Quote of the Day: Why You Should Be Watching Skins Instead of Gossip Girl

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“I can tell you now that there is absolutely no chance of any of the old cast coming back. I am sorry but but it’s one of the rules we set ourselves. We’re not looking back, we’re looking forward.”

– Chances are that the above declaration from Televisionary’s great interview with Skins co-creator Jamie Brittain doesn’t mean much to you. But it soon might, once you start streaming Skins on Surf the Channel and become an inevitable fan of the best teen drama since The O.C. (yes, we are purposefully leaving out Gossip Girl).

Skins, which focuses on a different group of complicated public-school Bristol teens every two seasons and is in talks to get its own American version, is a wildly popular show in England and around the world. It hasn’t quite caught on here, but it should — unlike many of its American counterparts, the characters’ confusing relationships and emotions aren’t overshadowed by their outfits or throwaway one-liners.

As Brittain’s quote reveals, Skins challenges the viewer to move on once the cast reaches college age — instead of contrived “we all go to the same university” situations, new 17-year-olds are brought in, and a whole new set of problems comes along. Instead of the blank faces and outrageous situations we’re used to in teen dramas, Skins follows through on the individual and his or her thoughts and reactions — and the kids actually know how to act. Watch the pilot here (Slumdog‘s Dev Patel is in it!) or keep an eye out for the Season 3 premiere on BBC America this spring.