Since the second season  of BBC America's teen drama Skins recently aired its second episode, I thought it time to check in again on Maxxie (Mitch Hewer), the show's gay character. At the end of last season, I had mixed feelings about the show, finding it stronger at the end then at the start.

So IMHO, how is Skins faring thus far? Much to my surprise, I have to give it an up arrow. Find out why after the jump!

Mitch Hewer as Maxxie on Skins

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Fans of randy British teen dramas rejoice! Skins, a beloved (and racy!) nighttime soap featuring Mitch Hewer as gay teen Maxxie, will premiere on BBC America in August.

• John Barrowman took second place as Britain's cheesiest celebrity, barely nosing out Graham Norton but losing to former EastEnders star Shane Richie. The contest was run by a cheese company who should probably put themselves on the list next year for devising such a pungent promotion.

• And speaking of Barrowman, could he be on the list of Doctor Who companions who might be killed off (if you listen to rumors) in this weekend's big finale?

• Good news: Both Neil Patrick Harris and T.R. Knight have made the Emmy nomination "short lists". No, I'm not making fun of their stature.

• Gay video retailer (and porn distributor) TLA is coming under fire for making Heath Ledger's full-frontal in I'm Not There the selling point for the DVD in their catalog. On the one hand, the pickle-shot in question is certainly news to me. On the other, a dead guy's junk is a pretty trashy way to sell a DVD.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

Out actor Russell Tovey 

Not that we needed further proof that American television is woefully behind the rest of the world in terms of censorship and content, but when the evidence is this round and perky, it's hard to ignore it.

Just this week on British television, two young actors bared their buns in two different dramas. Actually, probably a dozen more actors in a dozen more shows did the same, but for our purposes we'll focus on these fellas. Wait, did I say "focus"? I meant "drool".

First up is gay actor Russel Tovey, in the BBC drama Being Human. Well, the title says it all, really, as Tovey is featured as stripped-down and human as you can get several times in the show. Here's a relatively demure shot, and I've snuck in a few racier pics after the jump. 

Did I mention that Tovey plays a werewolf in this show? I guess even werewolves are manscaping in 2008.

Folks may know Tovey as sporty Rudge from The History Boys, but many don't know that he's openly gay. We're looking to see much more of this talent in the future ... wait, let me rephrase that ...

Our other bun-flasher is Mitch Hewer, who plays the beloved gay character Maxxie on the teen drama Skins. Nice to see that an otherwise straight show about teen relationships is objectifying the gay kid just like it does everyone else ... and it certainly doesn't hurt that Hewer has a body that could make a Bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.

Enjoy more pics (a few are NSFW) after the jump! (For more, check out this site, who was kind enough to screencap all of this wonderfulness.)