WtFOCK
WtFOCK is a Flemish teen drama web series broadcast by Play4 that follows the lives of teenagers in Antwerp. Broadcast was then taken over by Belgian streaming services Play More, Streamz, and in preceding years. It is an adaptation of the popular Norwegian series SKAM. By the end of the first season, it was reported that around 100,000 people were watching wtFOCK every week. When the show returned with a sixth season, featuring a new cast and original storylines, it was estimated that wtFOCK episodes had been streamed over 3 million times since their release.
Concept
wtFOCK focuses on a group of friends in their teen life in Antwerp, specifically at in the first five seasons, and then at Kunstkaai Secondary School from the sixth season onwards. The show deals with daily and current events, like friendship, love and the search for identity. Every season centers on a different character, their daily life, and their own struggles. The show occurs in real time, meaning when something happens at a certain date or time, scenes are uploaded to the show's website, called "clips." The show also utilizes Instagram, TikTok, and text message screenshots to give the characters a realistic feel.After the end of season 7, the show subsequently dropped its wtFOCK branding. However, the show still utilizes official wtFOCK accounts for promotion. The show also still uses other aspects of the original format, such as the characters' social media accounts and by dropping clips daily, although no longer in real time.
Premise
First Generation
The first season introduces viewers to Jana Ackermans, the new student at the school that her boyfriend Jens and her ex-best friend Britt attend. Jana only spends time with Jens and his friends, until she makes friends with a new group of girls that help her gain back her confidence and courage, and helps her rediscover who she really is.The second season then focuses on Jana's new best friend, Zoë Loockx, who goes on a journey of self-growth and self-discovery as she balances her friendships with her new found feelings for Senne, a popular boy at school, which clashes with her feminist values. Other themes for the season include sexual assault.
The third season follows Robbe IJzermans, Jens' best friend, as he grapples with his coming out, as well as his balancing of his relationships with both his mother, who suffers from mental illness, and his love interest, Sander, who is bipolar.
Starting with season four, the show tackled original storylines surrounding a new character, Kato Fransen. This season was created around the COVID-19 pandemic, also dealing with topics of racism, social media, and self-harm, as Kato starts a new school, makes friends with the Girl Squad, and forms a romantic interest in Moyo, a friend of Robbe and Jens.
Season five pivoted back to the original storyline in Skam, focusing on Yasmina Ait Omar, a Muslim teenager who starts to question herself and those around her, as she falls for Younes, her brother's friend who isn't Muslim, and becomes isolated at school from her friend group due to racist and xenophobic incidents that occur while planning a school trip.
Second Generation
Starting from season six onwards, wtFOCK introduced a new set of original characters. These characters have no connections to the previous cast, and attend a different school. The main character of season 6 is Ada Konings, who struggles to understand her sexuality after hesitating to lose her virginity to her boyfriend, Finn, as well as struggling to balance that with her friendships and her relationship with her half-sister, Mila.Season 7 focuses on one of Ada's friends, Anaïs Davis, who is considered the "mom" of their friend group. As her parents begin the divorce process, Anaïs begins to use alcohol and other substances to cope. She also meets Bobbie, who drags Anaïs into her own reckless life as they fall in love. However, one of their nocturnal escapades go awry, and hurts one of Anaïs' friends in the process. As a result, she feels torn between the girl she loves and her friends.
Otis, a rebranding of the show, centers around Ada and Anaïs' friend, Otis Rojas. In this season, Otis is approached by Liv, a model scout who invites him for a photo shoot: the beginning of a rollercoaster in which the world of glamour, the catwalk and parties take center stage.