Critics say MTV’s Skins USA’s resident lesbian ‘Tea’ is “the most original character out of the entire cast” and “unlike anything seen on American television” and “authentic in a TV world full of manufactured gay teens”

The first round of critics/bloggers/writers have seen the first four episodes of MTV’s Skins USA, a new spin on the groundbreaking original UK series, which debuts January 17th, — and they like it. They like it a lot.

MTV’s Skins USA Apparently Awesome, “Tea” Apparently Awesomest Lesbian Character Ever

Critics say MTV’s Skins USA’s resident lesbian ‘Tea’ is “the most original character out of the entire cast” and “unlike anything seen on American television” and “authentic in a TV world full of manufactured gay teens”

The first round of critics/bloggers/writers have seen the first four episodes of MTV’s Skins USA, a new spin on the groundbreaking original UK series, which debuts January 17th, — and they like it. They like it a lot.

AfterEllen’s Skins Scholar Heather Hogan says the show will not disappoint:

US Skins is a blaze of heat and heart, a skilled harmony of pathos and peculiarity. It does its predecessor proud.

Furthermore, our lesbian character, Tea (in the UK original, the homogay for Seasons 1 and 2 was Maxxie, a boy, but they did a gender-swap for the MTV version which totally annoys everyone in the world except for us, for whom a lesbian replacing a gay male character is probably the third-best thing that could ever happen to every show on earth, after “a lesbian replacing a straight male” and “a lesbian replacing a straight female” because you know we love straight people and all, but we are insane about lesbian characters, I mean duh, there’s basically an entire website dedicated to tracking the two-minute appearances of said lesbian characters and it’s called AfterEllen.com, which brings us back to where I began, which is that Heather Hogan has seen the first few episodes of Skins USA and she liked it. I should get out of this parenthetical statement and get this show more valiantly on the road) is the awesomest lesbian character ever:

In typical Skins fashion, Tea’s episode (the second episode of the season) is warm and sexy and real, with just a hint of trademark absurdity. (And in typical Skins-lesbian fashion, the camera loves Black-D’Elia.)

I think I’ve watched every episode of every show that has ever featured a lesbian or bisexual character. I’m so familiar with queer TV tropes I could write a thesis on them in my sleep. But “Tea” is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on American television. Her story tickled my heart and cuddled my brain — and then it punched me right in the gut.

Don’t let the pile of nakedness distract you: Tea is everything you hoped for, and nothing like what you’re expecting. “You want to know what we do, right?” she asks Tony. “What goes where? Who licks what? So tedious. I screw girls! So what?”

So what? is so right. One of the most brilliant things about Skins is that its gay characters are always so much more than what goes where and who licks what.

Mark O. Estes at TV Overmind echoes Heather’s praise:

One character to look out for is the lesbian cheerleader Tea, who is portrayed by Sofia Black D’Elia. The most original character out of the entire cast, Tea’s inclusion helps create the diverging line from the U.K. series in terms of unique material for the show. If I say anymore, I could possibly ruin how much she rocks on the show.

At The Huffington Post, Tina Wells admits that she was hesitant to like Skins USA, but ultimately, “Skins wins where Gossip Girl failed“:

I want to be honest and tell you that I was prepared to hate this series with a passion. There’s nothing I detest more on TV than glamorizing bad teenage behavior. Weirdly, Skins does not come across as glamorous at all; it’s gritty at best. So how does it win? A fantastic cast, brilliant writing, and relatable situations.

Furthermore, Wells also likes Tea the best!

My favorite character out of the four episodes I’ve screened is Tea (Sofia Black D’Elia). Tea is a semi-openly gay girl (friends know, parents do not, as witnessed by her dad trying to set her up on a date) whose survival, MTV promises, “will become the most vital thing in the world to us.” I completely concur. Tea is authentic in a TV world full of manufactured gay teens. When she starts hooking up with a guy and stops midway, only to erupt into laughter, you feel her pleasure and disgust.

That being said, most fans remain completely committed to hating Skins USA, apparently forgetting that they probably already spend four hours a day flipping aimlessly through 500 cable channels eventually debating between a re-run of The Millionaire Matchmaker and Two and a Half Men and therefore they probably will end up watching Skins USA if not willingly then by default.

I am not one of those cynical fans. I AM SO EXCITED FOR SKINS USA. As I’ve said before, I’d watch Skins UK re-runs all day and be happy as a clam, so why wouldn’t I watch a stateside remake also constructed by Bryan Elsley? All this gushing over Tea only ups my present level of anticipation.

Asked about her first girl-on-girl sex scene — because that’s everyone’s favorite question — Sofia says:

“My first sexual scene with a girl was definitely an experience, but it ‘s just another part of her character that I had to try and connect to and I was lucky enough that a couple of the girls I kissed were really pretty.”

AfterEllen: Can you tell us a little bit about auditioning for Skins. Did you audition strictly for the role of Tea?
Sofia Black D’Elia: Originally I auditioned for the role of Michelle, but at that time Tea hadn't been written. And I think I was actually the first person to read for Tea once she was written, in New York at least.

AE: What did you think of her when you first read her?
SBD: At that time, she was nothing more than a couple of pieces of paper. I hadn't talked to Bryan yet. I was just another kid auditioning. The only thing I knew about her was that she was a lot like Teo, and I had been reading with a lot of other kids who had been auditioning for Teo, while I was auditioning for Michelle.

AE: What did you know about her?
SBD: I knew she was very funny. When I read for her originally, she was very comedic. Very confident.

AE: Now, were you familiar with the UK Skins?
SBD: Yes!

AE: Were you familiar before you started auditioning?
SBD: Yes!

AE: Pretend [series creator] Bryan [Elsley] is not standing right beside you. What did you think of the show?
SBD: I was a huge fan. I hadn't seen every episode, but I had seen all of the first season. And I fell in love with the second generation before I auditioned.

AE: What was it that appealed to you?
SBD: I love that as a young person who wants to be an actor, there are young people out there pushing boundaries, and I think they're so brave. Every kid on the original series was so brave, and I really respected them for that. And I thought the writing was great. And in The States, at least, I hadn't felt that there was any series that represented teenagers properly. I love a lot of shows on HBO, but they're all for adults, and then when I saw Skins — after a friend told me about it — it was the first time I saw teenagers being represented the way I thought they should be represented. 

AE: It must be kind of exciting to be on a show like this that has launched careers like Nicholas Hoult and Dev Patel.
SBD: Oh, it's extremely exciting!

AE: So you're aware of that aspect of what the show has done for people?
SBD: Yeah, I'm aware of it, but I would say it didn't really dawn on me at all while I was auditioning for it. I was more excited that I was going to meet Bryan. I mean, I'd seen the show and after every episode it had a credit that said, "Created by Bryan Elsley." And I was in a room with him. It was a very surreal experience, in that I was a huge fan. And I believed in the show and in what it does for kids.

AE: So, what do you know about Naomily? Naomi and Emily, the worldwide craze?
SBD: As far as couples go in generation two, I thought they were the best couple on the show.

AE: How does it feel to be doing an American adaptation of a British show?
SBD: It's scary. I mean, I totally understand where everyone is coming from. I was a fan of the original Office, and when I heard it was coming to The States, I was completely freaking out about it — so I totally understand why everyone is so upset. It's normal. When anything gets redone, there are always going to people who will say, "There's no way it's going to be [as good as the original]." But I think that if American audiences just accept that we're remaking the show, and watch it as a new show, they're really going to love it.

AE: Without giving anything away, what do you think will be different about the new show compared to the old show.
[Bryan Elsley stepping in]: There will be a gay character at the center of the story, right from the get go, right until the end of the series.

SBD: There you go.

Bryan Elsley: She didn't know that.

SBD: I didn't, until just right now.

AE: Oh, really? You didn't know you were going to be at the center of season one? So, what three words are coming to your mind?
SBD: Oh my God! Is that good?

AE: That works! There are so few fully developed lesbian characters on television. How do you feel about taking on that — I don't want to say responsibility, but that role?
SBD: It is a responsibility.

AE: All right, that responsibility?
SBD: It's obviously very daunting, but very exciting at the same time because I think that, like you said, it's rare, so if I do it well, I think it's going to be a very talked about character on Skins. 

AE: Now, my generation was very different when it comes to knowing gay and lesbian people. And we're always hearing that your generation is quite different. Do you have gay and lesbian friends?
SBD: Yep. Actually, one of my lesbian friends is very similar to Tea in a lot of ways. Not as intense, but similar. And I think what's so cool about my girl friends that are gay is that they're the cool ones. They're the confident ones in my group of friends and they're the ones who know who they are. They're so comfortable. And that's going to be hard for me [to portray] because it's just a confidence you sense as soon as you meet them. Because it is much more accepted now.

  

AE: What do you think about Tea?
SBD: From what Bryan and I have talked about, I think it's going to be interesting to see a character on Skins that can compete with Tony, in the sense that while you're watching series one of the original show, no one really matches up to him. But I think that Tea has it in her. Whether she uses it or not, I don't know. But she's definitely very strong. She's a really, really strong character. And I think it's cool because a lot of girls are really insecure when they're teenagers, and here's a character who is not insecure one bit. And she's completely confident in who she is, and I'm excited to see where she goes because I don't know yet.

AE: OK, last question: You have to deal with another tricky stereotype. You are playing a cheerleader. How are you going to approach her? There are a lot of cheerleading stereotypes.
SBD: Well, I think the great thing about Tea is that she doesn't fit any of the stereotypes except that she just likes to cheerlead. I know people who absolutely love cheerleading. It's like a hobby. They don't do it just to cheer for the football team or be that girly-girl. I mean, that is a stereotype. The cheerleaders we've worked with on the pilot are extremely intense people that are athletes. And Tea also does it because she gets to be around a lot of girls all the time, and there's nothing wrong with that!

AE: Good answer! Anything else you want to say about the character, or about being on the show?
SBD: I don't think so, except that I understand where people are coming from with Maxxie being changed to a girl, but I also think she will bring a lot to the show, and if you just watch and try to have an open mind about it, I think that people will really accept her.

"All My Children fans will recognize Sofia Black D'Elia as Bailey, but otherwise you're probably not familiar with her at all. The relatively new actress will soon be gracing our screens as the lesbian teen Tea on the U.S. adaptation of Skins, as the cast was announced yesterday at the TCA panel.

The rest of the cast is as follows: James Newman as Tony, Rachel Thevenard as Michelle, Daniel Flaherty as Stanley, Ron Mustafaa as Abbud, Camille Cresencia-Mills as Daisy, Jesse Carere as Chris, Britne Oldford as Cadie and Eleanor Zich as Eura.

Sofia reportedly left All My Children in early 2010 because she was "a very young actress, and she did not want to make the move to California, according to Sue Johnson, vice president, talent development and East Coast programming at ABC. Well it look as if this role made her change her mind!

So far, from the first 15 minute pilot MTV has released, it is clear up front that Tea is out because she is on the phone telling someone it's her "big gay night out." No skirting around that issue. As co-creator Bryan Elsley recently told Heather Hogan:

"This new character (Tea) is going to be at the center of everything right from the get go."

He also referred to her as "messy, challenging and hopefully fascinating."