Skam (stylized as SKAM; ; English: Shame) is a Norwegian teen drama series, created by Julie Andem for NRK P3. It follows the daily life of several teenagers who attend the Hartvig Nissen School, a gymnasium in the wealthy borough of Frogner in Oslo.
Despite little promotion ahead of its 2015 launch, Skam broke multiple viewership records in Norway. The first episode of season one is among the most-watched episodes in NRK's history, and Skam was responsible for half of NRK's online traffic by the release of the second season. With season three, the show had broken all streaming records in Norway, along with viewership records in neighboring countries Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. The show also attracted a significant international fanbase on social media, where fans reuploaded episodes of the show to other platforms with translated captions. It ended with its fourth season in 2017, and spawned multiple international adaptations.
Release and promotion When on air, a clip, conversation or social media post would be posted on the Skam website at the beginning of each week. New material from each episode would be posted on a daily basis, with the content unified and combined into one full episode on Fridays. The main character differs from season to season, and the fictional characters have social media profiles where viewers can follow their activities. The format has since been used in other NRK P3 series, such as Blank and Lovleg.
Characters The following are characters in Skam. + Character Portrayed by Seasons 1 2 3 4 Central colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" Central colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" Central colspan="1" colspan="3" Central colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="1"
1In season one, David Stakston was credited as playing a character called David, though his name was never spoken in the show. This could be the character Magnus or Stakston was playing a different student. Stakston also makes an uncredited appearance in the last episode of season two.
2In season three, Mikael appears uncredited in a video Isak finds on the Internet of Even.
Central cast Lisa Teige as Eva Kviig Mohn (born 2 June 1999) is the main character in the first season. When we first meet Eva, she recently started dating Jonas, who just ended a relationship with Eva's best friend Ingrid. Her relationship with Jonas is complicated and she finds it hard to trust him, eventually leading her to cheat on him and ultimately leading to their breakup at the end of season one. Eva lives at home with a busy mom and starts at the Hartvig Nissen school ("Nissen") in 2015 together with her friends and former classmates Jonas, Ingrid, Sara and Isak. Losing her former best friends Ingrid and Sara due to her relationship to Jonas, she starts up new friendships with Noora, Chris, Vilde and Sana at Nissen. After season one, Eva is mostly shown as an outgoing and promiscuous party-girl. Josefine Frida Pettersen as Noora Amalie Sætre (born 6 April 1999) is the main character in the second season. Noora is shown as a confident, smart and helpful character in seasons one and two. In the second season, it is however revealed that she has some insecurities after all. She lives with two roommates and does not have contact with her parents. Unlike her friends Eva, Chris and Vilde, Noora is not into drinking or hooking up with guys. When the school's playboy William continues to flirt with her despite several rejections, she eventually gets interested in him, but due to her prejudices against him, she finds it hard to accept. They end up in a relationship at the end of season two. In seasons three and four, Noora faces complications in her relationship with William. Tarjei Sandvik Moe as (born 21 June 1999) is the main character in the third season. Isak is a close friend of both Eva and Jonas in season one. At the end of the season, Noora and Eva find gay pornography on Isak's phone, raising suspicions about his sexual orientation. Season three follows Isak's struggles to accept his sexuality. He meets Even, and the two quickly fall in love and begin to secretly see each other. However, Isak unknowingly pushes Even (who has bipolar disorder) away by revealing that he does not want to be around people with mental disorders, due to traumatizing experiences with Isak's own mentally ill mother. Isak decides to come out to his best friends and tell them about Even. His friends help him getting back together with Even and afterwards to better understand and accept Even's bipolar disorder. In season four, Isak is shown as much happier, as he lives comfortably and publicly in a relationship with Even. Iman Meskini as Sana Bakkoush (born 24 December 1999) is the main character in the fourth season. Sana's biggest struggle throughout the series is to live the traditional Muslim lifestyle and the traditional Norwegian gymnasium-lifestyle at the same time. Sana is shown as decisive and eloquent, but faces constant prejudices from her classmates, her parents and people she meets on the street, which sometimes leads Sana to take irrational decisions. This peaks when Sana anonymously cyberbullies her classmate Sara, who wants to exclude Sana from their russefeiring-squad. Unlike Eva, Noora and Isak, she has a close relationship with her family. In season 4, she falls in love with Yousef, who she initially thinks is a Muslim, but turns out not to be. After initial attempts to distance herself from him, they appear to grow closer later in the season.
Main cast Marlon Valdés Langeland as Jonas Noah Vasquez (born 20 December 1999), Eva's boyfriend in the first season. He is also Isak's best friend and a classmate of all the main characters. Ulrikke Falch as Vilde Hellerud Lien (born 13 July 1999), the naive fourth member of the main girl squad. She is the enthusiastic initiator of russefeiring, revy and other social events for the squad. Ina Svenningdal as Christina "Chris" Berg (born 6 January 1999), the amusing fifth member of the girl squad. She usually avoids most conflicts and emotionally deep conversations. Thomas Hayes as William Magnusson (born 10 January 1997), the flirt and eventually boyfriend of Noora in the second season. He is two years older than the main cast, but also studies at Nissen in the first two seasons. Carl Martin Eggesbø as Eskild Tryggvasson (born 19 August 1995), the roommate of Noora in season two and four, and of Isak's in season three. Henrik Holm as (born 12 February 1997), the love affair and eventual boyfriend of Isak. Even is diagnosed with bipolar disorder at some point prior to season 3. David Stakston as Magnus Fossbakken (born 30 October 1999), Isak's awkward friend and classmate. In the fourth season he is in a relationship with Vilde. Sacha Kleber Nyiligira as Mahdi Disi (born 19 January 1999), Isak's friend and classmate. Member of the boys squad. Cengiz Al as Yousef Acar (born 21 September 1997), the atheist love interest of Sana and a former classmate of Even.
Recurring cast Herman Tømmeraas as Christoffer "Penetrator-Chris" Schistad (born 2 April 1997), the on-and-off love interest of Eva through all four seasons. He is also classmate and best friend of William. Cecilie Martinsen as Ingrid Theis Gaupseth (born 23 February 1999), Jonas's girlfriend and Eva's best friend prior to season one. Ingrid is a member of the russefeiring-squad "Pepsi Max", which often rivals the main characters' squad. Kristina Ødegaard as Sara Nørstelien (born 12 July 1999), Ingrid's best friend and leader of the "Pepsi Max" squad. Sara dates Isak in the second season. Rakel Øfsti Nesje as Linn Larsen Hansen (born 1 January 1996), the introverted roommate of Eskild and Noora/Isak. Simo Mohamed Elhbabi as Elias Bakkoush (born 5 March 1997), Sana's older brother and Yousef's best friend and former classmate.
Episodes Series overview
Season 1 The first clip from season 1 was made available on Tuesday, 22 September 2015, with the combined clips during the week premiering as a full episode on Friday, 25 September 2015. The season consists of 11 episodes; the main character is Eva Mohn. The storyline deals with Eva's difficult relationship with her boyfriend Jonas and the themes of loneliness, identity, belonging and friendship.
Season 2 The first clip from season 2 was made available on Monday, 29 February 2016, with the combined clips during the week premiering as a full episode on Friday, 4 March 2016. The season consists of 12 episodes; the main character is Noora Amalie Sætre. The season is about her relationship with William and deals with issues of friendship, feminism, eating disorders, self-image, violence, sexual violence and the contemporaneous refugee crisis in relation to Norwegian democracy.
Season 3 The first clip from season 3 was made available on Sunday, 2 October 2016, with the combined clips during the week premiering as a full episode on Friday, 7 October 2016. The season consists of 10 episodes; the main character is Isak Valtersen. The season deals with Isak's burgeoning relationship with Even Bech Næsheim and is principally a coming out story that deals with issues of love, sexual identity, authenticity, mental illness, religion and friendship.
NRK TV and NRK P3 used different titles for 7 of the season 3 episodes.
Season 4 The first clip from season 4 was made available on Monday, 10 April 2017, with the combined clips during the week premiering as a full episode on Friday, 14 April 2017. The season consisted of 10 episodes, and the main character is Sana Bakkoush. The season deals with the Islamic religion, forbidden love, cyberbullying, friendship, and the Norwegian russ celebratory period.
The series finale episode switches character clip-to-clip, focusing on short stories by characters not given their own, full season. The episode deals with parental depression, love rejection, jealousy, friendship, mutual relationship support, and fear of abandonment.
Production