It’s called “Skin.” And it’s a bomb.
This laughable new drama series making its debut tonight on Fox wants you to think of it as some kind of modern-day Romeo and Juliet story, with the teen-aged son of the Los Angeles district attorney falling in love with the teen daughter of the town’s wealthiest porn kingpin, whom the D.A. detests.

It’s a premise that might have worked for a TV movie or miniseries, but as the basis for an ongoing series, it makes little sense since there’s only so much you can do with the star-crossed lovers’ plotline.

I mean, what are they going to have them do? Commit suicide like the original R and J? Then you’d have no show, which wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

It’s established in tonight’s premiere – and reinforced in episode 2 – that the boy and girl are determined to stay together, no matter what their daddies and mommies think.

So now what? Is this show to consist week after week of stories focusing on the parents’ attempts to break up the kids?

It sure looks that way, even though it’s obvious the parents are too late, since episode 2 begins with an explicit sex scene (explicit for TV, anyway) in which the two young lovers do the nasty right in Porn King’s own home.

But it’s OK, says the show, since the kids were both virgins and they really, really, really love each other.

The scene, though, exists merely to titillate – which mirrors the general purpose of a show called “Skin” that’s purported to be all about the porn industry.

That industry is symbolized by the kingpin, Larry Goldman (Ron Silver), who the show positions as a Michael Corleone-type figure who might have once engaged in shady dealings to get his sex empire off the ground, but today, he’s strictly legitimate, as Michael Corleone might say.

And then there’s the D.A., played by Kevin Anderson, who looks too young to be district attorney of a big city. He even looks too young to be the kid, Adam’s, dad.

That’s right – Romeo is named Adam, but Juliet is named Jewel, not Eve, which seemed like a missed opportunity.

Turning this show into an Adam and Eve story, however, would have been superfluous since it’s already based on “Romeo & Juliet.”

And when you have a classic like that on which to base a prurient TV show about the sex trade, why mess with success?