MTV didn’t have to reveal much for the new series “Skins” to cause a stir.
The risqué show, which follows a cast of underage teens popping pills, drinking and engaging in various sexual acts, has prompted a letter from the Parents Television Council, calling for the chairman of the U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committees and the Department of Justice to investigate allegations of child pornography.
Why child pornography? Because not only are the characters underage, the actors are as well – the youngest just 15 years old. According to a “Washington Post” report, Episode 3 will feature a character running down the street naked, after a night of experimenting with erectile dysfunction drugs. The actor in the scene is only 17.
While MTV seems content with their TV-MA content rating, for those who have seen the original U.K. version, MTV’s edition is tame. Kaya Scodelario, who plays Effy Stonem in the U.K., shared her disapproval of the new U.S. adaptation on Twitter, shocked that the language and graphic depictions were cleaned up.
“Brits did it better…Can’t believe it was bleeped!” she tweeted.
Yet Scodelario did praise Showtime’s “Shameless,” a show about a dysfunctional family, perhaps hinting to MTV and the PTC that the racy series does not belong on network TV.