Premium cable continues to be the breast destination for those seeking skin, and while in 2011 there were certainly strong showings from series like True Blood, Boardwalk Empire and Californication, looking back it was the new nude series that really impressed us this year. These freshman series pushed the boundaries of their respective genres, from contemporary spy thriller to epic fantasy, and they looked damn good while doing it:
5. Strike Back This trans-Atlantic collaboration started off with a bang, thanks to super-nude secret agent Orla O' Rourke and a boatload of topless supporting players. The rest of the first second seasons (which were aired back-to-back on Cinemax after the first struck ratings gold in the UK) couldn't quite sustain the skintensity of the first three episodes, so we're hoping that they'll Strike Back with more.
4. Spartacus: Gods of the Arena This prequel series fleshed out the backstory of Lucy Lawless' cruel-but-beautiful slave mistress Lucretia in the sexiest way possible- by giving her a new les-be-friend in the form of Dexter's Jaime Murray. We're pretty sure Sappho was Greek, not Roman, but who's complaining?
3. BossKelsey Grammer stars in this Starz series as the fictional mayor of Chicago, but it's Kathleen Robertson as an amorous mayoral aide and nude supporting players Jennifer Mudge, Laura Coover and Hannah Ware who really turned the City of Big Shoulders into the City of Big Boulders.
2. Shameless Judging by the frenzied response every time Mr. Skin favorite Emmy Rossum got naked on screen- something she did in pretty much every episode of the first season- we're guessing you're looking forward to season 2 of Shameless starting January 8. And with executive producer Johan Wellsdropping hints about an upcoming Sapphic storyline with Emmy and Amy Smart, we couldn't agree more.
1. Game of Thrones This HBO series is getting a lot of attention for taking the much-maligned genre of epic fantasy and making it something that even non-nerds can get into. Of course, helping it along are the heaping helpings of blood, guts, and full-frontal nudity. Emilia Clarke makes her nude debut and Lena Headey co-stars as a twincestuous queen, but we're especially spankful for Esme Bianco, who brought us the best lesbian scene of the year as the village bicycle. Winter is coming, and so is Mr. Skin.
...And that wraps up (heh) our coverage of the Breast of 2011! Happy nude year and thanks for your support, skin fans!
