Fast Growing Spanish Production Force Mediacrest Brings ‘Fake’ Onto the Market at Series Mania

French hip-hop series Le Monde de Demain has scooped the Grand Prize at the Series Mania International Competition.

Marta Balaga Netflix and Arte’s musical show “Le Monde de Demain” (“The World of Tomorrow”) took the top prize in the International Competition of television festival Series Mania at the event’s awards ceremony Friday.The series, created by Katell Quillévéré, Hélier Cisterne – both also directing – Vincent Poymiro and David Elkaïm, takes a look at the birth of the French hip-hop movement in the 1980s. Made with the collaboration of Laurent Rigoulet and the participation of Kool Shen, JoeyStarr and DJ Détonateur S, it was described by the organizers as “a personal chronicle about a Parisian suburban youth reaching adulthood, claiming its own space in a new France, a country to reinvent.” In the acting categories, Michelle De Swarte was noticed for her role in the U.K.’s “The Baby,” produced by Sky, HBO and OCS, while Israeli actor Yehuda Levi impressed the jurors with his performance in “Fire Dance,” a Yes TV, Firma Productions and Kuma Studios production about an 18-year-old girl falling for a much-older married son of their ultra-Orthodox community’s leader.“He had to be charismatic in a manly way,” helmer Rama Burshtein-Shai told Variety ahead of the series’ premiere.“Levi, a very big star here in Israel, is so talented.

Holly Jones Featured in the Spanish showcase at Series Mania, “Age Of Anger” (“La edad de la ira”) has the potential to grab viewers from all demographics as it tackles the fractured and complex inner workings of teenagers coming to terms with their complexities, amidst the investigation of a close-to-home homicide.Produced and distributed internationally via Atresmedia TV and The Mediapro Studio, the series follows its protagonists as they negotiate the terms of their budding and unconditional relationship, one that toes the line between steadfast friendship and romance. Palpable rapport is felt between the characters as they traverse the classroom, where they’re provoked to unravel moral quandaries by a passionate professor and an extracurricular film studies group.

Marta Balaga Advertising revenue makes up 60% of all online video revenue, with the online video market reaching $236 billion last year, while free platforms continue to dominate the video market, Maria Rua Aguete, senior research director at Omdia, said Thursday at a discussion about AVOD at Series Mania TV festival in Lille, France.“Something consistent is that people love YouTube. I know that many broadcasters and studios don’t want to call it AVOD, but the reality is that they offer video and people watch it, also on the big screen,” she said, kickstarting the discussion titled “Advertising Strikes Back: Are AVOD Platforms the New Big Thing?”In many countries, Netflix comes as the second favorite service (in the U.K., it’s public broadcaster BBC, for example), but Roku Channel (pictured, Roku comedy “Reno 911!”) and Samsung TV Plus also emerge as contenders, the latter in countries like Brazil and India.

Amazon Studios Europe Boss Georgia Brown has revealed how the streamer “completely turned storymaking on its head” for upcoming hybrid grime/drill musical Jungle. 

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentPriya Dogra, president of WarnerMedia Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia (excluding China), took the stage on Thursday to deliver a keynote speech at the Series Mania TV fest in Lille, France, and the message was clear: the U.S. conglomerate is ramping up production in Europe.“Our industry is becoming more global,” said Dogra.

WarnerMedia EMEA & Asia President Priya Dogra has talked up the U.S. media giant’s plan to “ramp up investment in local creative communities across Europe,” with 40 shows in the pipeline for 2023.

The head of France Télévisions Delphine Ernotte Cunci has said she “wouldn’t personally have applied censorship” to Russian news networks.

Major networks are “beginning to see the light” by commissioning entertaining content from Africa, according to EbonyLife Founder Mo Abudu, as the heads of production houses in some of the world’s biggest growing content markets spotlighted the challenge of attracting new talent.

Manori Ravindran International EditorParamount is the latest studio to plant its flag in the ground at French TV drama festival Series Mania, where international CEO Raffaele Annecchino broke down the company’s international distribution and SVOD strategy.In a keynote moderated by Variety’s Italy and West Asia correspondent Nick Vivarelli, Annecchino detailed plans to focus internationally on premium SVOD service Paramount Plus and FAST offering Pluto TV, which has more than 64 million monthly users. Also in the mix to “compete with our ecosystem,” according to Annecchino, is Paramount’s JV with Comcast, SkyShowtime, which is launching in 20 European markets where Paramount Plus won’t be available.By the end of 2022, both Paramount Plus and SkyShowtime will be in more than 60 markets in Europe.

Paramount International boss Raffaele Annecchino has talked up the streamer for “launching quicker than others” in key European markets, as he unveiled a tied-up with global Lupin and Narcos production house Gaumont and set titles from France, Argentina and Germany.

Marta Balaga The conditions are set for an increase in scripted adaptations, argued Tim Westcott of research organization Omdia at Series Mania.According to the research opening the “With Local Content Going Global, What’s the Future of Scripted Formats?” session on Wednesday, the U.S. has been the biggest and “most enthusiastic” buyer of scripted remakes between 2010 and 2022, with South Korea, Turkey and France also following suit.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentVery few The Mediapro Studio shows, indeed very few Spanish series in general, have lit a fire on the open market like “The Head,” an Antarctic-set thriller which lifts off as a murder mystery to constantly evolve into other realms. Starring Álvaro Morte, “Money Heist’s” Professor and Japanese pop idol Tomohisa Yamashita, written by Alex and David Pastor (“Hogar,” “Carriers”) and directed by Jorge Dorado (“The Department of Time,” “The Pier”), “The Head” broke viewership records on co-financiers Hulu Japan and HBO Asia and sold to over 90 countries including HBO in the U.S. The Mediapro Studio retained IP. “Sales opened doors to new markets and clients with whom we hadn’t worked before,” said Laura Fernández Espeso, CEO of The Mediapro Studio.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentVariety shined a spotlight on European talents at its jam-packed dinner cocktail party at Series Mania Festival in Lille, France.The event, which was co-hosted by Variety and Series Mania Forum, celebrated Mo Abudu, the CEO of Nigeria’s EbonyLife Media who won the 2022 Woman in Series Award. The party also brought together the laureates of the Copro pitching sessions and over 800 international industry players.Following an introduction by Series Mania Forum’s head Francesco Capurro, Variety‘s international editor Manori Ravindran welcomed on stage three rising series directors and creators who are part of Variety’s 10 European Talents to Watch: Chas Appeti and Junior Okoli, the cinematographer and director of “Jungle,” and Quoc Dang Tran, the creator, showrunner and writer of Disney Plus’ French original “Parallels.” “Jungle” is an Amazon Original Series showcasing the creativity of the U.K.’s drill, grime and rap music.

HBO Max EMEA Boss Anthony Root has set out his team’s stall to “broaden the appeal” of the streamer “beyond the die hard Euphoria fan.”

Banijay Germany Hires

Fanny Herrero, the showrunner of hit French comedy-drama Call My Agent!, discussed the genesis of the show’s success during a panel at the Series Mania festival today.

Frank Doelger, who was an executive producer on Game Of Thrones between 2011 and 2019, provided an update on his new company in Germany during a Series Mania panel today.

EXCLUSIVE: Call My Agent! and Marianne writer Quoc Dang Tran has struck a first-look deal with Universal International Studios, becoming the first French writer to sign such a deal with a major studio.

Marta Balaga Israeli director Rama Burshtein-Shai focuses on an unlikely attraction in her eight-episode series “Fire Dance,” now debuting at TV festival Series Mania in Lille, France. Faigie (Mia Ivryn) is just 18 when she starts paying closer attention to Nathan, thirtysomething married son of their ultra-Orthodox community’s leader. Produced by Yes TV, Firma Productions and Kuma Studios, it has Yes Studios handling international sales.“I don’t think it’s a story about impossible love.