Skins is a BAFTA-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, England in their last two pre-college years. The show explores several controversial themes in their grueling realism, including mental illness, dysfunctional family life, the club scene, sexual orientation, substance abuse, and death. All of this in addition to the more typical teen drama plots revolving around friendships, love, and sex. Bryan Elsely and Jamie Brittain wrote the pilot and continue to heavily influence the writing team, also consisting of teens. The show premiered on E4 in January 2007. A unique quality about the show is that it brings in a new group or generation of cast members every two seasons. Skins is currently on its fifth series or season and it's 3rd generation of characters. The show has served as a launching pad for first-time actors. For many of the stars, it's their first gig, but for many of them, it won't be their last. The first generation consisted of Tony Stonem (Nicholas Hoult), Michelle Richardson (April Pearson), Sid Jenkins (Mike Bailey), Cassie Ainsworth (Hannah Murray), Chris Miles (Joe Dempsie), Jal Fazer (Larissa Wilson), Maxxie Oliver (Mitch Hewer), Anwar Kharral (Dev Patel), and Effy Stonem (Kaya Scodelario). The second generation consisted of Effy Stonem (Kaya Scodelario), Pandora Moon (Lisa Blackwell), Thomas Tomone (Merveille Lukeba), James Cook (Jack O'Connell), Freddie McLair (Luke Pasqualino), JJ Jones (Ollie Barbieri), Emily Fitch (Kathryn Prescott), Katie Fitch (Megan Prescott), and Naomi Campbell (Lily Loveless).