TV Weekend: Skins

Sunday brings the (much?) anticipated American debut of British teen show Skins on BBC America. I'll just reproduce my brief TIME review in full:

Skins BBC America; Sundays; 9 p.m. E.T. This British teen dramedy comes touted as "daringly realistic." Translation: lots of drugs and naughty bits! The realism doesn't extend to the exaggerated characters and plots, but if you focus on the sharp dialogue (and aren't an easily worried parent), these students earn a solid ... B

In other words, I didn't feel the early episodes quite lived up to the advance hype that I'd heard, which hailed it as a new, starkly more true-to-life kind of teen serial. The characters are much the same, broad types familiar from American teen soaps—nerd, manipulative charmer, etc.—but the content is a lot more explicit and racy. (Also, unlike many past American teen shows, not every character is required to experience a "lesson" or a scare every time they smoke pot or have sex; in general, Skins is much less melodramatic.)

With appropriately lowered expectations, though, it's a funny, sharp show, and a good fix for anyone waiting for Gossip Girl's September 1 debut. Has anyone out there already seen the two British seasons?