I was a huge fan of Skins long before it came to the US. When you follow television like I do, you sometimes become aware of shows from other countries that the U.S. isn't keen to yet. Which is how I found Skins when it was first making waves in the U.K. Immediately, I was drawn to it as something I'd never seen before in a teen show.

The show worked so well because of its authenticity, achieved by having a group of real teens write the stories. All the actors were little known real teens, as well. No young-looking 35-year-olds faking it here. To keep it fresh, they rotate out virtually the entire cast every two years.

Now co-creator Bryan Elsley is looking to apply that same formula to an all new U.S.-based Skins, and after a tense bidding war, MTV has secured the rights. I am glad it's on cable, as the original has some racy content. I just hope MTV doesn't get tempted to turn it into The Real World: Scripted. Even the fake kids of Skins are more real than those bozos.

The original format also rotates out its entire cast every two years, save a few exceptions. This, again, is to stay true to its focus. The point of Skins is to look at the tumultuous years between childhood and adulthood. Once the kids graduate college (similar to a community college here) and get ready to either go on to University or a trade school, it's time to enter the adult world, which is when it's time for us to let them go.

It's also time for Skins to look at the new incoming class of college kids. You can currently see the second generation of Skins kids on BBC America, Thursdays at 9 PM. Hopefully, the U.S. version will also rotate casts regularly. Maybe an equivalent would be to look at juniors and seniors in high school.

Since this is the U.S., though, if there's as much sex and drugs as in the U.K. version, I expect a public outcry, as well. Especially if the cast is made up of true teens. It'll be interesting to see if Elsley can push as aggressively for the seedier sides of young life at MTV as he's been able to achieve in the U.K.