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Norway’s ‘Skam’ series to get remake in five European countries

Viewers in five different European countries will get the chance to watch their own version of the hugely popular Norwegian television series Skam.

Norway’s 'Skam' series to get remake in five European countries
Part of the cast of Skam. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB scanpix

Broadcaster NRK has signed a deal giving television companies in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and France rights to remake the teen drama series, reports NTB.

“The Skam universe is already a huge success. It will be no less successful once young people in Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and France will now get their own versions of Skam in their own languages, NRK broadcasting director Thor Gjermund Eriksen said in a press statement.

Distributor Betafilm has signed the deal with NRK to produce the new adaptations, according to the report.

All partners will be given advice on how to recreate the key elements of the original Norwegian series, NRK added in the statement.

Eriksen said that the broadcaster was positive about the foreign interest in the series.

“The people that created Skam had a vision of the series being something that would help 16-year-old girls with self-confidence by solving taboos, making them aware of how relationships between individuals work and showing them the benefits of confronting their fears,” the broadcasting director said according to NTB.

During its four-season run, the series followed teenagers at the Hartvig Nissen college, a real-life upper secondary school (known in Norwegian as a gymnasium) in Oslo.

The series has been praised for tackling subjects such as homosexuality, assault, rape, cultural differences and peer pressure in young social groups.

Rights to the series have already been sold to Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and the United States.

READ ALSO: Hit Norway TV show too risqué for foreign audiences

SKAM

Here are the first glimpses of the American ‘Skam’

‘Skam’, the hugely successful Norwegian television series following the lives of Oslo teenagers, has been given an American remake.

Here are the first glimpses of the American 'Skam'
Will the US Skam enjoy similar levels of success to its Norwegian predecessor? Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB scanpix

The first clips from ‘Skam Austin’, which will be broadcast on Facebook’s US streaming service, were released via social media this week.

As with the original Norwegian series, ‘Skam Austin’ gives viewers insight and sneak previews of the lives of its characters via videos and other content posted on social media accounts.

Broadcaster NRK last year sold the rights to the series, which ended last year after a highly-popular four-series run, to several European countries as well as the United States.

And the first glimpses of what is to come have now been made available online by production company XIX Entertainment, which made the series for Facebook Watch.

Fans of the show initially began speculating after Facebook page ‘SKAM Austin’ began publishing video clips last week.

The first video, a teaser, confirmed that the first episode will be released on April 24th.

Further videos have since appeared online, as have Instagram accounts connected to characters from the new series.

Julie Andem, screenwriter on the original version of Skam, also directed the new US series.

“This proves that NRK has made something world class, and is being noticed all over the world,” the Norwegian broadcaster's director Thor Gjermund Eriksen said to NRK when the US series was announced last year.

 

Tryouts are coming up! Are you ready?

A post shared by Bouldin Kittens (@thebouldinkittens) on Apr 18, 2018 at 10:00am PDT

READ ALSO: Norway surprises with launch of 'new Skam' series