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wtFOCK
Also known as	Skam Belgium wtFOCK: Ada wtFOCK: Anaïs Otis
Genre	Teen drama
Created by	Julie Andem
Developed by	Kris Gaens Bram Renders Cecilia Verheyden
Screenplay by	Bram Renders (season 1–4, 6–7, Otis) Rutger Beckers (season 2–4) Kris Gaens (season 2–4) Lise De Kam (season 5) Geert Verbanck (season 5) Julie Bovendaerde (season 6–7, Otis) Jasmien Vandermeeren (season 7)
Directed by	Cecilia Verheyden (season 1) Tom Goris (season 2–3, 5) Bente Peters (season 4–5) Caroline De Maeyer (season 6–7) Jaap van Veen (Otis)
Starring	Femke van der Steen Veerle Dejaeger Willem Herbots Romi van Renterghem Nora Dari Ella van Remortel Laura Bekaert Mathis Mavuela
Country of origin	Belgium
Original language	Flemish
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	82
Production
Production location	Antwerp
Running time	18–38 minutes
Production company	Sputnik Media
Original release
Network	VIER (2018, 2023) VIJF (2018–2020) Play More (2018–2020) Streamz [nl] (2020–2021) GoPlay [nl] (2021–present)
Release	1 October 2018 (2018-10-01) – present

WtFOCK (stylised as wtFOCK, pronounced as wha-teh-fock) is a Belgian 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 [nl], and GoPlay [nl] 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 Koninklijk Atheneum Berchem [nl] 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.

Cast and characters

Central characters

Main characters

Recurring and guest characters

1. Leybaert can be heard in the first episode of the second season, but she is not credited
2. Bergez appears as Lisa in the first episode of Season 3, but is not credited
3. Michiels appears as Viktor in the sixth episode of Season 3, but is not credited

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2018)

Season 1 aired from 1 October to 21 December 2018 and comprised 12 episodes. Jana Ackermans is the central character and the season focuses on her relationship with her boyfriend Jens as well as themes of loneliness, identity and friendship.

Season 2 (2019)

Season 2 aired from 22 April to 28 June 2019 and comprised 10 episodes. Zoë Loockx is the central character and the season focuses on her relationship with Senne, a popular boy at school, and themes of friendship, self-image and sexual abuse.

Season 3 (2019)

Season 3 aired from 12 October to 20 December 2019 and comprised 10 episodes. Robbe IJzermans is the central character and the season focuses on his coming out as gay and his relationship with Sander, who struggles with bipolar disorder. It also deals with themes of sexual identity, homosexuality and mental health. Clips from Season 3 were viewed ten million times within seven weeks of the series starting.

Season 4 (2020)

Season 4 aired from 29 August to 7 November 2020. The series diverged from the original SKAM storyline with a new character, Kato Fransen. The storyline deals with social media, racism, self-harm, drugs, and COVID-19.

Season 5 (2021)

Season 5 started airing on 19 April 2021 and finished airing on 25 June 2021. Yasmina Ait Omar is the central character, with the season focusing on ideas of faith and religion, being Muslim in Belgium, and the holy month of Ramadan.

Season 6 (2023)

Season 6 began airing clips on 22 April 2023, ending on 30 June 2023. This season shifts to the perspective of a new class of students at Kunstkaai Secondary School, a school that focuses on artistic and creative pursuits. The central character is Ada Konings, who attempts to understand her sexuality as she hesitates to lose her virginity to her boyfriend, Finn. The season also follows her friendships and relationships with Hanne, Otis, Anaïs, Noah, and her older half-sister, Mila, who was held back a year in school.

Season 7 (2023)

Season 7 was confirmed to be forthcoming after the airing of the last clip of season six. Anaïs Davis is the central character, and the season focuses on her burgeoning romantic relationship with Bobbie. Themes of this season include alcohol abuse, substance abuse, divorce, reckless behavior, and friendship. The first clip of the season dropped on 14 October 2023. The season ended on December 22, 2023.

Otis (2024)

The season premiered on Friday, 17 May 2024, with clips dropping daily afterwards. The season centers around Otis Rojas, Ada and Anaïs' friend, who is scouted for a modeling job and quickly drawn into an intoxicating environment of fashion, glamour and parties. Themes of this season include toxic relationships, self-image, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and friendship. The season concluded with a two-hour finale on 12 July 2024.

Webisodes

wtFOCKDOWN

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, filming for the fourth season was halted. wtFOCKDOWN was a way to continue filming while social distancing. Starting on 1 April 2020, it follows the lives of the characters while in lockdown through video calls and messages. wtFOCKDOWN clips have been viewed over 2 million times as of May 2020.

References

1. "Over WTFOCK". WTFOCK.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
2. Matthew Paul Gundersen (14 November 2019). "Why Norway's Skam Was So Great". Life In Norway. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
3. "Geheime jeugdserie 'wtFOCK' is een grote hit in Vlaanderen, ondanks flops in het buitenland". HLN (in Dutch). 13 December 2018. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
4. ^ Vereecken, Joke (30 June 2023). "'wtFOCK:ADA': Wij spraken met actrice Ella van Remortel (Ada) over het succes van de reeks en de druk bij jongeren". Newsmonkey (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 August 2023.
5. Vandamme, Ulrike (17 August 2023). "Play4 kondigt 'wtFOCK: Anaïs' aan" (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 August 2023.
6. "Otis: GoPlay" (in Dutch). 15 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
7. "WTFock: Conheça Sander e Robbe, o casal gay da versão belga da série norueguesa SKAM e saiba onde assistir a trama legendada!". BreakTudo (in Portuguese). 8 July 2020. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
8. "Jonge kijkers vinden nieuw seizoen van Vlaamse internetreeks 'wtFOCK' wel erg donker: "Zet een waarschuwing bij die video's"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 18 November 2019. Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
9. "Populaire jongerenserie wtFOCK rondt kaap van 10 miljoen online views". Het Belang van Limburg. Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
10. "Tweet by wtFock English". Twitter. 29 August 2020. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
11. "Seizoen 4 'wtFOCK' gestart". BeOut (in Dutch). 29 August 2020. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
12. "💛 Love above all 💛 Tot volgend jaar! #wtFOCK". Instagram. wtfock.be. 7 November 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
13. Ysaline Pollet (1 September 2020). "YASSS: 'wtFOCK' is eindelijk terug met nieuwe updates". Fashionista (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
14. "wtfock.be on Instagram: ✨Cancelt al hun plannen voor zaterdag. ✨ #wtFOCKANAÏS". Instagram (in Dutch). 11 October 2023.
15. Tuchow, Ryan (15 April 2020). "How Sputnik pivoted wtFOCK for COVID-19". Kidscreen. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
16. "'Geheime' jongerenreeks 'wtFOCK' lanceert lockdownafleveringen". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 2 April 2020. Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
17. Cardoen, Sandra (6 April 2020). "Reeks "wtFOCK" is "wtFOCKdown" om coronaboodschap bij jongeren over te brengen: personages filmen zelf thuis". VRT (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
18. "Jongeren leven massaal mee met 'wtFOCKdown'". TVvisie. 27 May 2020. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.

• Television
• Belgium

• 2020s Belgian television series
• 2010s LGBTQ-related drama television series
• 2010s teen drama television series
• 2020s teen drama television series
• 2018 Belgian television series debuts
• Fiction about Islam
• Belgian drama television shows
• Dutch-language television shows
• Television series about social media
• Television series about teenagers
• Television shows set in Antwerp
• Play4 (TV channel) original programming
• Belgian teen drama television series