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All the media attention surrounding the controversial new MTV drama Skins didn’t convert into ratings, as the racy freshman drama was down sharply in its second airing last night. The series, which lost a number of advertisers since its premiere, drew 1.6 million viewers, less than half of the 3.3 million who tuned in for the debut last week when it had an original Jersey Shore as a lead-in. In the key 18-34 and 12-34 demographics, the show did a 1 rating vs. 2.7 last week and 1.4 vs 2.9 last week, respectively. Because of the show’s huge lead-in last week provided by a ratings record-breaking episode of phenomenon Jersey Shore, Skins was facing tough Week 2-to-Week 1 ratings comparisons. Indeed, sources said Episode 2 slightly exceeded internal ratings projections at the network. Still, given the big controversy surrounding the show, numbers could’ve held up better.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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In this case it appears that moral and artistic bankruptcy will coincide with low ratings. If only this happened more often.
No “insiders” were seriously looking for the show to match its premiere ratings.
But something along the lines of 2.2-2.8 was the hope.
This show is done.
When a show loses more than 50% of the premier ratings, the only way the ratings are going to do is down. The high cost of the show (at least compared to RJ Berger) and exodus of advertisers is also going to count against it.
So much for all the self-proclaimed geniuses thinking the “advertisers pulling out” publicity would give it Jersey Shore ratings. There’s a difference between a show that’s fun stupidity offending special interest groups, and a show that’s portraying all young teens as whoring druggies and using 14 year old actors to do it. Apples and oranges people. Plus, the show just plain sucks from what I’ve seen of critics’ reviews. Time to pull the plug MTV!
Here’s a thought. Maybe it’s just not any good.
That’s a really far-fetched thought.
It also has the potential to undermine 95 % of all products Hollywood is currently churning out.
A Liz Gatley and Tony Disanto parting gift to the network.
hey parents out there guess what your 15 year old kids have sex yes they do and they have smoked some weed too
reality hurts i know which is why you dont want to see this show showing the harsh reality
this is not the olden days when you get married then lose your virginity
you forget what century your in?
Not all young teens have sex and smoke pot nelson. And shows like this and people like you make people think they do, so those who don’t (and there’s actually a lot, you’d be surprised) then feel pressured to do it so they’re not in the slim majority. “Everybody does it!” is a statement that makes those who don’t feel like outsiders, and thus do it anyway when perhaps they would have waiting to have sex a little longer, or never smoked pot at all.
Whether or not SOME real-life teens engage in these activities is not the issue. The issue is that we have laws in this country preventing underage actors from being filmed engaging in certain behavior and certain states of partial undress. THAT is the reason the sponsors are pullingn out. Yes, even in Obamaland, we remain a nation of laws, thank goodness.
Man, I was right there with you until you had to go there with the “Obamaland” bullshit. The president doesn’t have anything to do with it, despite the rightwing’s insistence that he is responsible for every awful thing that has and ever will happen.
That’s sooo not true. I don’t think he’s responsible for every societal ill. For example, I’m pretty sure he had nothing to do with the bubonic plague, but other than that, yeah, he’s pretty much evil personified. LOL!
hey nelson, no shit, but just because teens are already doing it doesn’t mean we need to glamorize using teenage actors no less.
You know, nelson, most teenagers are just leading a normal, boring life. Sure, there are always a few cool kids who have sex or smoke weed with 13 or 14, but they’re certainly not in the majority.
And the characters in this show just don’t feel real to me. They have absolutely no depth, they are just behaving in a rude and immoral manner all the time. There is no scene in this show where you might think that these characters are actual human beings.
My criticism doesn’t have anything to do with the ridiculously prude youth pornography laws in the US that obviously can’t differentiate between a drama series about teenage life and softcore pornography.
have to agree here. the show has no heart at all. and yes, i know that kids are doing things like smoking weed and having sex…but it isn’t handled in a real way at all. the one ep i saw featured some half dressed, hungover group of kids crash someone’s car into a reservoir and then law hysterically when they all barely get killed escaping from the sinking car. it wasn’t like the scene where joel’s dad’s porsche rolls into the lake in risky business, or when cameron’s dad’s car flew through the window in ferris bueller. movies like that knew how to tackle real angst with humor and heart. i grew up on john hughes and he did an incomparable job of channeling real teenage experience and feelings into film. this show proclaims that it is “what kids today are really about.” so all kids are druggie, alocoholic, sluts nowadays? tsk tsk, MTV. i love Jersey Shore but Skins and Teen Mom do nothing more than subtly glamorize destructive behavior. you owe more to today’s youth than this. PS. WTF happened to showing music videos?
While I wasn’t born yesterday, it wasn’t that long ago that I was in this age range. Maybe it’s different in LA, but the kids who acted like the ones in the American version of Skins were collectively viewed as losers, druggies, or sluts. According to my 16 year old nephew, who happens to be a hockey player and very much not a social outcast, this is still very much the case. Yeah, there are kids that do act like this, but they are far from the majority, and they are very much shunned by said majority. If anything, it’s harder to behave like this because even the most rare and out of character slip up can easily wind up plastered all over Twitter and Facebook, complete with pics and video documenting it. It was hard enough being a teen a few years ago when rumors were the worst thing we had to worry about. Now, if kids act up or do something stupid in public, it winds up on Youtube remixed with an Eminem song.
Social pressure in the digital age is keeping teens honest and out of trouble in ways I don’t think anyone expected five years ago. That kids are portrayed the way they are in Skins shows just how out of touch and behind the times the writers really are, which is a huge problem for a show that sells itself as so cutting edge and topical.
If your nephew is a stud like you claim him to be, then he is getting drunk, high and laid on the weekends. He just doesn’t tell you about it. Either that, or he is one of those types who carries his bible everywhere. Kids are doing crazy shit, they just don’t always put their business out on the street.
What planet are you on punk?
Not every teen is hormone driven.
Don’t get it still?
Think working on good relationships with their family.
Think serving their community.
Think helping out with younger siblings.
Hanging out with older siblings.
Choosing friends who share their values.
Think that there really are teens who have core values.
Think pal, outside of the box, the box that has you hemmed in.
The BBC America which they copied is not a bad show.This isn’t a family show. I don’t understand what all the complaining is about
Agree completely. It’s a solid show taking some chances that could grow into something great, after it finds its unique US voice and not just recycling the UK plots.
It’s a bad show. I watched the first British episode and then re-watched the American episode (or should I say Canadian episode since most of the actors were Canucks) and the changes might have seemed slight they were game changers – the show is just not the same quality and the kids come off as unrealistic creeps instead of the complex portrayals in the Brit series – because they took out the nuance – typical MTV -
@Nelson. I’m going to take a wild guess that you don’t have teenage kids. I do. Growing up in Manhattan attending a very expensive private school and it’s nothing like that at all. What parents object to is how these shows make this outlandish behavior look normative when it’s not. And let’s be honest. MTV knows this is shit, but sees money in selling gratuitous sex and drugs.
I also attended a private prep school in Manhattan (Trinity to be exact), and I gotta admit, life was a bit like how they portray it on Skins. I drank, did drugs, hooked up, as did the majority of my classmates. And the story was pretty much the same for most of my friends in other preps across the city. Some kids hid it better than others, but it was still being done. I’m not the biggest fan of this show, but I do hope it succeeds simply becuase I don’t believe the PTC should win this battle. It could set a bad precedent in the future where when perhaps a great show comes along that is a also racy and gritty, the PTC will kick up a fuss and advertisers will go running with their tails between their legs. I don’t like the idea of the PTC dictating what content I can and cannot watch on my television. Just a thought…
Regarding Bryan Elsley’s poor response to media criticism posted on Deadline earlier:
I do grow weary of the seemingly endless well of British arrogance. While traveling Europe, it always struck me as strange that their culture seems to encourage a thin veneer of knowledge on a wide range of subjects, as opposed to greater understanding of a smaller set. It seems to be better to know “just enough” to get by in a social scenario, rather than have deep understanding of fewer areas, and be able to ask real questions or admit a lack of knowledge on a subject. I’ve always appreciated the humble nature of the Socratic method. I also appreciate people who aren’t so all-consumed by their social grooming. Some of the smartest people I’ve ever known can hardly keep a conversation going at a cocktail party, but have changed aspects of our world much more than a great anecdote in some parlor room.
Er wot?
Geekiness = WOOT!
Awesome! It’s always great news when shows that do nothing but make the viewer more stupid bomb. Now only if the same thing would happen to Jersey Whores. Ahhh!! To think I remember when MTV actually showed music and not just scripted reality garbage.
“Ahhh!! To think I remember when MTV actually showed music and not just scripted reality garbage.”
Yup. Those were the good old days, I guess.
The drop in ratings has nothing to do with the so-called controversy and everything to do with the fact that it’s a poor imitation of the original and should have never been adapted in the first place. I won’t be sad when it goes off the air, though it’ll just be viewed as a win for the PTC and yet another example of how puritanical our society is.
Fantastic news. The co-creator Bryan just learned you can’t piss on America and tell them it’s raining. Should have cleaned house with your US writers and found some common ground with your audience. Instead you unleashed an arrogant statement which only served to illustrate what an egotistical dolt you are. Take your arse and crap show back across the pond.
Skins is an Emperor with no clothes, with no clothes on. American teens caught the whiff of Skins’ reheated O.C. plots as easily as a Laguna High girl can spot fake Fendi. US Skins is a remake of UK Skins which is a remake of The O.C.; time to toss out the used coffee grounds and come up with a fresh plot.
“…with no clothes on…”
As opposed to… what?
I am just guessing here, but maybe Happy was making a distinction between being nude and owning no clothes. That is the only logic I can glean from the sentence.
Having been a huge fan of the UK version I was extremely disappointed by the pilot episode. I gave it another chance last night as was pleasantly surprised. Vast improvement. Instead of forcing these characters to play the UK roles (usually with the exact same dialog and a sense that even the actors knew they weren’t living up to the original)the writers allowed them to develop into unique and interesting characters in their own right. I wish people would give a show a chance to fix its early missteps before writing it off completely.
And no I do not think the controversy affected it. If people continue to tune in to a show where the the cast continues to flash their “kookas” about, I doubt that a little teenage sex and booze would scandalize them.
I’m right there with you. I thought the second episode was a lot better than the first. As a fan of the original, I was livid when I discovered they were replacing Maxxie with a lesbian character (no offense to all the lesbians out there). But I have to admit that I have been pleasantly suprised by the Tea character. She was great in the second episode, it didn’t feel forced at all. I just hope that we’ll get to see how the entire season arc plays out, and MTV doesn’t make a snap judgement and pull it.
I enjoy watching this program after I’ve had my afternoon boner pill. Is really an excellent program. Tune in and see for yourself.
Your post highlights the problem.
You need medication to enjoy the show. Not good.
Your comment would be really funny except that Sumner Redstone can’t type!
Your comment would be really funny except that Sumner Redstone can’t type.
Faux controversy can’t save shit shows.
Doesn’t matter how offensive you try to be, if there is no quality there, people will stop caring.
Unless of course, we’re talking about Criminal Minds, which I am convinced has an exclusive contract with the AARP
Skins ain’t da family show (yes). But Emtv is da Family Network! Teen Mom, Teen Mom 2. Who needs Roundabouts on American Roads? Or Skins n’ da USA? This is da United States, NOT Europe!
We do things different! Look at the Hero “Roman Palanski” in France!… He gets treated like a KING! Look at Michael Jackson getting the same good treatement in Europe…
We don’t need Skins in the USA! We may luv DA BeaTles, but alot of stuff from over da pond sucks! GO BACK HOMES SKINS! U SUCKS! Take Ur stupid Dr. Hu, and that James Blunt FREAK back 2 Anglands…
Then… send Poo Hewson aka Guano of the band P2, back 2 Eirenlands! Smelly pouge! Eew! I hate P2!
The “What planet are you on? comments were intended for the kid Nelson.
this show makes me horny
Now if teenagers will realize that all of MTV is utter crap. Oh there is nothing wrong with the occasional reality show and/or guilty pleasure. But MTV is nothing about music and wall to wall sewage.
This is MTV’s fault. Their audience is used to watching shows where the characters drink, screw in public and threaten violence constantly. The kiddos aren’t going to wait while actors talk about stuff. So, anybody who is upset about Skins should have been equally upset about Jersey Shore, The Real World and The Hills.
well i think their all crap. so there you go.
this is such a joke. you guys think the world will end if this show doesnt survive.
hey everyone wanted a “shock”….well i guess the shock is for those who wanted this show on the air.
hell all of you folks who supported it said the “scandal” would be “good for the ratings.”
….and now its proven to be a PR fiasco.
yet you all blame those who took the bait. heck its the show’s producers and the baiters fault. they should have packaged a better show & not tried to shock people into watching it.
currently it will lose MTV $2M per episode. some “success.” it shows that todays kids are not as dumb as people think they are. they will not be taking in by JUST T&A or weed. the older generation is weak compared to the younger generation.
…and the younger generation cant be boxed into a corner of “pre-conceptions” about them either.
better “luck” next time.
heheheheh
OK you people make me sick.Its sad that the PTC and parents dont face the facts that many teens do drugs,drink and of course have sex.SKINS is very compeling the first episode I mostly enjoyed the partying but late in the first show I was very intrested and excited to see episode 2″TEA”.The second episode really drew me it was truely emotional,compelling,real life teen problems.Thats what they are geting to in SKINS.Thats said SKINS in my opinon is the BEST BY FAR TEEN SHOW ON TV,suppassing ABC Family’s Secret Life of an American Teenager.People truely shouldnt basely their opinons on the first episode as the second episode was VERY VERY IN DEPTH EMOTIONAL LOOK INTO THE SERIES OVERALL. SO PLEASE PEOPLE WATCH MONDAYS EPISODE TO IT ENTIRERTY! THANK YOU
Look.
I AM a teenager 17 to be exact. And although this show may be a little outlandish, and SOME actors/actresses may be a little exaggerated, this IS real life.
To all you parents who dont think your kids do this they most likely do. Not every single day, but they do. Theyre just really good at hiding it.
Raves are becoming more prevalent these days i only know a few kids who havent gone to one.. now once again, most dont go everyy singllee weekenndd.. but they go. And they do drugs there and hookup with everyone, and dress extremely slutty.
I like skins although i cant connect to everything that happens. I can connect to way they deal with their life situations, such as the eating disorders, you dont know how many teen girls actually do have eating disorders.
all TV shows are always exaggerated, doesnt mean theres no truth.
This stuff DOES happen, maybe not as much as the show implies, but it happens pretty regularly, depending on the person of course.
Basically this is it, plain and simple. This is real life, and to be frank it’s actually a pretty good show. The first episode was a little bit crass, but episode 2 was where it really got to the meat of the issue. Richards comment above Rach really does it justice, it was a truly emotional episode. Please stop bashing it because it tells the truth, this show has been on for 5 years in the UK and has received barely any controversy, why must everything be put under a microscope in America? Just appreciate it for what it is, don’t bash it because you hate the truth.
This is why you need to stop taking shows from other countries and Americanizing them into the shit that this is. LEAVE IT THE FUCK ALONE!
kay I’m a teenager and there is sex drugs and all the stuff on that show but that doest mean everone does that for example I am still a virgin and I do drink but have never taken drugs I see the show as being stupid and making kids feel like that’s what they should be doing when its not