WtFOCK
WtFOCK (stylised as wtFOCK) is a Belgian teen drama web series broadcast by VIER and VIJF that follows the lives of teenagers in Antwerp. It is an adaption of the popular Norwegian series SKAM.[2] By the end of the first series, around 100,000 people were watching wtFOCK every week.[3]
| wtFOCK | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Teen drama |
| Created by | Julie Andem |
| Developed by | Julie Andem |
| Country of origin | Belgium |
| Original language | Flemish |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 42 |
| Production | |
| Production location | Antwerp |
| Running time | 20–40 minutes |
| Production company | Sputnik Media[1] |
| Release | |
| Original network | VIER VIJF |
| Original release | 1 October 2018 – 25 June 2021 |
Characters
The following is a list of the wtFOCK cast, including only the cast and characters who appear in at least three episodes. Recurring characters are highlighted in red and the main character of each series in green.
| Actor | Character | Based on | Number of episodes | Number of clips | Number of episodes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | wtFOCKDOWN | Season 4 | Season 5 | |||
| Femke Van der Steen | Jana Ackermans | Eva | 12 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 1 | |
| Veerle Dejaeger | Zoë Loockx | Noora | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 7 |
| Willem Herbots | Robbe IJzermans | Isak | 12 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 3 |
| Romi Van Renterghem | Kato Fransen | - | 10 | 8 | ||||
| Nora Dari | Yasmina Ait Omar | Sana | 10 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 10 |
| Nona Janssens | Amber Snoeckx | Vilde | 12 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 8 |
| Yara Veyt | Luca Lomans | Chris Berg | 12 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 8 |
| Nathan Bouts | Jens Stoffels | Jonas Noah Vasquez | 11 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| Lilith Pas | Britt Ingelbrecht | Ingrid/Sonja | 9 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 5 | |
| Nathan Naenen | Senne De Smet | William | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 5 | |
| Noa Izai Tambwe Kabati | Moyo Makadi | Elias/Mahdi | 4 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 3 |
| Maarten Cop | Luka Lemmens | Penetrator Chris | 8 | 5 | ||||
| Britt Hellinx | Gill De Schepper | Mari | 2 | 7 | ||||
| Isabel Leybaert | Mama Jana | Mama Eva | 5 | [note 1] | ||||
| Cassandra Krols | Marie Eggermont | Iben | 4 | |||||
| Lars Brinkman | Milan Hendrickx | Eskild | 8 | 9 | 5 | 2 | ||
| Jonathan Michiels | Viktor Deruwe | Niko | 4 | 1[note 2] | ||||
| Louise Bergez | Lisa De Geyter | Linn | 3 | [note 3] | ||||
| Stijn Coppens | Max Van Damme | - | 3 | |||||
| Aaron Roggeman | Aaron Jacobs | Magnus | 10 | 6 | 9 | 4 | ||
| Willem De Schryver | Sander Driesen | Even Bech Næsheim | 8 | 10 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Hanna Mensink | Noor Bauwens | Emma | 7 | 1 | ||||
| Akram Saibari | Elias Ait Omar | Elias | 8 | |||||
| Ismaïl L'Hamiti | Younes | - | 8 | |||||
| Shayma Moustafa | Aïcha | - | 6 | |||||
| Jamila Channouf | Salouah | - | 6 | |||||
| Abdellah Dari | Hassan | - | 4 | |||||
| Amber van Asch | Helena | - | 3 | |||||
- Leybaert can be heard in the first episode of the second series, but she is not credited
- Michiels appears as Viktor in the sixth episode of Season 3, but is not credited
- Bergez appears as Lisa in the first episode of Season 3, but is not credited
Seasons
Season 1
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
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
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.[4] It also deals with themes of sexual identity, homosexuality and mental health.[5] Clips from Season 3 were viewed ten million times within seven weeks of the series starting.[6]
wtFOCKDOWN
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, filming for the fourth season was halted. wtFOCKDOWN was a way to continue filming while social distancing.[7][8] Starting on 1 April 2020, it follows the lives of the characters while in lockdown through video calls and messages.[9] wtFOCKDOWN clips have been viewed over 2 million times as of May 2020.[10]
Season 4
Season 4 aired from 29 August to 7 November 2020.[11][12][13] The series diverged from the original SKAM storyline with a new character, Kato Fransen.[14] The storyline deals with social media, racism, self-harm, drugs, and COVID-19.
Season 5
Season 5 started airing on 19 April 2021. Yasmina Ait Omar is the central character, with the series focusing on ideas of faith and religion, being Muslim in Belgium, and the holy month of Ramadan.
References
- "Over WTFOCK". WTFOCK.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- 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.
- "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.
- "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.
- "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.
- "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.
- 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.
- "'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.
- 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.
- "Jongeren leven massaal mee met 'wtFOCKdown'". TVvisie. 27 May 2020. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- "Tweet by wtFock English". Twitter. 29 August 2020. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- "Seizoen 4 'wtFOCK' gestart". BeOut (in Dutch). 29 August 2020. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- "💛 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.
- 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.