Jack Thorne, Ron Leshem, Pedro Almodovar Feature in Talent-Studded Series Mania Main Competition

With Series Mania 2023 coming to a close, the event’s founder and general director Laurence Herszberg announced the winners of the Series Mania Festival today.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent LILLE, France — Headed by a commanding performance from Navid Mohammadzadeh, superbly shot and packing arguably the best opening scene of any series in Series Mania main competition, Navid Javidi’s “The Actor” won the Grand Prize at Series Mania on Friday night. The top Series Mania award for the “The Actor” also proves vindication for the Festival which this year has broadened its geographical reach in an effort to discover new narrative modes and styles. Consistently subordinating narrative to mood, “The Actor” certainly wins on that score. Main scribe John Kåre Raake (“The Quake”) and co-scribe Linn-Jeanethe Kyed (“Bø”) scooped best writing for “The Fortress,” a banner upcoming Viaplay title produced by Norway’s Maipo Film and sold by TrustNordisk, which delivers a telling political cautionary tale for our times, a chic isolationist parable thriller set in an alternative Norway which has built a wall to keep foreigners out. When a virus strikes, it becomes a prison.

Series Mania, which wraps on Friday, looks like it’s succeeded in solidifying its place as Europe’s premier TV festival.  The fest’s main competition was one of its strongest yet, and attendance at the industry-facing Series Mania Forum reached an all-time record of 3,800 delegates. Yet even Series Mania couldn’t escape the big-picture headwinds such as strikes and protests around France’s pension reform, nor the wider market turbulence as global streamers curb content investment around the world.  Read on for Variety’s top takeaways:

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taiwan has become a go-to destination for Chinese language series production over the past few years, as international streamers have taken the initiative and as the local content trend has become entrenched in Asia. While some of Taiwan’s advantage may have been handed to it as a result of regional political factors, the movement has led to greater interest in Taiwan stories, both historical and modern.Five Taiwan TV projects are being pitched at Series Mania, that are deemed to have international appeal according to Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), a government-backed agency that has become noticeably proactive over roughly the same period.

Casey Bloys wants Kate Winslet to be venerated in the States.

Add another prestige limited TV series to Nicole Kidman‘s filmography. Deadline reports that the actress is in talks to star in the upcoming Netflix show “The Perfect Couple,” based on Elin Hilderbrand‘s 2018 mystery novel.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While she retired prematurely at the age of 39, Brigitte Bardot has left an indelible mark on France’s popular culture in the 1960’s and 1970’s. With her wild blonde mane, smoky eyes and pouty lips, Bardot became a symbol of a modern and effortlessly sexy French woman, and a style emblem that continues to inspire current trends. The event series “Bardot,” which is penned and directed by Daniele Thompson (“The Queen Margot”) and Christopher Thompson (“La bûche”), world premiered at Series Mania Festival to unanimous praise and has been pre-sold by Federation nearly worldwide. “‘Bardot’ is like the French ‘The Crown’ because Bardot embodied France, and through her journey we reminisce about many parts of France’s history and popular culture in the 1950’s and 1960’s,” Federation’s boss and “Bardot” producer Pascal Breton told Variety.

Amazon Prime Video is exploring more global franchise opportunities following the success of the Russo Brothers’ Citadel.

Sky Studios CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz has called the plethora of shows on the market “really confusing” for viewers.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent LILLE, France — Germany’s Beta Group is a company for our challenged times, Moritz von Kruedener, Beta Group managing director told an audience at Series Mania’s Lille Dialogues on Thursday.  He also broke down Beta’s business model which takes elements which hark back to the past – a powerful, ultra connected territory-by-territory international sales apparatus  combined with Beta’s biggest pivot in recent years: a move from picking up and selling finished shows into far larger production involvement, be its financial support or early upstream input on maximising a project’s international potential. Beta Group and Series Mania has also scored heavily at this year’s festival with the first edition go Seriesmakers, a mentoring program for filmmakers making their TV creator debut.

Rodolphe Belmer has made the case for TF1 Group as “the free entertainment reference for French citizens on TV and in streaming.”

France Télévisions boss Delphine Ernotte Cunci is looking to “debunk” and tackle major societal issues such as sexual violence via the public broadcaster’s shows.

Ben Croll LILLE, France – Producers, commissioning editors and creative talents from across La Belle Province took the spotlight at a Series Mania showcase of the best of recent Quebecois scripted offerings. Below are the seven series that drew whoops and appreciative hollers from a room full of international buyers. Late summer doldrums, young adult love, and the generally placid rhythms of suburban life take on additional heft and resonance for a group of friends all suffering from cystic fibrosis – especially once one’s condition takes a turn for the worst. Far from jerking tears, the offbeat comedy “Thin Air” finds irreverent and life-affirming humor following young adult characters that feel the pangs of mortality more acutely than most. Produced by Urbania and created by acclaimed writer Jean-Christophe Réhel, the bittersweet series offers another plum role to “Mommy” star Antoine Olivier Pilon.

“We all have to become a bit more Scandinavian,” Beta Film MD Moritz von Kruedener told a Series Mania audience this morning.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent LILLE, France —  “Yours, Margot,” from  “Compartment No 6’s” Juho Kuosmanen, Guatemalan Cannes Camera d’Or winner César Díaz (“Our Mothers”) and Brazil’s Beatriz Seigner (“Los Silencios”) have won the three prizes on offer at the first edition of Seriesmakers. A mentoring program for filmmakers making their TV creator debut, after an inaugural edition delivering one of the most talent-packed project lineups at any festival, film or TV, in 2023, Seriesmakers backers Beta Group and Series Mania opened on Wednesday a call for admissions for a second edition.   Though all three series range hugely in setting and creators, all three see their protagonists go back to a recent past to explore events that have impacted their family (“Yours, Margot”), their modern-day country (“The Invisible Ink”), or traumas in the present (“Amigas”). 

William Earl Peter Chernin’s North Road Co. has pacted with Israel’s Sipur production banner for the drama series “Bad Boy” from the creators and producers of the original “Euphoria.” North Road and Sipur will partner on the production of the series from creator Ron Leshem and director Hagar Ben-Asher. Israel’s HOT platform and Tedy Productions are co-financing the series, which began production in January. “The North Road team is thrilled to work with the incredibly talented Ron Leshem and Hagar Ben-Asher and the teams at Sipur, Hot and Tedy to bring this exceptionally compelling and poignant story to life and launch our promising foray into international co-productions,” said Kristin Jones, president of film and TV for North Road.

A project from Finland and a Belgium-Uruguay co-production have won the Seriesmaker initiative here at Series Mania.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent LILLE, France — Paramount+ will be bowing “Drag Race Italia” Season 3 on the streaming service in Italy, followed by the U.S. and Latin America later this year.  The Italian Season 3 follows on the recent announcement of three new “Drag Race” editions in Brazil, Germany and Mexico and a “Global Drag Race All Stars,” which will air on Paramount+ in their respective territories this year, Paramount+ announced Wednesday. “As we expand Paramount+’s global footprint, it was important to recapture ‘Drag Race’ in key international markets and also build an interconnected competition series with a new ‘Global Drag Race All Stars’ – it’s like a global Super Bowl for Drag,” said Chris McCarthy, president-CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks.

Lille’s Series Mania Forum is kicking off today with a packed schedule of talks, screenings and competitions.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Have A Good One (HAGO) has boarded “Split,” a series created and directed by well-respected French feminist author Iris Brey ahead of its world premiere in competition at Series Mania Festival. “Split” was produced by Fabienne Servan-Schreiber et Charlotte Ortiz at Paris-based Cinétévé for the French broadcaster France Televisions’ digital platform Slash. The show revolves around Anna, a 30 year-old stuntwoman who falls in love with a famous actress during a film shoot. The attractive cast includes Alma Jodorowsky (“The Serpent”), Jehnny Beth (“Paris, 13th District”), Ralph Amoussou, and Pauline Chalamet.