting in the breakup of him and Pandora. In "Emily", Emily's mother (Ronni Ancona) warns her to take her relationship more slowly and cautiously. Emily discovers Naomi had slept with Sophia and is the one who sold her the MDMA, leaving their relationship fraught. In "Cook", Cook is in trouble for an assault and, to be a better influence on his younger brother, accepts a prison sentence for dealing the drugs that led to Sophia's death, covering for Naomi. When Katie loses her job and discovers she has premature menopause, she cannot confide in her mother at first because of the stress of their bankruptcy and homelessness; the Fitches are forced to move into Naomi's house.

Freddie worries over Effy's psychological state in his centric episode, as she is developing a psychotic depression that resembles what his mother had before she committed suicide. He is able to save Effy after an attempt on her life; she is hospitalised and he is left desolate. JJ's episode sees him fall in love with a single mother called Lara (Georgia Henshaw), through whom he finds a new-found confidence and begins to doubt whether he really needed to be so highly medicated his whole life. In the penultimate episode, Effy's psychiatric counsellor Dr. John Foster (Hugo Speer) uses unorthodox hypnotic methods to cure Effy's depression, making her forget and want to abandon her old friends. After an incident at the spot of Tony's accident where she nearly commits suicide again, her psychosis comes back and Freddie insists Dr Foster cease treating Effy. Later, Foster lures Freddie to discuss Effy and murders him. The finale episode, everyone deals with Freddie's absence, thinking that he has left of his own volition. Naomi and Emily finally repair their damaged relationship, scorched by cheating, and Naomi confesses she loved Emily since they first met; Thomas and Pandora are thrown back together by chance when they both get into Harvard College; a mostly-recovered Effy holds Freddie's birthday party in his shed, knowing that he loved her and pining for his return. Cook, who is on the run from the police after breaking out of prison, uncovers Dr Foster's killing and after confronting him, furiously lunges at Foster. The series ends here in freeze-frame leaving both Cook's and John Foster's fates unknown.

Series 5[link]

The series begins by introducing unconventional newcomer Franky, to whom secretly insecure popular girl Mini takes a dislike; Mini ingratiates Franky into her group only to disown her. Franky is on the verge of breakdown, her adoptive father's gun in hand, when mysterious stranger Matty convinces her of her self-worth. Mini's sweet friend Grace establishes new friendships with Franky and the school's other outsiders, metalhead Rich and farmhand Alo. In episode two, "Rich", Grace finds herself drawn to Rich. She attempts to help him win over an elusive girl, and eventually he gets past his shyness to realise his attraction to her too. After Mini's fashion show in "Mini", the two agree to begin dating. Mini, however, feels pressured to have sex with boyfriend Nick, who does not know she is a virgin. Mini's cruelty to Grace and her new friends backfires when her fashion show goes completely awry. When she realises that her best friend Liv has slept with Nick, she forces herself to have sex with him, which is disappointing. She is devastated to see the parallel between her and her promiscuous mother (Clare Grogan) as they encounter one another on their walks of shame. The affair between Nick and Liv continues, though they both suspect Mini knows when she unifies the two groups of friends under Liv's roof for a party, in "Liv". Because she cannot handle the stress of her family life or Mini's scheme, Liv leaves the house. In town, she meets drifter Matty, and the pair embark on a drug-fuelled bender. Back at her house, she discovers that Matty is in fact Nick's brother, and Liv's affair with Nick comes out in the open. The brothers reconcile, however, and Matty comes home again.

In "Nick", Matty is re-enlisted at Roundview, but his relationship with Liv causes a new love triangle to form—between him, Liv and Franky. Having lost both Mini and Liv, and now living in Matty's shadow, Nick has a nervous breakdown and smashes up his house with a golf club. Through Matty, however, Nick comes to see his father Leon (Dorian Lough) and his parenting in a more negative light and the two brothers take a stand. In his episode, Alo's parents take him out of sixth form to work on the farm, and after he causes an explosion they sell all of his belongings. In protest, he throws a massive party and when he confronts his parents, his father suffers a heart attack. Rather than burden his friend Rich, who has just proudly had sex for the first time with Grace, he goes home and attempts to repair things with his parents. In "Grace", Grace introduces Rich to her parents; Rich is shocked to discover that her father is headmaster David Blood (Addison). Blood schemes to have Grace's grades slip on her drama assessment, a staging of ''Twelfth Night'', so that he can justify removing her from Roundview. Grace sees her dilemma, as peacemaker, through ''Hamlet''s sea of troubles soliloquy; she uses ''Twelfth Night'' to bring the love triangle between Matty, Liv and Franky to a head, and ultimately receives an A. After Blood still forces Grace to change schools, Rich is inspired by ''Romeo and Juliet'' and proposes to her. In the series finale, the two attempt to marry in secret with the gang as witnesses, though Alo's van breaks down. Mini begins to recognise her attraction to Franky, and becomes very protective of her. After an attempt at sex with Matty, Franky has a panic attack, charges through a forest, and accidentally falls over a ledge. After being rescued by Mini, Matty and Liv, Franky reveals more to her friends about her insecurities. Though Blood intervenes and Grace and Rich do not marry, they are happily allowed to continue dating and the gang, solidified as friends, party together at a local fête.

Series 6[link]

Series 6 starts with the gang on holiday in Morocco; Franky has lost her virginity to Matty but is already becoming bored, and is tempted by wealthy drug dealer Luke (played by Joe Cole). Mini also decides to take Alo's virginity and swears him to secrecy. Matty pursues Luke and Franky which quickly escalates into a car chase; his truck overturns, putting Grace in a critical condition, and he runs away to avoid being arrested for the possession of the marijuana and ketamine Luke placed inside his vehicle. Back in Bristol, Franky struggles to cope with her guilt and Rich is prevented by her father from seeing Grace in hospital, where she lies in a coma, in "Rich". When Mr Blood takes Grace for treatment in Switzerland, Rich squats in the Bloods' home for some time, convinced that Grace is still alive, but after a party at the house a mournful David Blood informs him that Grace has subsequently died. In "Alex", new kid Alex, who is a little strange, arrives while the gang are at odds still mourning Grace; Liv in particular develops feelings for him, only for him to disclose to her that he is in fact gay. Nevertheless, the form a close in bond, particularly as Mini remains distant from Liv. In her episode, Franky, overwhelmed with guilt, escapes to "bad boy" Luke for companionship and excitement. Her actions are negatively viewed, and she quickly becomes alienated. She turns against authoritative figures at school and at home, pushing her to get more involved in her violent and destructive relationship with Luke. During a full-blown fight at a bar, Nick saves Franky and quietly confesses he loves her. After Luke gets rough with her, Franky escapes to a park near home where her father meets her; he is there to fend Luke away when he returns in an attempt to win Franky back. Subsequently, in "Mini", Mini continues to distance herself from her friends after Grace's death, while continuing her "no-strings-attached" relationship with Alo, but is hit further by the revelation that she is pregnant with Alo's baby. To get away from it, she clings to her deadbeat dad, Gregory, who she is convinced has changed. Though he abandons her, with the support of Franky she is able to accept her pregnancy.

In "Nick", Nick struggles to find money to pay for Russian gangsters to smuggle Matty back into England, all the while struggling with his feelings for Franky. After emotionally pouring his heart out to her during an argument in a nightclub toilet, he subsequently blows the deal. But, to his happiness, Franky finally reciprocates his feelings, and they form a relationship. In "Alo", Alo is finally forced to grow up when, in his effort to put his failed relationship with Mini behind him, he has sex with a girl named Poppy Champion (Holly Earl) who he did not initially know to be underage. Poppy reports him to the police when he breaks up with her. Although charges are eventually dropped, he and Mini are forced further apart than ever before. "Liv" focuses on Liv's isolation. Since meeting Alex, she has been "dealing" with Grace's death by going out, partying, drinking, and staying at Alex's house instead of her own home. Alex leaves Bristol one weekend, and Liv finds that—aside from her sister Maude—she has truly drifted from her friends, and Mini in particular. Moreover, she begins to have intense pains and feels a large lump on her side, which she worries might be ovarian cancer. Ultimately however, the lump turns out to be a grief-induced hallucination; responding to this, Liv takes a step towards dealing with Grace's death by placing flowers next to her tombstone alongside Rich, Doug, and Maude. While Mini's mum tries to convince her to give her child for adoption once it is born, and Franky is conflicted after Matty returns to Bristol, in "Franky & Mini", both girls decide to leave everything behind and abscond. Soon, however, Mini wishes to return home, despite Franky's insistence. Alo learns of Mini's pregnancy and to her surprise—in the end—vows to take care of her no matter what. In the finale, Franky attempts to track down her mother, but instead finds her biological sister who declares their mother has died. At Alex's house party to celebrate leaving Bristol behind, she tells both Matty and Nick she loves them but cannot be with them. In the conclusion, Mini goes into labour, while Franky's sister takes her to see her mother—who is not dead after all. Nick and Matty bond once again, and the latter turns himself into the police. In the final scene, playing in parallel, Alex leaves Bristol for Thailand; Alo and Liv are beside Mini as she gives birth; Franky lays eyes on her mother; and Rich, outside the room where Mini is giving birth, looks at the camera and says "bye".

Series 7[link]

''Skins'' will return for its seventh and final series, as announced by Channel 4. The final series is to be broadcast in early 2013, with Channel 4 promising "a celebration of this truly iconic series". it has been confirmed that Kaya Scodelario will return as Effy Stonem along with the other Skins generations for a special final series. The series will be made up of six episodes and will be split into three parts. There will be two episodes per generation. The story for the series is being kept closely under wraps for now but it is thought.It is not clear at this stage what other cast members will return though Kathryn Prescott, who plays Emily Fitch has expressed a strong desire to return to the series in past interviews and Hannah Murray, better known as anorexic character Cassie Ainsworth has also shown an interest.

American adaptation[link]

Although ''Skins'' aired in the United States on BBC America (only series 1-3 aired and the rights cleared only for those series for purchase of DVDs or online viewing in the U.S.), albeit in an edited form (strong language bleeped out and some more graphic scenes of violence and sex cut out), MTV announced that they would be adapting the show into an American version set in Baltimore, Maryland. With Bryan Elsley as executive producer, the series began filming in February 2010 in Toronto, Canada. The first episode of the U.S. series is almost a shot-for-shot copy of the first episode of the UK series, but it deviates from the original plot in following episodes such that there are significant differences between the U.S. and UK versions. Characters are also similar, and some names have been changed; Sid has been renamed Stanley, Cassie renamed Cadie and Jal renamed Daisy. However, the biggest change comes in the form of Tea, a lesbian cheerleader who replaces the UK gay character Maxxie.

The show's cancellation was announced by MTV on June 10, 2011. The Parents Television Council, an advocacy group, criticized the show, calling it one of the worst shows a child could watch. Reasons cited for its cancellation included loss of advertising sponsors and a shrinking audience, with fewer people tuning in for each subsequent episode. Pre-adult teens ("minors" under U.S. law), who are MTV's core demographic audience, were at the center of the argument for those who disapproved of the program, even with MTV's self-imposed restrictive broadcaster-like standards and practices. On February 21, 2012, all seasons of the UK version were made available on Hulu, with Hulu Plus subscribers viewing new shows the same week.

Production[link]

Writing[link]

The show's writing team has an average age of 21, and includes several "teenage consultants". Elsley said, "It's all about the writing. [...] We're about letting our audience feel they are not alone. [...] We're always having people miss [writing] meetings because they've got A-levels or even GCSEs".

In January 2011, Brittain announced a writing competition open to the public to help with the developing and writing of Series 6. According to Brittain, the winner will receive "a four month placement in the ''Skins'' writers' room, where you'd be invited to attend at least 10 of our top secret meetings, working with [Brittain] and the other ''Skins'' writers," as well as monetary compensation. The winners of the 2011 competition were Sophie Boyce (18) and Joe Hampson (21). The winner of the 2008 competition, Dan Lovett, went on to become an official member of the ''Skins'' writing team.

Filming[link]

The show is filmed almost entirely in Bristol; scenes at Roundview College were shot at Henbury School for series four, having formerly been set at the John Cabot Academy and Filton College's WISE Campus. and multiple scenes are located around College Green. Special locations for individual episodes have included the Gower Peninsula, Sharpness Docks, the University of Exeter and New York City. The series was shot entirely in High Definition, using Sony ''HDW-750P'' cameras for the first two series, and Sony ''HDW-F900R'' thereafter, both supplied by Panavision. It was edited at BBC Studios and Post Production in Bristol, using Autodesk Lustre and Autodesk Smoke. "The trip to Russia" episode was actually shot in Lithuania, near the capital Vilnius. This episode was shot in cooperation with Lithuanian Film Studios and professional Lithuanian actors.

It was announced in April 2008 that all of the original cast (except Kaya Scodelario and Lisa Backwell) will be replaced for series 3. Creator Bryan Elsley said: "There are risks associated with dumping a cast, but we just did it. There was some disquiet at the channel, but then they told us just to go with it." Speaking at Broadcast's television drama conference, he also confirmed the show would stick to its pattern of introducing college-age characters, moving them on in the next series, then letting them go. "The first year is about getting to know the kids, and the second gives us the advantage of being able to explore their psyches a little more," said Elsley. Brittain said that the new cast would be quite different from the original characters, although people may still spot some similarities. Open auditions for the second generation of cast members were held in Bristol, which attracted 1,500 16- to 18-year-olds, followed by a further two days of auditions in London.

Online content[link]

A variety of videos have been released on the Skins website, including character profiles, and "Unseen Skins" mini-episodes that interweave with every aired episode. In addition to character profiles on the official E4 website, accounts for the lead Skins characters are maintained on popular social networking website MySpace. Each series is launched on MySpace, with previews of the first episodes a few days before they are aired on television. There is also an official ''Skins'' Internet bot for Windows Live Messenger, which allows users to receive automated messages throughout the airing of each episode with music credits, trivia, and behind-the-scenes gossip.

Reception[link]

Critical reception[link]

The first series received positive reviews, although some critics complained that the series depicts teenagers unrealistically and stereotypically. Others criticised the excessive promotion of the show (specifically in the UK) and having relatively mediocre writing in comparison to other similarly themed shows. Actor Nicholas Hoult defended the extreme storylines, saying they would not reflect "everyone's teenage life", adding "it is maybe heightened for entertainment but all of it is believable."

Marieke Hardy expressed admiration of the show, and particularly enjoyed the fact that the show was "beautiful and sad and poignant and perfectly hurtful", while also managing to give impression of being drama that is "edgy, funny and rude". However, she did state that she was unsure whether the show was meant for teenagers or not. Stewart Lee has remarked during an interview on the BBC4 programme ''Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe'' that he feels lucky for having been a teenager watching TV for teenagers in the 1970s and not the 2000s as "there was something really comforting for nerds and weirdos about programmes like ''Children of the Stones'' and ''The Changes''." He said that watching Skins as a teenager today would make him feel lonelier than he already would have been. However, Brooker himself gave the programme a positive review in his ''Guardian'' column "Screen Burn", and specifically stated that "the series had wrong-footed me", comparing his initial expectation of ''Skins'' as a shallow show to after he had finished watching the series.

In his book ''Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale'', Russell T Davies and his co-author, Benjamin Cook, discuss ''Skins'' at length, with Davies praising the show's innovation in a genre that was fast becoming tired and out of date. They are critical of some elements of the first series, such as the believability of Tony's character, or episode 6 which is described as "Carry On Russia", but give high praise to the second series as a whole, highlighting the death of Sid's dad as a superb moment, and calling the finale "perfect". Davies, creator of the award-winning ''Queer as Folk'', also praised the handling of the show's homosexuality-related storylines, saying that he knew a boy very like Maxxie in the 80s. ''The Age'' called it a "refreshing, entertaining and worthy series" and wrote it was "compulsory viewing for parents of teenagers as much as for teens." Similarly, the "Naomily" storyline of Series 3 and 4 proved popular with lesbian viewers; a poll conducted by American gay women's' media website AfterEllen.com ranked Naomi and Emily as the top two fictional lesbian and bisexual characters.

Awards[link]

The show won the Best Drama prize at the 2008 Rose d'Or ceremony, and also won the Best Production Design (Drama) for Amelia Shankland's work on "Cassie", at the Royal Television Society Awards 2007, in addition to being nominated for Best Photography (Drama). Tal Rosner's graphics for ''Skins'' won a BAFTA for Best Title Sequence at the British Academy Television Craft Awards in May 2008. In March 2008, the show was nominated for Best Drama Series in the British Academy Television Awards 2008. The show's innovative marketing was awarded Best Advertising Campaign at the MediaGuardian Awards for Innovation in 2008. The viral marketing preluding the second series won the Entertainment category at the Interactive Marketing and Advertising Awards 2008. ''Skins'' won the Philips Audience Award at the BAFTAs 2009. The series Director of Photography, Nick Dance has been nominated for a BAFTA and an RTS Award for Photography and Lighting for his work on the series. In 2010, ''Skins'' was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding Drama Series" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards. In 2011, the series won Best TV Show at the NME Awards 2011.

Television ratings[link]

The pilot episode of ''Skins'' averaged 1.5 million viewers. The ratings for the second series which launched peaked at 884,000 viewers, which gave it 5.9% audience share and taking 60% of the 16–24 demographic, however this was still more than 500,000 viewers down on its series one premiere. The series finale attracted an audience of 740,000 on E4, equating to a 4.65% share of the audience. The start of the third series drew in 877,000 viewers, proving popular with its key audience demographic of younger people — 56.2% of viewers were aged between 16 and 34. Series 4 premiered with 1.5 million viewers across E4 and E4+1, the highest rated episode since series 1.

Cultural influence[link]

The programme has given rise to the term 'Skins party', referring to a debauched night of heavy drinking and recreational drug use. During the 2007 Easter holidays, a girl in County Durham threw a house party; it was advertised on her Myspace profile as a "Skins Unofficial Party," referring to the party in the first series' trailer, with the subtitle "Let's trash the average family-sized house disco party." Two hundred people turned up, breaking into the house and causing over £20,000 of seemingly deliberate damage. She alleges that her account was hacked and someone else placed the ad. Similar incidents have taken place in the Republic of Ireland, with major household damage and theft of personal property being reported in Firhouse and Foxrock. Although these attacks have not been conclusively linked to the show, news outlets have reported that they are called Skins parties. Club nights marketed as 'Skins Secret Parties' have also taken shape in Leicester and Brighton. Following this, a series of parties were run by Company Pictures in spring 2008.

DVD releases[link]

!rowspan="2" ! 24 September 2007 14 April 2009 7 September 2010 11 January 2011 TBA TBA TBA

Series!!colspan="3"|Release Dates!!rowspan="2"|Ep #!!rowspan="2"|Additional Information
Region 1 !	Region 2 !! Region 4
style="text-align:center;"	1	13 January 2009	|	20 February 2008	9	Standing in the Way of Control (song)>Standing in the Way of Control", and extended trailers. Much of the popular music used in the original broadcasts is not found on this DVD due to the high cost of licensing. Of particular note to R1 audiences is that the cast ensemble performance of "Wild World" that appeared at the end of the series is completely missing from the release.
style="text-align:center;"	2	|	5 May 2008	20 August 2008	10	This three-disc box set includes all ten episodes from series two. Bonus features include the six accompanying unseen ''Skins'' episodes, interviews with cast and crew, and short behind the scenes documentaries. Much of the popular music used in the original broadcasts is not found on this DVD due to the high cost of licensing.
style="text-align:center;"	3	|	6 April 2009	9 September 2009	10	This three-disc box set includes all ten episodes from series three. Bonus features include four editions of Unseen Skins, ten character video diaries, and behind the scenes featurettes from the episodes, trailers and auditions. Much of the popular music used in the original broadcasts is not found on this DVD due to the high cost of licensing.
style="text-align:center;"	4	|	22 March 2010	18 August 2010	8	This three-disc box set includes all eight episodes from series four. Bonus features include: Bonus ''Skins'' stories, Animated feature, Behind the scenes videos, and Commentaries with the show's writers and directors.
style="text-align:center;"	5	|	21 March 2011	30 November 2011	8	This three-disc box set includes all eight episodes from series five, behind-the-scenes of the entire series, and audio commentaries of writers, directors and actors (Alexander Arnold) of episode 2 and episode 6.
style="text-align:center;"	6	|	23 April 2012	TBA	10	This box set includes all episodes from series six.
style="text-align:center;"	1-6	|	23 April 2012	TBA	55	This box set includes all episodes from series one to six.

Other media[link]

In May 2009, E4 confirmed that Film4 and Company Pictures were in "preliminary talks" about a movie spin-off. In March 2010, Jack Thorne revealed to ''The Guardian'' that the ''Skins'' motion picture was in pre-production.

On the 31st May 2011, after many whisperings about whether the movie would go ahead or not, Kaya Scodelario announced on Twitter "I genuinely don't know anything about that, have no idea if it's even happening." Scodelario continued by saying 'I would still love to do the skins movie' and would enjoy working with the cast again.

In September 2009, Company Pictures announced that the ''Skins'' brand has been licensed to Crystal Entertainment. The plan is to help creator Bryan Elsley expand the brand into areas such as film, fashion and music. They described ''Skins'' as "the most authentic teen brand on TV".

In January 2010, Hodder & Stoughton published ''Skins: The Novel'' (ISBN 1-4449-0004-8), a short novel by Ali Cronin that describes events taking place between series 3 and 4, and in March 2011, they published ''Skins: v. 2: Summer Holiday'' (ISBN 978-1444903096), a short novel by Jess Britain which centers around the series 5 cast.

References[link]

External links[link]

Official ''Skins'' website

Skins online

Skins Hungarian Fansite

Category:2007 British television programme debuts Category:2000s British television series Category:2010s British television series Category:Bisexuality-related television series Category:British drama television series Category:Channel 4 television programmes Category:Teen dramas Category:Television shows set in Bristol Category:Television programmes shot in Bristol Category:Youth culture in the United Kingdom Category:British LGBT-related television programmes

ar:بشرات (مسلسل) be:Малакасосы, тэлесерыял br:Skins ca:Skins (sèrie de televisió) cy:Skins da:Skins de:Skins – Hautnah es:Skins fr:Skins (Royaume-Uni) gl:Skins ko:스킨스 (드라마) it:Skins (serie televisiva 2007) he:סקינס lv:Skins (seriāls) hu:Skins nl:Skins no:Skins pl:Kumple (serial telewizyjny) pt:Skins ru:Молокососы (телесериал) simple:Skins (TV series) fi:Skins – liekeissä sv:Skins uk:Скінз (телесеріал) vi:Skins (phim truyền hình)

A television program (usually television programme outside North America), also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode.

A television series that is intended to comprise a limited number of episodes is usually called a miniseries or serial. Series without a fixed length are usually divided into ''seasons'' or ''series'', yearly or biannual installments of new episodes. While there is no defined length, US industry practice tends to favor longer seasons than those of some other countries.

A one-time broadcast may be called a "special", or particularly in the UK a "special episode". A television movie ("made-for-TV movie" or television film), is a film that is initially broadcast on television rather than released in cinemas or direct-to-video, although many successful TV movies are later released on DVD.

A program can be either recorded—as on video tape or other various electronic media forms—or considered live television.

Program content[link]

Television programming may be fictional (as in comedies and dramas), or non-fictional (as in documentary, news, and reality television). It may be topical (as in the case of a local newscast and some made-for-television movies), or historical (as in the case of many documentaries and fictional series). They could be primarily instructional or educational, or entertaining as is the case in situation comedy and game shows.

A drama program usually features a set of actors in a somewhat familiar setting. The program follows their lives and their adventures. With the exception of soap operas, many shows especially before the 1980s, remained static without story arcs, the main characters and the premise changed little. If some change happened to the characters lives during the episode, it was usually undone by the end. (Because of this, the episodes could be broadcast in any order.) Since the 1980s, there are many series that feature progressive change to the plot, the characters, or both.

Common television program periods include regular broadcasts (like news), series (usually seasonal and ongoing with a duration of only a few episodes to many seasons), or miniseries, which is an extended film, usually with a small predetermined number of episodes and a set plot and timeline. Miniseries usually range from about 3 to 10 hours in length. In the UK, the term "miniseries" is only usually used in reference to imported programmes, and such short-run series are usually called "serials".

Older American television shows began with a title sequence showing opening credits at the bottom lower third of the screen during the beginning, and included closing credits at the end of the show. However, beginning in the 1990s some shows began with a "cold open", followed by a title sequence and a commercial break. Many serial-type shows begin with a "Previously on..." (such as the series ''24'') introduction before the new episode. And, to save time, some shows omit the title sequence altogether, folding the names normally featured there into the opening credits. The title sequence has not been completely eliminated, however, as many major television series still use them.

While television series appearing on TV networks are usually commissioned by the networks themselves, their producers earn greater revenue when the program is sold into syndication. With the rise of the DVD home video format, box sets containing entire seasons or the complete run of a program have become a significant revenue source as well. Many of the prime-time comedy shows and Saturday morning cartoons were digitally remastered for United States television around mid-May 2008, as there will be more original and reissued DVD sets of television programs containing either entire seasons or complete series to come. Typically, a DVD of a series or TV movie may contain extended or additional scenes not shown during the broadcast, scenes not allowed for broadcast (due to censorship rule), or additional background information/documentaries.

Television has changed throughout the years, from wholesome family sitcoms and dramas of years ago, to the reality shows of today. When watching television became popular in the mid-20th century, the whole family watched one set together. Also, many channels have deviated from their original programming focus throughout the years because of channel drift.

Most television networks throughout the world are 'commercial', dependent on selling advertising time or acquiring sponsors, broadcasting executives' main concern over their programming is on audience size or ''eyeballs''. Once the number of 'free to air' stations was restricted by the availability of channel frequencies, but cable TV (outside the USA, satellite television) technology has allowed an expansion in the number of channels available to viewers (sometimes at premium rates) in a much more competitive environment.

Genres[link]

Scripted entertainment[link]

Animated

Award shows (partially scripted)

Drama—which includes:

* Action-adventure or Thriller

* Comedy-drama

* Family drama

* Legal drama

* Medical drama

* Police procedural

* Political drama

* Science-fiction / Fantasy / Horror / Supernatural drama

* Serial drama

* Soap opera

* Teen drama

Miniseries and Television movies

Comedy

* Mockumentary

* Satire

* Sitcom

* Sketch comedy

Unscripted entertainment[link]

Game shows

Reality

Talk shows

Informational[link]

Infomercials—paid advertising which are up to an hour long

News programs

Documentaries

News magazines—dealing with current affairs

Development[link]

United States[link]

A person decides to create a new series. The creator develops the show's elements, consisting of the concept, the characters, the crew, and cast. They will then offer ("pitch") it to the various networks in an attempt to find one that is interested in the series and order a prototype first episode of the series, known as a "pilot".

To create the pilot, the structure and team of the whole series needs to be put together. If the network likes the pilot, they will pick up the show to be aired the next season (usually Fall). Sometimes they will save it for "mid-season" or request rewrites and further review (known in the industry as "Development hell"). And other times they will ''pass'' entirely, leaving the show's creator forced to "shop it around" to other networks. Many shows never make it past the pilot stage.

If the show is picked up, a "run" of episodes is ordered. Usually only 13 episodes are ordered at first, although a series will typically last for at least 22 episodes (the last nine episodes sometimes being known as the "back nine"—borrowing the colloquial golf term).

The show hires a "stable" of writers, who usually work in parallel: the first writer works on the first episode, the second on the second episode, and so forth. When all of the writers have been used, the assignment of episodes continues starting with the first writer again. On other shows, however, the writers work as a team. Sometimes they will develop story ideas individually, and pitch them to the show's creator, who then folds them together into a script and rewrites them.

United Kingdom[link]

In contrast to the US model illustrated above, the UK procedure is operated on a sometimes similar, but much smaller scale.

The method of "team writing" is employed on some longer dramatic series (usually running up to a maximum of around 13 episodes). The idea for such a programme may be generated "in-house" by one of the networks; it could originate from an independent production company; it will sometimes be a product of both. For example, the BBC's long-running soap opera ''EastEnders'' is wholly a BBC production, whereas its popular drama ''Life on Mars'' was developed by Kudos in association with the broadcaster.

However, there are still a significant number of programmes (usually sitcoms) that are built around just one or two writers and a small, close-knit production team. These are "pitched" in the traditional way, but since the creator(s) will handle all the writing requirements, there will be a run of six or seven episodes per series once approval has been given. Many of the most popular British comedies have been made this way, including ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (albeit with an exclusive team of six writer-performers), ''Fawlty Towers'', ''Blackadder'' and ''The Office''.

Production[link]

The executive producer, often the show's creator, is in charge of running the show. They pick the crew and help cast the actors, approve and sometimes write series plots (some even write or direct major episodes). Various other producers help to ensure that the show runs smoothly.

As with filmmaking or other electronic media production, production of an individual episode can be divided into three parts. These are:

Pre-production[link]

Pre-production begins when a script is approved. A director is chosen to plan the episode's final look.

Pre-production tasks include storyboarding, construction of sets, props, and costumes, casting guest stars, budgeting, acquiring resources like lighting, special effects, stunts, etc. Once the show is planned, it must then be scheduled; scenes are often filmed out of sequence, guest actors or even regulars may only be available at certain times. Sometimes the principal photography of different episodes must be done at the same time, complicating the schedule (a guest star might shoot scenes from two episodes on the same afternoon). Complex scenes are translated from storyboard to animatics to further clarify the action. Scripts are adjusted to meet altering requirements.

Some shows have a small stable of directors, but also usually rely on outside directors. Given the time constraints of broadcasting, a single show might have two or three episodes in pre-production, one or two episodes in principal photography, and a few more in various stages of post-production. The task of directing is complex enough that a single director can usually not work on more than one episode or show at a time, hence the need for multiple directors.

Principal photography[link]

Principal photography is the actual filming of the episode. Director, actors and crew will gather at a television studio or on location for filming or videoing a scene. A scene is further divided into shots, which should be planned during pre-production. Depending on scheduling, a scene may be shot in non-sequential order of the story. Conversations may be filmed twice from different camera angles, often using stand-ins, so one actor might perform all their lines in one set of shots, and then the other side of the conversation will be filmed from the opposite perspective. To complete a production on time, a second unit may be filming a different scene on another set or location at the same time, using a different set of actors, an assistant director, and a second unit crew. A director of photography supervises the lighting of each shot to ensure consistency.

Post production[link]

Once principal photography is complete, producers coordinate tasks to begin the video editing. Visual and digital video effects are added to the film; this is often outsourced to companies specializing in these areas. Often music is performed with the conductor using the film as a time reference (other musical elements may be previously recorded). An editor cuts the various pieces of film together, adds the musical score and effects, determines scene transitions, and assembles the completed show.

Budgets and revenues[link]

In the United States, the average broadcast network drama costs $3 million an episode to produce, while cable dramas cost $2 million on average. The pilot episode may be more expensive than a regular episode. In 2004, ''Lost'''s two-hour pilot cost $10–$14 million, in 2008 ''Fringe'''s two-hour pilot cost $10 million, and in 2010, ''Boardwalk Empire'' was $18 million for the first episode. In 2011, ''Game of Thrones'' was $5–$10 million, ''Pan Am'' cost an estimated $10 million, while ''Terra Nova'''s two-hour pilot was between $10 to $20 million.

Deficit financing is the term used to describe how many scripted network television shows in the Unites States are financed. A studio finances the production cost of a show and a network pays a license fee to the studio for the right to air the show. This license fee does not cover the show's production costs, leading to the deficit. Although the studio does not make its money back in the original airing of the show, it retains ownership of the show. This ownership retention allows the studio to make its money back and earn a profit through syndication and DVD and Blu-ray disc sales. This system places most of the financial risk on the studios, however a show that is a hit in the syndication and home video markets can more than make up for the misses. Although the deficit financing system places minimal financial risk on the networks, they lose out on the future profits of big hits, since they are only licensing the shows.

Costs are recouped mainly by advertising revenues for broadcast networks and some cable channels, while other cable channels depend on subscription revenues. In general, advertisers, and consequently networks that depend on advertising revenues, are more interested in the number of viewers within the 18–49 age range than the total number of viewers. Advertisers are willing to pay more to advertise on shows successful with young adults because they watch less television and are harder to reach than older adults. According to ''Advertising Age'', during the 2007–08 season, ''Grey's Anatomy'' was able to charge $419,000 per commercial, compared to only $248,000 for a commercial during ''CSI'', despite CSI having almost five million more viewers on average. Due to its strength in young demos, ''Friends'' was able to charge almost three times as much for a commercial as ''Murder, She Wrote'', even though the two series had similar total viewer numbers during the seasons they were on the air together. ''Glee'' and ''The Office'' drew fewer total viewers than ''NCIS'' during the 2009–10 season, but earned an average of $272,694 and $213,617 respectively, compared to $150,708 for NCIS.

Distribution[link]

After production, the show is turned over to the television network, which sends it out to its affiliate stations, which broadcast it in the specified broadcast programming time slot. If the Nielsen ratings are good, the show is kept alive as long as possible. If not, the show is usually canceled. The show's creators are then left to shop around remaining episodes, and the possibility of future episodes, to other networks. On especially successful series, the producers sometimes call a halt to a series on their own like ''Seinfeld'', ''The Cosby Show'', ''Corner Gas'', and ''M*A*S*H'' and end it with a concluding episode, which sometimes is a big series finale.

On rare occasions, a series that has not attracted particularly high ratings and has been canceled can be given a reprieve if DVD sales have been particularly strong. This has happened in the cases of ''Family Guy'' in the US and ''Peep Show'' in the UK.

If the show is popular or lucrative, and a number of episodes (usually 100 episodes or more) are made, it goes into broadcast syndication (in the USA) where broadcast to the program rights are then resold.

== == The terminology used to define a set of episodes produced by a television series varies from country to country.

North American usage [link]

The term "series", in North American usage, refers to a connected set of television program episodes that run under the same title, possibly spanning many seasons. A new series is often ordered (funded) for just the first 10 to 13 episodes, to gauge the audience interest. If it is "picked up", the season is completed to the regular 20 to 26 episodes. The term "midseason replacement" usually refers to an inexpensive short-run (10–13 episode) show designed to take the place of an original series which failed to garner an audience and has not been picked up. The term "series finale" can lead to confusion outside of North America. A series finale means that the show will no longer be produced, and thus will be the final episode for that series (in the UK, it would mean the end of a season).

In North America the term "television season" is used inconsistently. A "full season" typically runs from September through May, with a hiatus between December and February. This broadcast programming schedule typically includes 20 to 26 episodes. A full season is sometimes split into two separate units (confusingly also termed seasons) with one before and one after the hiatus. These smaller "seasons" usually contain half the number of episodes (10–13).

In the 2000s (decade), these shorter seasons have been referred to as ".5" or half seasons, where the run of shows between September and December is labeled "Season N", and the second run between February and May labeled "Season N.5". This is typically done to increase DVD sales of the show. The distributor will release the first half of the season in stores just before the second half first airs, in order to increase interest in the season's second half. Examples of this would be the science fiction remake ''Battlestar Galactica'', its prequel ''Caprica'', ABC's ''FlashForward'' and ABC Family's Make It or Break It.

UK and Australia usage [link]

In the United Kingdom and other countries, these sets of episodes are referred to as a "series". In Australia, the broadcasting may be different to North American usage, however, the terms "series" and "season" are the same. For example, ''Battlestar Galactica'' has an original series as well as a remake, both are considered different series with their own number of individual seasons. It helps to avoid much confusion when talking about a TV Series.

Australian television does not follow "seasons" in the way that US television does. So there is no "Fall Season" or "Fall schedule", for example. For many years popular night time dramas in Australia would run much of the year, and would only go into recess over the summer period (December–February) where ratings are not taken. Therefore popular dramas would usually run February–November each year. This schedule was used in the 1970s for popular dramas including ''Number 96''. ''Neighbours'' and other dramas continue this routine as of 2011. Australian situation comedy series usually have seasons of about 13 episodes, and might premiere at any month between February and November.

British shows have tended toward shorter series in recent years. For example, the first series of long-running science fiction show ''Doctor Who'' in 1963 featured forty-two 25-minute episodes, which had been reduced gradually to fourteen 25-minute episodes in 1989. The revival of ''Doctor Who'' has comprised thirteen 45-minute installments. However, there are some series in the UK that have a larger number of episodes, for example ''Waterloo Road'' started with 8–12 episodes but from series three onward, it increased to 20 episodes, and season seven will contain 30 episodes. Recently, American non-cable networks have also begun to experiment with shorter seasons for some programs, particularly reality shows such as ''Survivor''. However, they often air two seasons per year, resulting in roughly the same number of episodes per year as a drama.

This is a reduction from the 1950s, in which many American shows (e.g., ''The Twilight Zone'') had between 29 and 39 episodes per season. Actual storytelling time within a commercial television hour has also gradually reduced over the years, from 50 minutes out of every 60 to the current 44 (and even less on some networks), beginning in the early 21st century.

Japanese usage [link]

The Japanese have sometimes subdivided television series and dramas into , from the French term "cours" for "course", which is a three-month period usually of 13 episodes. Each ''kūru'' generally has its own opening and ending image sequence and song, recordings of which are often sold. The number of episodes permitted per season ranges from three to 65. (See also Japanese television programs.)

In the United States, in general, dramas usually last 44 minutes (an hour with advertisements), while sitcoms last 22 (30 with advertisements). However, with the rise of cable networks, especially pay ones, series and episode lengths have been changing, with 55–60 minutes per episode, and shorter seasons overall.

See also[link]

:Category:Television schedules (by country and year)

List of animated television series

List of television programs by name in alphabetical order

Lists of television programs

Network programming (television)

Radio programming

Television advertisement

References[link]

External links [link]

FCC

Category:History of television

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