Hit horror anthology American Horror Story: Asylum is finally back on TV!  The Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk creation won over audiences and critics alike in its first season, but now the creators, cast and crew are back for another go-round.  The second season takes place in the titular Briarcliff Asylum in Massachusetts.  The first episode revealed that, though the location is the same, we may be in for a bit of time jumping. No scenes with season one standouts Zachary Quinto or Frances Conroy on tonight’s episode, but we did get a heaping helping of Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe, along with show newcomers Adam Levine, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, James Cromwell, Joseph Fiennes, Chloe Sevigny, Lizzie Brochere and even Clea Duvall! Hit the jump for the recap of the premiere episode, “Welcome to Briarcliff!”

The pilot of Skins US is virtually the same as the first episode of Skins UK.  Beat by rambunctious beat.  But the opening scene is slightly altered for MTV.  In Skins UK, we are introduced to Tony in bed before a morning workout set to Chingy’s “Right Thurr.” Skins US has the same scene, but instead kicks off with a shot of Tony’s younger sister outside in a snowfall set to Animal Collective’s “My Girls” — by far the more beautiful song choice.

Skins is about what you think it’s about: teens who party, drink, get high.  But the father/son team of Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain — who  created the original and run the adaptation — are earnest in their efforts to show the beauty and confusion of being a teenager alongside the recklessness.  It’s like a more provocative My So Called Life.  And I take “My Girls” as a proclamation that, yes, Skins US will continue to strive for the beautiful moments that Skins UK achieves at its best.  My review of four of the first five episodes after the break:

Created by father and son team Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain, Skins is the ground-breaking UK series, featuring Nicholas Hoult and Dev Patel, about a group of friends who navigate complex relationships and the difficulties of daily life in their formative years. It’s raw and edgy, and depicts the sex and drugs that is present in the lives of the teenagers that it follows. Now, Elsley is bringing his hit series across the seas, as the writer/executive producer on the adapted version that will start airing on MTV in January 2011.

During an exclusive interview with Collider, newcomers Jesse Carere, Daniel Flaherty, Ron Mustafaa and Britne Oldford talked about the chemistry between this ensemble cast, keeping things as true to the teenage experience as possible, and maintaining a level of edginess that the original series is known for. Check out what they had to say after the jump.  You can watch the just released trailer here.