{"id":23747,"date":"2025-10-30T11:10:49","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T15:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/school-of-champions-come-for-the-skiing-stay-for-the-people\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T11:11:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T15:11:55","slug":"school-of-champions-come-for-the-skiing-stay-for-the-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/school-of-champions-come-for-the-skiing-stay-for-the-people\/","title":{"rendered":"School of Champions: \u201cCome for the Skiing, Stay for the People\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ORF Original coming-of-age drama School of Champions<\/em> is back with a third season, continuing to chronicle the lives of the students at a prestigious ski academy as they grapple with friendships, romance, ambition and the pressures of growing up, alongside fierce competition to fulfill their dreams of dominating the professional ski world. In the new season, a potential closure of the school looms over everyone as they continue their training and compete for the starting spots in the next racing season.<\/p>\n

We had the chance to discuss the series, its characters and its appeal with members of the cast and crew.<\/p>\n

Established as an Austrian-German-Swiss co-production, School of Champions<\/em> takes place at an Austrian ski school, but it holds attraction for international audiences. Cast member Marie Theres M\u00fcller, who stars as student Solenn, says, \u201cMy friends enjoy that it feels more international, which might not be expected at first glance. It\u2019s fresh and new, with new faces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though competitive skiing is a central part of the series, School of Champions<\/em> features plenty of universally relatable themes, \u201clike friendship, school life, first loves and growing up,\u201d explains Anna Thunhart, who stars as student Steffi. \u201cThese aspects are really important and are portrayed so well in the series.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, \u201cyou come for the skiing, you stay for the people,\u201d emphasizes showrunner and writer Samuel Schultschik.<\/p>\n

Having an ensemble cast allows the series to tackle many different storylines and dig deep into issues that today\u2019s teens may face. \u201cWith the variety of personality traits and stories, there\u2019s something for everyone,\u201d says Emilia Warenski, who plays another student, Dani.<\/p>\n

The characters learn more about themselves in every season as they are forced to make decisions about their futures with regard to professional skiing and their personal lives, Imre Lichtenberger, who plays student Nikki, notes.<\/p>\n

Season three sees life changes for many of the students. Warenski\u2019s character Dani faces increasing conflict with her best friend Solenn as their rivalry grows. Their friendship is continually tested throughout the season as the competition between them intensifies. Moritz Uhl\u2019s character, Georg, meanwhile, discovers that he likes men and must figure out how to handle the opinions of others. David-Joel Oberholzer\u2019s Bobby learns techniques to manage his aggression issues, and Mikka Forcher\u2019s character Luca embraces \u201cvan life\u201d and lives on the mountain to deepen his connection with the sport.<\/p>\n

One of the series\u2019 biggest strengths is its dedication to authenticity, according to Oberholzer. \u201cIt takes a really realistic approach to the whole concept,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you really want to know what it\u2019s like for pro athletes and how they are developed, it\u2019s quite interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really tries to portray the people behind the sports glory you see on TV or online when an athlete wins,\u201d Uhl explains. \u201cThere\u2019s so much behind it, including many who didn\u2019t make it, got injured or just couldn\u2019t handle it mentally. The show aims to convey that there are so many more at the start, and it\u2019s incredibly hard to reach the top. It highlights the real people behind these athletes; [they\u2019re] not just machines winning gold for their country.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show also portrays \u201chow different people reach their goals differently,\u201d says Warenski. \u201cOr maybe they\u2019re not reaching them and they have to reset. That\u2019s something that\u2019s very universal to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition to that, it\u2019s about dealing with defeat,\u201d adds Oberholzer. \u201cEveryone talks about winning, especially since it\u2019s called School of Champions<\/em>, but we\u2019re losing all the time,\u201d and the characters must learn how to cope with their failures.<\/p>\n

Plus, \u201cfor people who are not native to Germany, Switzerland or Austria, it\u2019s a cool thing to dive in and see how people live in the mountains,\u201d Oberholzer says.<\/p>\n

Part of what gives School of Champions<\/em> authenticity is that it is \u201cliterally a coming-of-age story because the actors are growing up with the series,\u201d notes writer Jakob Fischer. \u201cBesides the obvious physical changes, there\u2019s also personal growth and development as actors that you can see each season. They find their own style, and I think that\u2019s something you can really feel on the screen.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the process of making the hit series, many of the cast members brought their own personal experiences to their roles as well. \u201cI quit competitive climbing last autumn due to injuries, a lack of motivation and because it didn\u2019t really align with acting,\u201d explains Warenski. \u201cSo, I know how it feels to give up one dream to pursue another. You usually have to choose one dream, and that\u2019s what I did. I can really bring that experience into the series, showing that you have to sacrifice other things to achieve the goals you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attention was paid to the smallest of details to ensure the skiing was authentic, too. Doubles were used for the actual skiing scenes, and the actors were taught how to put on their helmets and goggles like a professional would. \u201cThe magic only works if you truly believe it\u2019s them going down the slopes,\u201d Fischer says.<\/p>\n

Though they do their best to make the skiing seem as real as possible, Schultschik reiterates that \u201cskiing drives the story, but it\u2019s not the reason people stick with it.\u201d The real magic comes from the characters and their personal journeys.<\/p>\n

For any buyers looking for a piece of the magic, ORF-Enterprise has all three seasons on offer now.<\/p>\n

View ORF-Enterprise\u2019s Showcase here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The cast and crew members of School of Champions, distributed by ORF-Enterprise, discuss the series and its new third season, its characters and its international appeal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[3042,7718],"class_list":["post-23747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-orf-enterprise","tag-school-of-champions","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nSchool of Champions: \u201cCome for the Skiing, Stay for the People\u201d - TVDRAMA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/school-of-champions-come-for-the-skiing-stay-for-the-people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"School of Champions: \u201cCome for the Skiing, Stay for the People\u201d - 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