Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This article addresses the production, distribution and global expansion of the online teen drama, SKAM/SHAME (2015–2017), produced by the Norwegian public service broadcaster NRK. The article combines perspectives on transmedia storytelling with production studies and studies of public service broadcasting to investigate the distinct production, publishing and promotion models underpinning SKAM, as well as its public service mission. Furthermore, it addresses SKAM’s transition from a ‘secret’ online teen drama targeting young Norwegians in season one to a global cult phenomenon with viewers and fans in all age groups and on all continents in seasons three and four, and relates this expansion to recent shifts within the television industry.

Keywords

Production studies public service broadcasting transmedia storytelling popular enlightenment NRK

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aldridge

(2016) NRK treffer blink fra skolegården. Aftenposten, 12 January. Available at: https://www.aftenposten.no/kultur/i/XMzx/NRK-treffer-blink-fra-skolegarden (accessed 3 September 2019).

Anderson

(1991[1983]) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. New York: Verso.

Andresen

ØE

(2014) Hva er NRKs ‘Jenter’? NRK.no, 20 June. Available at: https://www.nrk.no/informasjon/hva-er-nrks-_jenter__-1.11788451 (accessed 3 September 2019).

Asker

(2016) Skam sesong 2: fra hemmelig nettskatt til nasjonal suksess. Aftenposten, 3 March. Available at: https://www.aftenposten.no/kultur/i/xM5Q/Skam-sesong-2-fra-hemmelig-nettskatt-til-nasjonal-suksess (accessed 3 September 2019).

Atkinson

(2016) Why Norway’s most hyped show ‘Skam’ isn’t ‘Skins’ but you should watch it anyway. Highsnobiety, 22 December. Available at: https://www.highsnobiety.com/2016/12/22/skam-series-everything-you-need-to-know/ (accessed 3 September 2019).

Bakare

(2016) Skam: the Norwegian hit that could take US TV into uncharted territory. The Guardian, 13 December. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/dec/13/skam-us-remake-shame-norwegian-teen-show (accessed 3 September 2019)

Banks

(2014) How to study makers and making. In: Alvardo

Buonanno

Gray

Miller

(eds) The SAGE Handbook of Television Studies. London: Sage, pp. 117–132.

Banks

Conor

Mayer

(eds) (2015) Production Studies, the Sequel! Cultural Studies of Global Media Industries. New York: Routledge.

Bengtsson

Källquist

Sveningsson

(2018) Combining new and old viewing practices: uses and experiences of the transmedia series Skam . Nordicom Review 39(2): 63–77.

10.

Birk

(2017) Vi er vilde med Skam: norsk seerhit slår ny rekord. DR. no, 27 January. Available at: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/kultur/film/vi-er-vilde-med-skam-norsk-seerhit-slaar-ny-rekord (accessed 3 September 2019).

11.

Bondebjerg

Redvall

(2015) Breaking borders: the international success of Danish television drama. In: Bondebjerg

Redvall

Higson

(eds) European Cinema and Television: Cultural Policy and Everyday Life. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 214–238.

12.

Braseth

(2016) SKAM sesong 3: NRK lagde to sesonger av SKAM for 10 millioner. Dagbladet, 17 December. Available at: https://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/nrk-lagde-to-sesonger-skam-for-10-millioner/66417944 (accessed 3 September 2019).

13.

Bricker

(2017) TV’s top couple 2017 has a winner and they’re thanking ‘the coolest fanbase on earth’. EOnline, 8 March. Available at: https://www.eonline.com/uk/news/834689/tv-s-top-couple-2017-has-a-winner-and-they-re-thanking-the-coolest-fanbase-on-earth (accessed 3 September 2019).

14.

Bronson

(2016) Simon fuller to produce English version of Norwegian teen drama Shame . The Hollywood Reporter, 8 December. Available at: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/simon-fuller-produce-english-version-norwegian-teen-drama-shame-954505 (accessed 3 September 2019).

15.

Bruun

(2014) Eksklusive informanter. Om interviewet som redskab i produksjonsanalysen. Nordicom-Information 36(1): 29–44.

16.

Caldwell

(2008) Production Culture. Industrial Reflexivity and Critical Practice in Film and Television. London: Duke University Press.

17.

Christensen

(2018) SKAM som social utopi. K&K – Kultur og Klasse 46(125): 139–156.

18.

Creeber

(2011) It’s not TV, it’s online drama: the return of the intimate screen. International Journal of Cultural Studies 14(6): 591–606.

19.

Creeber

(2015) Killing us softly: investigating the aesthetics, philosophy and influence of Nordic noir television. Journal of Popular Television 3(1): 21–35.

20.

Donadio

(2016) Will Skam, a Norwegian hit, translate? The New York Times, 9 December. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/09/arts/television/will-skam-a-norwegian-hit-translate.html (accessed 9 September 2019).

21.

Ellis

(2000) Seeing Things. Television in the Age of Uncertainty. London: I.B Tauris.

22.

Enli

(2015) Mediated Authenticity. How the Media Construct Reality. New York: Peter Lang.

23.

Enli

Moe

Sundet

, et al. (2013) From fear of television to fear for television: five political debates about new technologies. Media History 19(2): 213–227.

24.

Eriksen

(2015) Hvordan skal NRK være relevant i fremtiden? Aftenposten, 20 May. Available at: https://www.nrk.no/ytring/hvordan-skal-nrk-vaere-relevant-i-fremtiden_-1.12367477 (accessed 9 September 2019).

25.

Erlandsen

(2018) SKAM statistic – likes and comments on blog. Information given to the author in a meeting at the NRK, Oslo, Norway, 21 March.

26.

Evans

(2011) Transmedia Television. New York: Routledge.

27.

Falch-Nilsen

Revheim

(2016) Helseministeren hyller Skam . NRK.no, 16 December. Available at: https://www.nrk.no/kultur/helseministeren-hyller-_skam_-1.13279903 (accessed 9 September 2019).

28.

Faldalen

(2016) -Nerven i ‘Skam’ skal være sterk og relevant. Rushprint.no, 4 April. Available at: https://rushprint.no/2016/04/nerven-i-skam-skal-vaere-sterk-og-relevant/ (accessed 9 September 2019).

29.

Fjellhøy

(2016) SKAM sesong 4: fansen spekulerer vilt. Dagbladet, 16 December. Available at: https://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/fansen-spekulerer-vilt/66438010 (accessed 9 September 2019).

30.

Flesjø

(2015) Head of On-demand Services at NRK, personal interview, Oslo, Norway, 26 January.

31.

Fordal

(2016) En allmennkringkaster i verdensklasse. NRK.no, 15 December. Available at: https://www.nrk.no/informasjon/et-medietilbud-i-verdensklasse-1.6511989 (accessed 9 September 2019).

32.

Furevold-Boland

(2016) Project leader of SKAM at NRK, personal interview, Oslo, Norway, 13 December.

33.

Game of Thrones (2011–2019) HBO. Television 360/Grok! Productions/Generation Entertainment/Startling Television/Bighead Littlehead/Warner Bros .Television Distribution.

34.

Gonsholt

(2016) Slik skapte hun Skam . D2, 25 February. Available at: https://www.dn.no/d2/profil/julie-andem/tv/underholdning/slik-skapte-hun-skam/1-1-5585384 (accessed 9 September 2019).

35.

Guttu

(2016) Minutt for minutt. Kunstkritikk, 23 December. Available at: https://kunstkritikk.no/minutt-for-minutt/ (accessed 9 September 2019).

36.

Guyliner

The

(2016) Skam: The Norwegian TV phenomena you need to be watching right now. Gay Times, 22 November. Available at: https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/54848/skam-norwegian-tv-phenomenon-need-watching-right-now/ (accessed 9 September 2019).

37.

Haastrup

(2018) Fra Underdog til happy ending: føljetonfortælling og karakterudvikling i SKAM . 16:9 filmtidsskrift, 13 May. Available at: http://www.16-9.dk/2018/05/skam/ (accessed 9 Sepember 2019).

38.

Hansen

Waade

(2017) Locating Nordic Noir. From Beck to the Bridge. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

39.

Haugen

(2015) Head of Programmes at NRK, personal interview, Oslo, Norway, 22 May.

40.

Havens

Lotz

(2012) Understanding Media Industries. New York: Oxford University Press.

41.

Hedemann

(2015) Head of International Formants at NRK, personal interview, Oslo, Norway, 9 April.

42.

Hedemann

(2018) TV–formater. Fra Kvitt eller dobbelt til Skam. Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk.

43.

Hegnsvad

(2016) Verdens bedste ungdomsserie er norsk. Politiken, 25 August. Available at: https://politiken.dk/kultur/film_og_tv/art5633676/Verdens-bedste-ungdomsserie-er-norsk (accessed 9 September 2019).

44.

Helsingen

(2015) Head of Television at NRK, personal interview, Oslo, Norway, 16 January.

45.

Hertz

Imber

(eds) (1995) Studying Elites Using Qualitative Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

46.

Hills

(2002) Fan Cultures. London: Routledge.

47.

Hopewell

(2017) Mipcom: ‘Shame’ gets European remake roll-out from NRK, Beta Film. Variety, 14 October. Available at: https://variety.com/2017/tv/global/mipcom-shame-gets-european-remake-roll-out-from-nrk-beta-film-1202590274/ (accessed 9 September 2019).

48.

Hughes

(2016) Shame: a Scandi TV sensation for the social media generation. The Guardian, 4 December. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/04/shame-skam-norway-teen-tv-drama-social-media-sensation (accessed 9 September 2019).

49.

Jenkins

(1992) Textual Poachers. Television Fans and Participatory Culture. New York: Routledge.

50.

Jenkins

(2006) Convergence Culture. Where Old and New Media Collide. New York; London: New York University Press.

51.

Jenkins

(2009) The revenge of the origami unicorn: seven principles of transmedia storytelling, part one and two. Available at: http://henryjenkins.org/blog/2009/12/the_revenge_of_the_origami_uni.html (accessed 12 December 2018).

52.

Jensen

(2016) Global impact of Danish drama series: a peripheral, non-commercial creative counter-flow. Kosmorama #263. Available at: https://www.kosmorama.org/en/kosmorama/artikler/global-impact-danish-drama-series-peripheral-non-commercial-creative-counter (accessed 9 September 2019).

53.

Jensen

Nielsen

Waade

(2016) When public service drama travels: the internationalization of Danish television drama and the associated production funding models. Journal of Popular Television 4(1): 91–108.

54.

Jenter/Girls (2013–2017) NRK. NRK.

55.

Jerslev

(2016) SKAM III – en verden av følelser. Kommunikasjonsforum.dk, 3 November. Available at: https://www.kommunikationsforum.dk/artikler/Anmeldelse-af-SKAM-III (accessed 9 September 2019).

56.

Jerslev

(2017) SKAM’s ‘lige her’ og ‘lige nu’. Om SKAM og nærvær. Nordisk Tidsskrift for Informationsvidenskab og kulturformidling 62(2): 75–81.

57.

Kann-Rasmussen

Quist

Veel

(2017) Efter SKAM. Kollektive perspektiver på den individuelle oplevelse. Nordisk Tidsskrift for Informationsvidenskab og Kulturformidling 6(2): 1–6.

58.

Krüger

Rustad

(2019) Coping with Shame in a media-saturated society: Norwegian web-series SKAM as transitional object. Television & New Media 20(1): 72–95.

59.

Lentz

(2017) Skaberen af Skam: jeg gennemlever alle de følelser, jeg udsætter mine karakterer for. DR.dk, 7. April. Available at: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/kultur/film/skaberen-af-skam-jeg-gennemlever-alle-de-foelelser-jeg-udsaetter-mine-karakterer (accessed 9 September 2019).

60.

Leth-Olsen

(2016) Kripos hyller Skam-jentene. Aftenposten, 23 May. Available at: https://www.aftenposten.no/norge/i/AlLAx/Kripos-hyller-Skam-jentene (accessed 9 September 2019).

61.

Lindtner

Skarstein

(eds) (2018) Dramaserien Skam. Analytiske Perspektiver Og Didaktiske Muligheter. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.

62.

Lindtner

Dahl

(2019) Aligning adolescent to the public sphere: the teen serial Skam and democratic aesthetic. Javnost – the Public 26(1): 54–69.

63.

Lund

(2015) Head of media at NRK, personal interview, Oslo, Norway, 4 February.

64.

Magnus

(2016) SKAM – når fiksjon og virkelighet møtes. Nordicom Information 38(2): 31–38.

65.

Magnus

(2017) Online producer of SKAM, personal interview, Oslo, Norway, 12 January.

66.

Malm

(2016) Oversetter Skam til spansk og engelsk, NRK.no, 31 October. Available at: https://www.nrk.no/kultur/skam-oversatt-til-spansk-og-engelsk-1.13203800 (accessed 9 September 2019).

67.

Max

(2018) SKAM, the radical teen drama that unfolds one post at a time. New Yorker, 18 June. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/06/18/skam-the-radical-teen-drama-that-unfolds-one-post-at-a-time (accessed 9 September 2019).

68.

Mayer

Banks

Caldwell

(eds) (2009) Production Studies. Cultural Studies of Media Industries. New York: Routledge.

69.

McDermott

(2017) Why the whole planet is obsessed with this Norwegian teen drama. The Fader, 10 April. Available at: https://www.thefader.com/2017/04/10/skam-season-4-sana-isak-even-nrk-interview (accessed 9 September 2019).

70.

MIA (2010–2012) NRK. NRK.

71.

Mittell

(2009) Forensic fandom and the drillable text: web-exclusive essay. Available at: www.spreadablemedia.org (accessed 5 May 2019).

72.

Mittell

(2015) Complex TV. The Poetics of Contemporary Television Storytelling. New York: New York University Press.

73.

Moe

(2009) Public broadcasters, the internet, and democracy. comparing policy and exploring public service media online. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Bergen, Norway.

74.

Mogen

(2016) SKAM SESONG 3: Sjokklansering av Skam. Kom med første episode midt på natta. Dagbladet, 3 October. Available at: https://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/sjokklansering-av-skam-kom-med-forste-episode-midt-pa-natta/63820978 (accessed 9 September 2019).

75.

Myrvang

(2017) Nå kan du ikke lenger se ‘Skam’ fra utlandet. NRK.no, 13 January. Available at: https://p3.no/na-kan-du-ikke-lenger-se-skam-fra-utlandet/ (accessed 9 September 2019).

76.

Nilsen

Elnan

(2016) Why NRK can’t translate Skam . NRK.no, 2 November.

77.

NRK (2014) NRK’s Articles of Association.

78.

NRK (2016a) NRK’s long term strategy 2016–2021.

79.

NRK (2016b) NRK’s annual report 2016. Available at: https://www.nrk.no/aarsrapport/2016/ (accessed 9 September 2019).

80.

NRK (2018) NRK’s annual report 2018. Available at: https://www.nrk.no/aarsrapport/2018/ (accessed 9 September 2019).

81.

Nyborg

(2012) MIA – et stort og stille drama på nett. NRKBeta, 3 May. Available at: https://nrkbeta.no/2012/05/03/mia-%E2%80%93-et-stort-og-stille-drama-pa-nett/ (accessed 9 September 2019).

82.

Perkins

(2017) All the things that Skam got right. Available at: https://stevenperkins.wordpress.com/2017/01/02/all-the-things-that-skam-got-right/ (accessed 1 February 2017).

83.

Petersen

Sundet

(2019) Play moods across the life course in SKAM fandom. Journal of Fandom Studies 7(2): 113–131.

84.

Pettersen

(2016) Utlandet vil ikke ha Skam . VG, 8 June. Available at: https://www.vg.no/rampelys/tv/i/12Aoe/utlandet-vil-ikke-ha-skam (accessed 9 September 2019).

85.

Pickard

(2016) Norway feels Shame . Drama Quarterly, 26 August. Available at: https://dramaquarterly.com/norway-feels-shame/ (accessed 9 September 2019).

86.

Redvall

(2013) Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark: From the Kingdom to the Killing. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

87.

Riise

(2012) Nettsuksessen MIA avsluttes lørdag. NRK.no, 15 June. Available at: https://www.nrk.no/kultur/nettsuksessen-mia-avsluttes-lordag-1.8201925 (accessed 9 September 2019).

88.

Romeo + Juliet (1996) Dir. Baz Luhrmann. 20th Century Fox.

89.

Rustad

(2018) Skam (NRK, 2015–17) and the rhythms of reception of digital television. Critical Studies in Television 13(4): 505–509.

90.

Sara (2008–2009) NRK. NRK.

91.

Scannell

Cardiff

(1991) A Social History of British Broadcasting 1922-1939. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

92.

Schmidt

(2016) Tv-serie om gymnasielivet gør Norge cool for første gang. Politiken, 7 August. Available at: https://politiken.dk/kultur/art5633531/TV-serie-om-gymnasielivet-g%C3%B8r-Norge-cool-for-f%C3%B8rste-gang (accessed 9 September 2019).

93.

Simones

(2016) Historien om hvordan SKAM ble til. Presentation at Nordiske Seriedager, 29 September.

94.

SKAM/SHAME (2015–2017) NRK. NRK.

95.

Sommer

(2016) ‘Skam’ solgt til flere land. NRK.no, 10 October. Available at: https://www.nrk.no/kultur/_skam_-solgt-til-flere-land-1.13172955 (accessed 9 September 2019).

96.

Sørensen

(2017) SKAM statistic. Unpublished document given to the author in an e-mail, 14 February.

97.

Sørensen

(2019) SKAM statistic. Unpublished document given to the author in an e-mail, 7 May.

98.

Straubhaar

(2007) World Television: From Global to Local. Los Angeles: Sage Publication.

99.

Sundet

(2008) Innovasjon og nyskapning i NRK. En analyse av plattform- og sjangerbruk i Rubenmann-prosjektet. Norsk medietidsskrift 15(4): 282–307.

100.

Sundet

(2017a) Co-produced television drama and the cost of transnational ‘success’: the making of Lilyhammer . In: Bakøy

Puijk

Spicer

(eds) Building Successful and Sustainable Film and Television Business: A Cross-National Perspective. Bristol: Intellect, pp. 67–87.

101.

Sundet

(2017b) ‘Det er bare du som kan føle det du føler’ - emosjonell investering og engasjement i nettdramaet SKAM . 16:9 filmtidsskrift, 25 June. Available at: http://www.16-9.dk/2017/06/det-er-bare-du-som-kan-foele/ (accessed 9 September 2019).

102.

Svendsen

(2016) Derfor skjermer NRK Skam-skuespillerne. VG, 16 February. Available at: https://www.vg.no/rampelys/i/xnBgl/derfor-skjermer-nrk-skam-skuespillerne (accessed 9 September 2019).

103.

SVT (2017) Skam mest sedda serien på SVT Play. SVT.no, 14 January. Available at: https://www.svt.se/skam/skam-mest-tittade-pa-svt-play-nagonsin/ (accessed 9 September 2019).

104.

Sweney

(2016) Norwegian teen TV hit Shame to be remade for US viewers. The Guardian, 9 December. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/dec/09/norwegian-teen-tv-hit-shame-to-be-remade-for-us-viewers (accessed 9 September 2019).

105.

Syvertsen

(1992) Public television in transition: a historical and comparative analysis of the BBC and the NRK. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Leicester, UK.

106.

Syvertsen

(2004) Citizens, audiences, consumers and players: a conceptual discussion of the relationship between broadcasters and their publics. European Journal of Cultural Studies 7(3): 363–380.

107.

Syvertsen

Enli

Mjøs

, et al. (2014) The Media Welfare State: Nordic Media in the Digital Era. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

108.

Taylor

(2016) The real and risqué Norwegian TV show causing teen hysteria. Dazed, 22 November. Available at: https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/33790/1/the-risque-norwegian-tv-series-causing-teen-hysteria (accessed 9 September 2019).

109.

Teen Wolf (2011–2017) MTV. Adelstein Productions/DiGa Vision/First Cause Inc./Lost Marbles Television/MGM Television/MTV Production Development/Siesta Productions.

110.

The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017) The CW. Outerbanks Entertainment/Alloy Entertainment/CBS Television Studios/Warner Bros. Television.

111.

Uksnøy

(2016) Skam-fan: Jeg er redd for å sove. NRK.no, 15 November. Available at: https://www.nrk.no/kultur/_skam_-fan_-_-jeg-er-redd-for-a-sove-1.13228165 (accessed 9 September 2019).

112.

Weissmann

(2012) Transnational Television Drama. Special Relations and Mutual Influence between the US and UK. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

113.

Woldsdal

Michelsen

(2016) Skam slår alle rekorder. NRK.no, 21 December. Available at: https://www.nrk.no/kultur/skam-slar-alle-rekorder-1.13282929 (accessed 9 September 2019).

From ‘secret’ online teen drama to international cult phenomenon: The global expansion of SKAM and its public service mission

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References