You Need To Wake The Fuck Up And Start Watching "Skam"

    Watch it or else I will hunt you down.

    Sheridan Watson
    by Sheridan Watson

    BuzzFeed Staff

    OK, I know how it is. It seems like everyone is always screaming, "Watch Breaking Bad/Mad Men/The Wire." Well, I'm sorry because I'm gonna have to order you to watch another show.

    NRK P3

    It's a Norwegian show about high schoolers called Skam. And it will consume you. You will be Skam. Skam will be you. You will forget a time before Skam.

    Dramatics aside (sorry, I'm a Leo), Skam means "shame" in Norwegian.

    There have been three seasons so far, and each one has focused on a different character. Sesong 1 was focused around Eva, sesong 2 was about Noora, and sesong 3 was about Isak. And here are some reasons why you should binge-watch all three as soon as you can:

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    NRK P3
    NRK P3

    1. The series deals with a lot: relationships, friendships, religion, coming out, and more.

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    But the best part is that Skam never dips into melodramatic preachiness. Each character is a well thought-out, fully drawn individual. When it could dip into clichés (the boy-crazy friend who has an eating disorder, the gay roommate who likes to hook up, the bad boy who had a tragic childhood), the show instead surprises you with its humanity. Everything is presented in such a realistic way that you think you're actually watching a documentary.

    The best way to describe it is as a Norwegian version of Skins but less in-your-face.

    2. The dialogue is so well written, you'll wonder if the creator, Julie Andem, stole a teenager's brain.

    You know when you're watching a show or movie and you can just tell the dialogue was written by some 40-year-old who thinks they know how teenagers speak? Well, this ain't that show. The dialogue is natural AF — even when the characters get to have a "moment" and lay down the law in a beautifully crafted monologue.

    3. The young actors could act their way around any Hollywood bigwig.

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    Most of the actors are actual teenagers, as in not 30-year-olds pretending to be 15. A lot of them are still in school or have day jobs — Josephine Frida Pettersen (who plays Noora) is a telemarketer and does Skam on the side!

    4. The friendships portrayed on the show are supportive and heartwarming.

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    NRK P3

    Chris, Noora, Sana, Eva, and Vilde support each other no matter what — they're a group of outsiders who have banded together and help one another through pregnancy scares, boy troubles, and assault. And — avoiding some spoilers — Jonas, Magnus, and Mahdi prove to be great friends to Isak.

    5. The chemistry between the actors is at level 🔥 🔥 🔥.

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    NRK P3

    Romantic scenes are so tender but so hot that you think you're intruding on someone's private time.

    6. Episodes are released in a truly addicting fashion.

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    Each scene starts off with a tag to show what day of the week and what time the scene is taking place, and scenes are released throughout the week. That means if a scene takes place on Friday at 6:26 p.m., on Friday at 6:26 p.m., the scene will be released on the NRK P3 website. At the end of the week, the scenes are compiled into an episode that you can watch online or on NRK 3.

    7. And if you're not in Norway, the process gets even MORE insane.

    8. And a truly shallow reason: The show has got some great style.

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    Maybe American teenagers dress like crap but the high schoolers on Skam kill it in the fashion department. Special shoutout to Eva's white coat and Sana's awesome makeup.

    Oh, and as a bonus, Jonas (Marlon Langeland) has the world's most amazing eyebrows.

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    Nigel Fuller is going to adapt Skam for English-speaking audiences. But if we've learned anything from the American version of Skins, don't get your hopes up. So do yourself a favor and watch the original Skam — I promise you won't be disappointed.