Skins

The teenagers in Skins have more freedom than judgment and considerably more going on than the adults around them understand. The Bristol-set drama gives different members of the group space to become the centre of their own story.

That shifting attention is the attraction. Someone who looked like a supporting personality in another episode can reveal a home life and private difficulty that change the picture. The friendships are funny and cruel in ways that do not always separate neatly.

The series is heightened rather than a representative account of adolescence. Some storylines pursue shock or melodrama too far, but the cast's energy and the specificity of individual relationships make the stronger stretches memorable. The changing generations also give it distinct phases rather than one group remaining teenagers indefinitely.

It is a rougher watch than Derry Girls, with much less reassurance beneath the humour. Choose it for an ensemble youth drama willing to sit with uncomfortable behaviour, not for a gentle portrait of growing up.