E4

2008 · 3 Seasons · E4 · Sitcom

The Inbetweeners is eighteen episodes of pure comic perfection about four suburban teenagers who are too old for childhood and too incompetent for adulthood. The show captures the specific humiliation of adolescent social climbing with such precision that every viewer recognizes someone they went to school with in every character. Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, James Buckley, and Blake Harrison are a comic ensemble that could carry a much longer series, but three seasons is exactly the right length for a show this sharp, and the restraint is part of its genius.

2007 · 7 Seasons · E4 · Teen Drama

Skins redefined teen television by refusing to sanitize adolescence, presenting teenage life with a rawness and honesty that made it both landmark television and a lightning rod for controversy. The first two generations produced some of the best youth drama ever broadcast, with characters and performances that launched careers and resonated deeply with a generation of viewers. The show's quality is inconsistent across its seven-season, three-generation run, and the excess sometimes overwhelms the emotion, but at its best, Skins captured what it felt like to be young with a specificity that no other show has matched.

2009 · 5 Seasons · E4 · Sci-Fi Comedy Drama

Misfits gave superpowers to the worst possible people and discovered that was the best possible premise for a television show. The first two seasons are a creative high point for British genre television, driven by Robert Sheehan's volcanic performance as Nathan and writing that uses supernatural abilities as psychological metaphors with genuine wit. Cast turnover after the second season diminishes the magic considerably, but the original run is a brash, funny, and surprisingly emotional achievement that proved you could deconstruct superheroes on a shoestring budget.