A web and television series, Skam focuses on the lives of teenagers in Oslo, Norway as they navigate growing up and the drama that comes along with it.
Each season of Skam centers on one main character, with the main character’s friends carrying the supporting roles. So far there have been three insanely addicting seasons of the show, each one dealing with different themes and issues, such as insecurity in one’s place in life, relationship troubles, coming out to friends and family, rape, and bipolar disorder. The show tackles these topics in an honest and realistic way, without being too preachy or patronizing to its audience. And there is, of course, some comic relief thrown into the mix. The show’s creator, Julie Andem, has said that she purposely tries to leave out adults from appearing in the show because she wants to show the teenagers dealing with and figuring out their problems on their own. All of the actors are around the same age as the characters they play, which is cool because we get to see actual teenagers portray what it is like to be a teenager. In fact, weirdly enough one of my favorite aspects of the show is that most of the characters don’t wear much makeup, so we actually see their hormonal teenage acne. It makes the show that much more realistic.
When the show is airing in Norway, clips of each episode are dropped periodically throughout the week in real-time. Meaning, if Eva, season one’s main character, was having a conversation with her boyfriend, Jonas, before school on a Tuesday at 8 am Norway time, the clip is posted online Tuesday at 8 am. On Fridays, the clips are compiled into one episode and played on NRK in Norway, which is Norway’s national broadcasting station.
As an added bonus to the clips that premiere throughout the week, each character also has an Instagram account that is run by the show’s producers. So not only do we see what the characters are up to as the clips drop, but we get to see their day through their posts on Instagram. The producers also drop screenshots of text messages between the main character and the people in their life, so like the Instagrams, these offer extra glimpses into what is happening throughout their day.
Unfortunately right now there is no easy way to watch Skam if you are not a Norwegian-speaking person in Norway. However, there are many dedicated and devoted fans who have translated each episode for those of us who do not speak a lick of Norwegian. I binge-watched the entire series during finals week in December (always good to find a new TV show when you are supposed to be studying, right?) and I watched it all through links that I found on Tumblr. Luckily, though, it’s not hard to find links to translated episodes.
If you’re a fan of shows like Skins or even Gossip Girl, Skam will likely become your new obsession. But if you aren’t really into watching things with subtitles Simon Fuller, the executive producer of American Idol, has bought the rights to produce an American version of it called Shame (the English translation of Skam), which is supposed to premiere on American television within in the next year or so. Still, I highly recommend watching the Norwegian version of Skam first. Its episodes are rarely longer than thirty minutes, so it’s easy to plow through, and the characters are flawed, but so lovable. And if nothing else, the fashion sense of these Norwegian teenagers is so cool, you will certainly pick up some inspiration from what they wear. The next time you’re browsing through Netflix, Hulu, etc. for the millionth time, unsure what show to start, maybe decide to dive into the dramatic world of Norwegian teens in Skam. You won’t regret it!