Skins’ Creator Elsley Turns to Junior Drama

Source: The Guardian

The creator of the hit E4 teen drama Skins has revealed he is working on a new project based on the lives of younger children.

Brian Elsley told an audience at the Edinburgh TV festival yesterday that the new series - which he said was "at the commissioning stage" - would be set around the lives of a group of 10- to 15-year-olds.

He would not go into more details, but told MediaGuardian.co.uk later that it would be "nothing like Grange Hill".

Elsley has become hot property since Skins became a hit for E4. The drama charts the emotionally charged lives of a group of teenagers in Bristol.

Skins has been criticised for its unashamed portrayal of their hedonistic lives, but its authenticity has won it a huge following among young viewers.

"I don’t think Skins broke any ground in terms its target audience," Elsley told the audience in Edinburgh. "Whatever kids tell their parents is a lie. Kids party all the time."

However, he said that young people thought harder about sex and relationships than adults give them credit for - and he attributed the success of Skins to its realistic portrayal of the complexity of teenage emotions.

At the session in Edinburgh, Elsley went on to say that much of British TV drama lacked depth. "There’s not enough meaning in television drama," Elsley told the audience.

He said later that the squeeze in television commissioning budgets had led to a serious problem in TV drama. "It’s a complex problem", he added, citing the fragmentation of the TV audience, the economic climate, and a consequent lack of bravery among TV executives.

Elsley praised the marketing department at Channel 4 for its imagination in promoting Skins.

The campaign focused on the show’s party element and in one instance fell foul of the Advertising Standards Authority. But the campaign won plaudits, taking the gong for best advertising campaign at this year’s inaugural MediaGuardian Innovation Awards.

Elsley also said much of the show’s impact came from its interactive elements, which involve the audience through an extensive website, which allows viewers to share ideas, find out about casting sessions and submit music to the show.

Cool.