MTV's much-anticipated show "Skins" could be in hot water with the Parents Television Council for showing too much skin, drugs, sex and other scandalous things that have executives and advertisers wondering if the show goes too far.
The series has already lost one advertiser: Taco Bell, as MTV executives are reportedly considering cutting some content, the Hollywood Reporter said Thursday.
The show is based on the BBC series with the same name and has drawn considerable media attention as the next new hot thing that MTV is hoping will strike gold. But if it's anything like the British version - which it seems to be - parents are in for some eye-covering moments.
In later episodes of the show, teenagers will be running through the streets with drug-induced erections, girls will flash their breasts and engage in underage sex if it is anything like the British show - or the first episode of the American version.
Because most of the actors on the show are underage, many parts of the show could be considered child pornography, the Parents Television Council complained to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committees, TMZ.com reported.
"In addition to the sexual content on the show involving cast members as young as 15, the PTC counted 42 depictions and references to drugs and alcohol in the premiere episode," the conservative council said in the letters.
After the PTC, which called it the "most dangerous show on television" before its debut, urged a boycott of the racy program, Taco Bell pulled its ads.
"We advertise on a variety of MTV programs that reach our core demographic of 18 to 34 year olds, which included the premiere episode of Skins," spokesperson Rob Poetsch told The Hollywood Reporter. "Upon further review, we've decided that the show is not a fit for our brand and have moved our advertising to other MTV programming," he added.
MTV defended the show, which it had been advertising all fall and had a cult-like following in Britain. Many media observers also believe the channel has a huge strategy riding on the show's success as it tries to get into more scripted programming.
The show is also widely believed to be toned down from its British counterpart.
"'Skins' is a show that addresses real-world issues confronting teens in a frank way," MTV said in a statement. "We review all of our shows and work with all of our producers on an ongoing basis to ensure our shows comply with laws and community standards. We are confident that the episodes of 'Skins' will not only comply with all applicable legal requirements, but also with our responsibilities to our viewers."
Legal experts said that no matter how much teens flock to the show, it's still playing with fire, unless it's severely edited.
According to some reports, MTV executives knew that they were walking on shaky ground when they acquired the show -- but thought it was a good get for the network.
"When (MTV programming president) Tony DiSanto and (senior VP of series development) Liz Gateley landed 'Skins,' everyone at MTV couldn't stop congratulating each other," a source told Fox411. "They acquired a show that became a cult favorite in the UK, and they knew that casting actual teens doing what teens actually do was going to be controversial, ground-breaking -- and a huge hit for them.”
The show drew 3.3 million total viewers in its first show - which was close to the 1.4 million "Jersey Shore" drew for its series premiere, according to Nielsen Ratings.
Whether or not that's worth it is yet to be seen.
"Putting aside whether it is socially acceptable, I certainly believe that MTV is unnecessarily tempting fate," Ian Friedman, an attorney specializing in computer-based sex offenses, told FOX411.
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