By Eryn Sun | Christian Post Correspondent
After enduring months of criticism, MTV has finally decided to pull the plug on their controversial British adapted series “Skins.”
Ever since its premiere in January, the show has come under harsh attack by media watchdogs that have accused the network of violating child pornography laws – with the youngest actor on set being just 15 years old.
The Parents Television Council called “Skins” “the most dangerous show for children ever seen,” and pointed out accounts of illegal drug use, illegal activity, pervasive sexual content, and foul language in just the first episode alone.
Not only did the PTC call on lawmakers to thoroughly investigate the production of the material, they also targeted major corporations, urging them to pull their ads from a show that supported “underage teen sex, underage teen drug use, and underage teen alcohol use.”
As a result, companies like Taco Bell, General Motors, Wrigley, Subway and H&R Block stopped running their ads in the time slots, causing Viacom executives to take a closer inspection as well.
Though the show continued to run through the first season, no promise for a second was in store. “Skins” ended with a final rating of 1.2 million viewers, only half of its premiere rating of 3.3 million.
MTV said in a statement released, “‘Skins’ is a global television phenomenon that, unfortunately, didn’t connect with a U.S. audience as much as we had hoped. We admire the work that the series’ creator Bryan Elsley did in adapting the shows for MTV, and appreciate the core audience that embraced it.”
Whether it was the low viewer ratings or the loss of advertising that contributed to the cancellation of the show, no one really knows. But because MTV’s “Hard Times of RJ Berger” with reportedly lower ratings, was renewed, it seems as though the advertising was ultimately what did it in.
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