Speakers Unveiled For Mip TV & Series Mania; Armoza ‘Drive Therapy’; Sky’s ‘Devils’ Trailer; ‘Race Against The Tide’ – Global Briefs

EXCLUSIVE: Israeli and German networks have greenlit DreaMars, a live action series about eight teenagers who fly to Mars for a critical mission in preparation for settlement on the Red Planet.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentIn the run up to MipTV, Keshet International has unveiled a raft of new shows, spanning factual and foreign-language dramas, including “Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism?” from the U.K., “Roomies” from Finland, “Storm Lara” from Belgium and “Family Dinner Date” from Israel. “Storm Lara” is a a real-time thriller produced by Belgium’s A Perfect View which has been commissioned by Flemish streamer Streamz and was part of this year’s Berlinale Series Market Selects. “Storm Lara” revolves around five people whose lives collide during a late-night radio show.Ordered by BBC One and produced by Flicker Productions, “Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism?” is a one-off documentary about British Paralympian Ellie Simmonds who travels around the U.K.

Call My Agent! creator Fanny Herrero has been unveiled as President of this year’s Canneseries Jury.

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.

Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard revealed the sex of their baby on the way! The former Counting On stars shared the big news on their blog on Wednesday, March 23. Not only did they reveal the baby’s sex but also shared when Jill’s due date is. “We are thankful to have a healthy baby boy due in July! Your continued prayers are much appreciated,” they wrote in the post. The family of four also posed with blue balloons that read “baby,” which you can see here.

Another one! Pregnant Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard are expecting a third baby boy.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentLess than two years after joining France Televisions, former Canal Plus executive Manuel Alduy has contributed to bolstering the French public broadcaster’s roster of international series with shows such as “Bardot,” a mini-series biopic of Brigitte Bardot, and “L’Insoumise” about Alice Guy, the first female filmmaker ever. Ahead of France Televisions’ press conference at Series Mania, Alduy said the broadcaster’s first-look initiative with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has yielded several prestige projects, including “Bardot.” The EBU represents 113 organizations across the 56 countries, including the BBC in the U.K., ARD in Germany, DR in Denmark, SVT in Sweden, Rai in Italy and the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.

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.

NEW YORK -- The Israeli historian, philosopher and million-selling author Yuval Noah Harari has begun work on a planned four-volume middle grade series on a favorite subject: the history of humankind.Penguin Random House announced Wednesday that the first volume of his “Unstoppable Us” series, subtitled “How Humans Took Over the World,” will come out worldwide Oct. 18.

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.

Older people with low levels of vitamin B9 have a higher risk of dementia, a study suggests.

Chelsea owner and Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the British government and his assets frozen.

Canneseries 2022 has unveiled its Long Form Competition finalists, with Academy Award winners Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Punishment and Jean-Xavier De Lestrade’s The Inside Game, Seeds of Wrath featuring alongside the likes of Zentropa’s The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen. 

When it comes to casting, Sir Ian McKellen doesn’t want to be put in a box.

Tomris Laffly Hair salons are sacred spaces. Where else could one catch up on the latest neighborhood gossip and engage in mindless chit-chat, while getting treated to a wash, trim and blow-out? But in “Paradise Now“ director Hany Abu-Assad’s restrained yet gripping “Huda’s Salon,” a feminist political thriller whose philosophical observations are richer than its white-knuckle moments, the titular Bethlehem joint secretly operates as something other than a pampering safe haven.

EXCLUSIVE: Israeli series Prime Minister’s Children is taking another run at the U.S.