Unless your average, bordering-on-the-unhinged-ly enthused member of Skins’ small but dedicated American fan base has accosted you at some point in the years since the show’s 2007 premiere, you may be tragically unaware of the superb E4 teen drama. But now that the totally inevitable American remake has a premiere date (January 17) and a brand-new trailer airing tonight during the Jersey Shore finale, that should quickly change. So — MTV’s doing teens taking drugs and having sex now, huh? According to EW, father-son co-creators Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain were actively involved in the adaptation, which explains why all the clips seen here are directly lifted from the first episode of British Skins. That demonstrates a surprising, appreciated level of loyalty to the original, plus a nice parallel with The Office (after a shaky first season largely taken from the British scripts, that show’s American version settled into itself). But can an MTV program really get as raw as its predecessor when it comes to the lives and loves of often shirtless, often high-out-of-their-gourds young people? Vulture is certainly interested to find out! (Also, if any of this piques your interest, please go back through the four seasons of O.G. Skins that have aired; they’re readily available on Netflix for the most part, and they are undeniable.)
