MTV Cancels 'Skins'

Courtesy of MTV Networks

"Skins"

MTV has moved on from racy teen drama Skins.

While Skins was airing, the hourlong drama was shrouded in controversy with several advertisers like Taco Bell, Wrigley gum and General Motors pulling out because of its content.

The decision was not a shock: Skins premiered in January to 3.3 million total viewers (and 2.7 million in the core 12-34 demographic) in a post-Jersey Shore slot before losing half of its viewership for the second episode -- with heavy movie promotions and network promos, a sign of advertiser defection -- which drew 1.6 million.

Near the end of its freshman season, Skins saw slight improvement in the ratings, luring 1.2 million for the closer -- up a tick from the penultimate episode (1.1 million).

MTV issued a statement regarding the cancellation: "Skins is a global television phenomenon that, unfortunately, didn’t connect with a U.S. audience as much as we had hoped. We admire the work that the series’ creator Bryan Elsley did in adapting the show for MTV, and appreciate the core audience that embraced it."

Back in April, MTV's David Janollari told THR of Skins' future, "Moving forward, a decision hasn’t been made yet. But we’re very pleased with the way the show did. We obviously made a huge noise with that. We’re happy with the ratings and the reaction that we got from viewers."

The cable network isn't a stranger to such controversy, however. In 2009, Dominos distanced itself from Jersey Shore after groups disapproved over the cast's use of the ethnic slur "Guido." 

Skins’ TV-MA rating was also a roadblock for MTV in terms of amortizing the cost of the show over multiple airings since it could only be shown during late-night time periods.

Skins, an adaptation of the successful British series, kept in line with the original drama showcasing teenage actors in the major roles.