Photo: Hayley Lê
Karma was the world’s first Instagram Stories drama. The show was aimed at girls aged 13 to 17 and focused on three roommates and best friends: Allu (Mimosa Willamo), Saaga (Saana Koivisto) and Aino (Senna Vodzogbe). During the first season the girls’ friendship was threatened by a scandalous social media account, while the second season had the three friends attempt to gather 1,500 euros to pay the security deposit of their new apartment — by any means necessary.
The scenes were filmed on a smartphone and published in real time to Instagram Stories, with no editing or other post production. The show was commissioned by Yle Lapset ja Nuoret.
The show has been made into a format by Yle. The exceptional means of production for the show gathered attention both within Finland and abroad. Karma has been featured in global industry events such as Copenhagen TV Festival, MIP, Seriencamp, PLOT19 and Berlinale Talents.
Ryöväri produced the show, having also pitched its original concept and screenplay. Karma’s crew included Veera Ojola, Ronja Salmi and Anri Väre.
Awards and nominations
- Prix Europa ehdokkuus, online
Elsewhere
“Instagram is becoming more than a haven for the image-obsessed. A new drama series in Finland, for example, is shot solely with a phone and broadcasted live on Instagram stories. Karma was commissioned by YLE, the Finnish National Broadcasting Company, and produced by Ryöväri.”
MIP Blog, The Global TV and Digital Content Market: How Facebook and Instagram are looking to redefine TV
Miptv news: Helping producers to get the message about Instagram
YleX: Suomen ensimmäistä Instagram-draamasarjaa tähdittävät Mimosa Willamo ja Mansikkka
VapaMedia: Karma – televisio sukelsi selfiekameraan