Skins
Writer/Director
Created primarily by Bryan Elsey and Jamie Brittain, a father son duo. The writing team, however, included many teenagers and people in their twenties, making the show a good platform for young writers. Also seems apt to do so, seeing as this is a programme about teenagers.
Setting
Set in Bristol, South West England. All of the characters are at college completing their A-Levels - this is age 16-18, A-Levels last for two years. The show follows each friend group throughout their two years of doing A-Levels, a season per year. Some of the characters carry on to the next season because they are younger siblings, for example.
Characters
- Maxxie Oliver: Season 1 & 2. Gay. He is the first LGBTQ character of the show, and the actor himself is gay. Openly gay, his friends and family accept him for who he is. This is not a story about his 'coming out', he is already out and has already accepted himself. Maxxie doesn't really have that many problems with his sexuality, apart from he is the center of attention for a gang of bullies who live in his building. Later in the series it turns out that one of these bullies is in the closet, and sneaks a kiss from Maxxie after chasing him down. One of the main storylines of season 1 & 2 is the fall out between Maxxie and his best friend, Amwar. Although they are best friends, Amwar is ultimately anti-gay due to his Islamic upbringing, and this eventually causes a rift between them. The programme touched upon some issues of homosexuality with Maxxie, but mostly it's nice to see him so well accepted by not only the other characters in the show, but also the show's viewers.
- Emily Fitch: Season 3 & 4. Lesbian. With Naomi Campbell. The seasons in which Emily is in focuses heavily on her coming to terms with her sexuality. Her twin sister is controlling, and often makes homophobic comments towards Emily - so Emily worries about her reaction when she finds out. Naomi, her eventual girlfriend, helps her come out. Their relationship is complicated due to the two of them dealing with their sexuality. At one point in the series, Emily helps one of her male friends to lose his virginity, supposedly out of pity. However, I wonder if an element of this is Emily still confused and is using this to confirm her sexuality, perhaps a last bid to prove she is straight. Coming out to her family does not go well: her father assumes it's a joke, her mother cries, and her sister denies it. Her mother attempts to convince Naomi that Emily is gay when she visits the house, warns her to stay away. She continues to be hostile to her throughout the next season, and her father refuses to have Naomi in the house. Emily eventually moves out, and moves in with Naomi.
- Naomi Campbell: season 3 & 4. Lesbian. With Emily Fitch. Series focuses a lot on Naomi coming to terms with her sexuality, alongside Emily coming to terms with hers. Naomi liked Emily from a very young age, but was involved with a lot of boys in denial. She originally labelled herself as straight and continued to insist she was before coming to terms with her sexuality. Emily and Naomi and their relationship really highlight the struggles and confusion with coming to terms with one's sexuality, and how difficult it can be having your first same-sex relationship knowing that you are deviating from the 'norm'.
- Franky Fitzgerald: Season 5 & 6. Genderqueer - but unclear as to whether Franky identifies herself as genderqueer, she neither admits or denies anything: 'I'm into people'. She is adopted by two men. When Franky begins college she is called names and ridiculed by her peers because of the way she dresses. She tries to be more feminine to please everyone else, but struggles with this because that's not who she is. Franky gets given a makeover by her friends, where they put her in a dress. Mini in particular bullies her, calling her a 'dyke' and a 'queer'. An element of this is because she is threatened by Franky, probably because she can't get her head around it. Franky doesn't fit into the binaries that Mini knows so well. Could even be because Franky confuses Mini with how she feels about her own sexuality too - there is a scene where they kiss. This character went down really well with the LGBTQ community, Franky is a great representation of the confusion and coming to terms with being genderqueer and not fitting into the pre-set gender binaries. Many genderqueer people resonated with Franky. Not many television programmes have such a character, most of the time they are either lesbian, gay or bisexual.