Series 5

The Fifth Series of Skins originally aired on E4 from January 27, 2011 to March 17, 2011.This is the first series not to feature the main cast from Series 3 and Series 4, as they were entirely replaced for Series 5.

Series 5 introduces the "third generation" of characters, which are featured in both Series 5 and Series 6.

In terms of the show's continuity, Series 5 begins 3 to 4 months after the end of "Everyone" (episode 4.08), as a new academic school year has already been in session for three weeks.

Series 5 takes place during the character's first year of sixth form (equivalent to junior year of high school in North America).

Cast
The fifth series features a brand new cast, replacing the main cast from Series 3 and Series 4. Thus, the fifth series introduces eight major characters.

Dakota Blue Richards, primarily known for her role in the 2007 film The Golden Compass was cast as Franky Fitzgerald, an androgynous girl who is "super-intelligent, strange, and set alight to her headmaster don't you know!"

Newcomer Freya Mavor was also chosen to play Mini McGuinness, the school's queen bee and is described as being "the super sweetest girlie you'll ever meet. For reals."

Sean Tale, in his first acting role, was then cast as Nick Levan, Mini's boyfriend and rugby captain who is described as being "good-looking, popular, arrogant but unhappy."

Jessica Sula, in her first acting role, was cast as Grace Violet, Mini and Liv's best friend whose interests include "kittens and Disney and ballet and ice cream and...."

Laya Lewis obtained her first acting role as Liv Malone, Mini and Grace's best friend, who is said to be a "clumsy but beautiful" party animal."

Similarly, Will Merrick scored his first acting role as Alo Creevey, who has "got a van, a dog and some Victorian porn..."

Relative newcomer Alex Arnold was cast as Rich Hardbeck, described as having "Long hair - check. Slayer t-shirt - check. Music snobbery - CHECK."

Similarly, Sebastian De Souza, in his first acting role, was cast as Matty, described as a "mystery, but a definite ladies' man."

Relative newcomer Daniel Black was cast as the show's major supporting character, Nick's best friend Rider, who is going through life "like a boss."

Crew
With Series co-creator Bryan Elsley leaving the show to work on the US adaptation (although he still stayed on as a consultant and executive producer), Jamie Brittain served as the only show runner for the fifth series.

John Griffin served as the main executive producer for the fifth series (along with Bryan Elsley in a lesser capacity, as noted above), as George Ferber and Charles Pattinson left the show to work on the US adaptation.

The fifth series was produced by Company Pictures.

The main staff writers for the fifth series were Jamie Brittain, Sean Buckley, Georgia Lester, Ed Hime, Geoff Bussetil, and Daniel Lovett.

Christine Healy and Matt Strevens served as producers for the fifth series.

The regular directors for the fifth series were Amanda Boyle, Philippa Langdale, Jack Clough, and Dominic Leclerc.

The fifth series' incidental music was composed by Fat Segal, who also composed the show's opening theme.

The fifth series' theme song is a remix of the official theme tune used for Series 1; however, it is also a different remix from the ones used for Series 2, Series 3, and for Series 4.

Episode List
* A^ All ratings are official ratings taken from BARB's database, unless otherwise stated. Total viewers include unofficial overnight ratings for E4+1, as they were not in the top 10 rated E4 +1 programmes for that week. * B^ All ratings are official ratings taken from BARB's database, unless otherwise stated. Total viewers include official ratings for E4+1.

Unseen Skins
Unseen Skins are a series of canonical online-exclusive mini-episodes that fills in a narrative gap somewhere in the timeline from the episode it correlates to. During the course of Series 5, nine "mini-sodes" were released on E4.com the day after each new episode aired.

As most of the mini-sodes were not in video format, instead being photos, blog posts, twitter feeds, music, etc, they were not included on the DVD release of Skins: Complete Fifth Series. However they are all available for viewing on E4's official Skins site.

Commercial
To advertise the fifth series of Skins, E4 created a trailer featuring the new cast floating naked in a dark abyss. However, as they begin to fall their clothes come back on until they are fully dressed right as their fall slows before they reach the ground. The song used in the trailer is "Ready to Start" by Arcade Fire.



Another trailer was also released, featuring "Mirrors" by Crocodiles.

Reception
The Fifth Series received generally positive reviews in the UK, with many critics calling it a return to form for the show.

Critics praised the Series' new direction in focusing on more realistic teen issues and discussing them in a remarkably adult manner instead of focusing on the characters' constant "deviant behavior", something many critics felt hampered down much of the previous two series.

The Guardian gave the Series a positive review, stating that "the new bunch of mates seem to suggest a return to the hedonistic feel of the original series. This time, however, it isn't a cool kid like Tony who is out to charm our socks off. As we meet the new gang at Roundview, it looks like they're focusing on the outcasts' point of view from the off. Hooray! With an intriguing bunch of outcast kids and a refreshed sense of hedonism, Skins looks like it could be back on form."

The Yorker similarly gave the Series a positive review, stating that "Skins is character-driven drama, and [Series 5]’s offering was a very impressive one - the cast are intriguing, the atmosphere is energetic and an exciting and enjoyable hour of television was delivered. Even with all the changes, Skins still has its unique charm, and it has only made me anticipate whatever is coming next even more."

Reception in North America was a bit more mixed, but still generally positive, with many similarly calling the Series a return to form for the show.

DenofGeek.com  gave the Series a positive review, stating that "Series 5 has wiped the slate clean after [Series 3 and Series 4's] gigantic misstep. It's settled into a consistent tone, being more adept at balancing the light and shade. For once, rather than giving its audience a steady diet of shagging and wanking scenes, [Skins] is talking to them like adults. Far from being derivative, for once Skins seems to be representing genuine teenagers. Rather than whimsical fantasies of outsmarting low rent gangsters, we're seeing storylines that affect teenagers of every generation. After all the juvenile wanking jokes and reckless partying, maybe now Skins has grown up."

Daemon's TV gave the Series a mixed review, stating that "Skins is less provocative [and] more ridiculous with the clichéd school bitch Mini with her two hanger-on sidekicks, pantomime adult characters including a sadistic sports teacher and Franky’s two camp ‘Dads’ puts the portrayal of gay couples back about twenty years feeling parodied and naff. I will reserve judgment and see how the next few episodes play out but it’s going to have to up its game to keep me tuning in."

International Airdates
BBC America chose not to air the Fifth Series in North America. However, it is available on Netflix's Instant Watch.