THEY'RE BACK: The fourth season sees the gang returning from summer holidays, teenage shenanigans in tow. Photo / Supplied
When: Monday, 9.30pm
Where: C4
Skins is the sort of show parents of teenagers watch and end up as nervous twitching wrecks on the couch.
Sex, drugs, and eating disorders is what the British drama series about a bunch of Bristol teenagers made its name with when it started out in 2007.
The fourth season
stars the same cocky, carefree, and quite often tortured cast as in the last series and kicks off with the gang returning to school after the summer holidays.
There's Thomas, the Congolese immigrant who goes out with the adorably kooky Pandora; former queen bee of the bunch Effy is spiralling into depression; Emily is stepping out from her twin sister Katie's shadow and falling in love as her sister deals with a family crisis; and the "Three Musketeers", Freddie, JJ, and Cook, are also at turning points in their lives.
Bumbling JJ finally finds out what love is, but Freddie, whose relationship with Effy is back in full flight, finds that true love can take you to the brink, and reckless but somehow likeable Cook is torn between confronting his demons and not revealing his sensitivities.
In the first episode, which tells the story of Thomas, the gang's usual bullet-proof attitude is shattered when a girl by the name of Sophia commits suicide at a club night hosted by Thomas, a budding MC and selector.
Thomas partly blames himself for the incident and starts questioning his faith, his family and who his mates are because he suspects Cook may have sold the girl the drugs.
Add to this the fact he gets drunk, is expelled from school, and cheats on his girlfriend, then Skins is quickly back into the swing of freaking parents out.
The first episode also sees Cook toning down his drinking and drug-taking bravado after witnessing his brother acting just like him.
So how does actor Jack O'Connell, who plays Cook, describe Skins? He says: "It's like we've pimped Grange Hill. Skins is the Grange Hill of our day with more excitement."
And more drugs, sex, and fist fights because Cook makes Tucker Jenkins look like a geek.
When the fourth season of Skins screened in Britain it proved a hit with ratings matching those of the first series. The shows producers have announced two more series will be made with a new cast of characters.
