TV FROM AROUND THE WORLD: "Skam" (Norway)

When a show has remakes in 7 different countries, I think you can safely say it’s a global sensation. “Skam”, which translates to “Shame” in English, is a Norwegian show about a group of friends in high school going through the everyday dramas we’ve all dealt with. It sounds like a lot of other shows out there, so then why is everyone so obsessed with it? 

Each of the 4 seasons follows one of the characters in the main group. In Season 1, we meet Eva, a lonely teenager who is stressed with school, finding new friends, and her relationship with her boyfriend, Jonas. Everything she goes through is honest and relatable, and she’s definitely not perfect, making it easy for young fans to see themselves in her. The show tackles many difficult topics, like mental illness and prejudice, representing the diverse world as it really is. It’s realistic, but also very hopeful. “Skam” gained the most attention during the airing of the 3rd season, which focuses on the coming out story of one of the main characters, as he falls in love with a new classmate.

The show ended in 2017 after 4 seasons, but it’s still one of the best teen dramas I’ve ever seen, and it introduced a new way to release TV shows. “Skam” embraces the way our youth relies on social media, and the creators of the show used it to bring the audience fully into the world of the characters. The episodes were released through the week as short clips. They’d put the clips up at the time the scene is supposed to be taking place to make it feel like it’s happening in real-time. It furthers the suspension of disbelief, and we start to think that maybe, just maybe, somewhere these characters exist and are experiencing this. Along with that, all the characters had their own Instagrams and Snapchats, and in between clips we’d see photos or text message exchanges to show more of the characters’ lives. 

I discovered “Skam” while Season 3 was airing, when everyone was talking about it. A welcoming online community quickly formed to share and discuss the show, and that community is only getting bigger as new people continue to discover it.

After how successful “Skam” became, a lot of different countries started developing their own adaptations. Right now, there are 7 versions airing, in Spain, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the United States. You can watch the American version on Facebook Watch. It’s called “Skam Austin”, and the first two seasons are already out.

I’ve watched quite a few of the adaptations and they are all wonderful, but if you can find the original series online, I highly recommend watching it! You’ll quickly realize why the world loves it so much!

Check it out if you like“One Tree Hill”, “Freaks and Geeks”, “Faking It”, “On My Block”, and “Skins”.