MTV and its viewers will also soon see what an Americanized version of “Skins” looks like when the series has its premiere on Jan. 17. Famous in its original incarnation for frank depictions of sex, substance abuse and other authentic teenage pursuits, “Skins” is a show that MTV sought specifically for its boundary-pushing content while knowing that it could not break as many rules on American television.

As the United States debut approaches, the network and the “Skins” creative team realize that whether this version is too risqué or too tame, or even if it gets its balance just right, there will be consequences to pay.

“When you do things the fans don’t like, they really turn on you,” Mr. Elsley said. “When characters die in the show, there’s trouble. When people have the wrong sexuality or sexual behavior, there’s trouble. And when you bring the show to America, there’s trouble.”

Mr. Elsley, 49, a Scottish-born television producer with a gentle voice and sleepy eyes, recalled in an interview how he and his son Jamie Brittain created “Skins” about five years ago out of “a slightly irritable conversation across the dinner table.”

“He was acquainting me with my age,” Mr. Elsley said of Mr. Brittain (he uses his mother’s last name), then 19, “and my boringness and the mundaneness of what I did.”