‘Skins’ Star Kaya Scodelario Reveals Why the Show Still Resonates 15 Years Later After Reuniting With Cast [Exclusive]

During a conversation with Collider’s Taylor Gates in support of her upcoming film, Adulthood,Kaya Scodelario opened up about the Skins reunion photo that recently sent fans into a frenzy — and why she thinks the groundbreaking teen drama continues to resonate more than 15 years after it first aired. Scodelario uploaded a post to Instagram that showed her, Nicholas Hoult, Daniel Kaluuya, and Joe Dempsie reunited at a wedding over the weekend. The actors played Tony Stonem, Effy Stonem, Posh Kenneth, and Chris Miles, respectively, in the long-running British teen drama series. On her Instagram Stories, Scodelario posted the group shot with a heartfelt caption:

“The way I used to pray for brothers growing up — knowing I have you all now is everything ❤️.”

In another cozy photo taken outside during the celebration, she simply wrote, “Ladz.” When asked about the internet’s reaction to the photo, Scodelario laughed that she didn’t expect it.

“It’s a real honor. I think what’s shocking for us is that we’re never reuniting — we’re just still friends. [Laughs] We’re still going out all the time. We were at a friend’s wedding, so that was kind of why we took a picture together, because it was a special moment.”

Part of why the Skins reunion felt so special is because of what the series meant to television and to the careers of its stars. Hoult went on to star in blockbuster franchises like Superman, X-Men,and Mad Max: Fury Road, while Kaluuya won an Academy Award for his work in Judas and the Black Messiah. Dempsie became a fan favorite as Gendry in Game of Thrones, and Scodelario herself fronted projects like Crawl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and Netflix’s Spinning Outand The Gentlemen.

What Makes ‘Skins’ So Resonant Even Today?

As for why the show still resonates so many years later, it’s pretty clear for her — the era the show existed in and its refusal to spoon-feed lessons to viewers. She told Collider:

“I think the show resonates still because there was something unique about that time. We were right before social media, smartphones — anything like that. For me, Skins was never a moral story. Before that, especially here in the UK, we’d had shows like Byker Grove, and the kids would do something bad, and then a bad thing would happen, and then you’d learn that you’re not meant to do drugs, kids, because this bad thing will happen. And Skins was a little bit more open about the fact that sometimes it might be a bit fun. It allowed the audience to make the decisions for themselves. It never prejudged the audience.”

She added that despite its old-school trappings — flip phones, text messages, no social media — the show still feels fresh. “It’s really, really an honor that that show still does resonate,” said Scodelario. “Especially when you think about the fact that we’re using flip phones and sending text messages, and there is no mention of social media or anything like that. So it’s very special. But we are all just still friends.”

The show’s raw honesty and unflinching storytelling helped define a generation of TV, and the fact that its cast remains so close all these years later only adds to its legacy.