French Pageant Series Mania Publicizes Co-Pro Projects

Series Mania unveiled 15 new initiatives chosen for its Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, which is able to happen on March 24 as a part of the Series Mania Forum (March 24-26).

The winner might be awarded €50,000 ($59,000) and might be chosen by Alexandre Piel, Laura Mae Harding, Alon Aranya and Johanna Gårdare. Jorge Pezzi, head of fiction and leisure at Spain’s Movistar Plus+, will function jury president. 

The sixteenth mission, “Gold,” was introduced on Feb. 17 as a part of the Berlinale’s Co-Pro Series Market. It might be excluded from the competitors for the Pitchng Sessions’ Grand Prize. 

Among the lineup which is packed by thrillers, one in every of Iceland’s main manufacturing corporations, Glassriver, will current “Konrad” primarily based on best-selling novels by Arnaldur Indriðason. In the story, a retired Icelandic detective is pulled again into his darkish previous, confronting private demons on a painful street to redemption.

“This series is based on a best-selling IP from an author whose work has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, bringing a built-in global audience,” identified creator and author Andri Óttarsson.

“Drawing from the first two books in the series, it follows an older, retired and deeply flawed protagonist – not a heroic detective archetype, but a man seeking moral redemption – in a psychological character study wrapped in the tension of a crime thriller. Each episode will blend slow-burn mystery with moments of emotional revelation as Konrad is forced to confront the one mystery he’s never solved: himself.”

Another Icelandic providing, “Death of a Diplomat,” is produced by Blink49 Studios and Truenorth Nordic. The latter produced and serviced the fourth season of HBO’s “True Detective,” in addition to “The Darkness,” co-produced with CBS Studios.  

Based on the debut novel by Eliza Reid, former First Lady of Iceland, it sees the spouse of the Canadian ambassador as she’s pulled into an sudden function as a detective after a homicide at a high-profile occasion in Iceland.

“Diplomacy is lying in a tuxedo, and nobody knows this better than Eliza Reid. She spent eight years smiling through state dinners with politicians, corporate sharks and performance artists angling for a patron,” mentioned its creator and showrunner Lynne Kamm, calling the present “wickedly fun.” 

“‘Death of a Diplomat’ is what happens when the smile finally cracks, the cocktails get poisoned and somebody has to pay the price.” 

German collection “Ignition,” a few automobile mechanic who begins to flirt with the felony underworld, is a “high-octane, female-led action series” that “fills a major gap in the market for gritty, East German-set, high-end dramas,” mentioned co-creator and producer Sebastian Herbst. 

“It tells the story of an anti-heroine’s fight for survival, filled with dark humor, and explores the lengths she will go to in order to save her family’s legacy when the system of late-stage capitalism crushes her.”

Another collection, “Fit,” is concerning the residents of a suburban high-rise who’re about to be uncovered when safety footage from the constructing’s health club goes viral. 

“This project mixes satire and heart with an unapologetically sexy take, as it examines the clash between our societal family roles and our deeper secret passions,” mentioned producer Alona Refua. Green Productions, with branches in Australia and New Zealand, can be behind “Red Alert.” 

Brutal Media, a Spanish manufacturing firm owned by BBC Studios, will carry “The Glacier Murders,” tailored from a novel by Cristian Perfumo. 

It follows a younger Spaniard, who has inherits a distant lodge in Patagonia and discovers a corpse – frozen for thirty years within the close by San Quintín Glacier.

“It’s one of the projects born from Brutal’s strategy to open up to international co-productions, particularly with Latin America and other global partners. We’re excited to join forces with Fábula and bring our talent together to build something ambitious and meaningful,” mentioned Brutal Media’s Arlette Peyret, with co-producer Alvaro Cabello including: “Patagonia and Barcelona are currently two of the most visually striking places on our planet, each in its own unique way. The environment surrounding our story is infinitely enhanced by this visual richness, intensifying both the narrative and the thriller [element].”

It’s not the one present from Spain, which additionally brings “Without Standing” concerning the turbulent time when divorce lastly turns into authorized and one-woman regulation agency able to symbolize them.

Created by Jesica Aran, it “flips the legal procedural,” she mentioned.

“The law isn’t justice here, it’s a weapon – and our heroine knows how to use it better than the men who wrote it. It’s a propulsive case-of-the-week engine with a serialized descent into power, where every win costs something and the audience is forced to question what ‘right’ looks like.”

From France, “Dejima” goes again to 1828, when a French physician and a Japanese noblewoman of samurai blood flee collectively. “Montroc,” produced by Haut at Court TV, explores the 90s, when a tragic avalanche exams the boundaries of its protagonist, Blaise. 

In “Dark Moors,” often known as “Fagnes” and set in Belgium’s Little Siberia, a Yenish teenage woman and a younger feminine sergeant search a fact that would set off a struggle neither of them needs to struggle.

Producer Catherine Burniaux (Les Gens Studio) praised its “intimate power and rare territorial grounding.” 

“Born from Vero Cratzborn’s personal vision, it explores the emancipation of two women in a world – that of the High Fens and the Yenish community – that is still rarely depicted on screen. What distinguishes the series is the tension between a deeply local narrative and a universal ambition, driven by rigorous writing and a strong visual identity.”

More thrills will come courtesy of “Imposter Syndrome,” the place a failing actor is employed as a safety double for a member of a well-known household dynasty.

According to government producer Eve Gutierrez, “it feels like the perfect time to shine an unflinching light on the world of the uber-wealth through the eyes of Kevin, an ordinary guy who always wanted to be somebody famous but now finds himself fighting to prove he isn’t. This fiendishly clever and entertaining original series from Tom Stuart grabbed us straight away.”  

Eleventh Hour Films, majority-owned by Sony Pictures Television, is presently producing a second collection of “Rebus” for BBC and is in submit on “Marble Hall Murders.” Other productions embody “Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue,” “The Killing Kind” and “Alex Rider.”

Finnish thriller “Power Couple” will discover the dilemma of a presidential candidate who learns that her husband is definitely a Russian-born sleeper agent. 

“Beneath the sleeper-agent premise, the series explores whether it is ever truly possible to know another person – even after twenty years of marriage,” mentioned Mikko Pöllä, the present’s co-creator and producer at Fire Monkey. 

“At its heart, it is also a story about love, resilience, and the strength of genuine partnership in the face of overwhelming forces.”

Italy is represented due to “The Transfer of the Century,” concerning the worst membership within the league, whereas “Twisted Vines” from South Africa focuses on against the law novelist with author’s block, who’s pressured to return to her hometown the place her father was murdered. 

The lineup additionally consists of Latvian collection “Aurora.Newsroom.,” starring Agnese Budvoska, wherein an investigative journalist exposes a brand new Cold War spy community working within the Baltics after an explosion in a wind farm. 

“We believe this story is both urgent and essential, not only for the Baltic region, but for Europe and global audiences,” mentioned Gints Grūbe, who created the present. He produces for Mistrus Media, established in 2000, additionally growing “She-Devil.”

“This series responds directly to escalating hybrid threats, growing political disinformation and rising distrust in democratic institutions, which are shaping public life across the continent. As producers based in Latvia, we have seen first-hand how disinformation campaigns, sabotage operations and intelligence activity unfold in our region. Not as fiction, but as daily geopolitical realities.” 

“Aurora.Newsroom.” is “more than a thriller,” he assured. “It’s a timely and necessary political drama that blends genre entertainment with deep relevance.”

“The Co-Pro Pitching Sessions have had a tangible impact on many projects over the years,” mentioned Series Mania normal supervisor Laurence Herszberg, noting that “a wide variety of countries were represented, both in the submissions and the selected projects.”

This yr’s functions got here from 65 nations, together with new territories similar to Palestine, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, Uruguay, Panama and Malaysia. 

This consists of “Red Pants” from Kyrgyzstan: a “unique, bold dramatic series inspired by true events in set in the rarely explored world of Soviet-era Central Asia,” famous Erke Dzhumakmatova, founding father of Oymo Studio. 

“At its core is the story of teenage girls – barely more than children – who refuse to be erased by patriarchy and silence in a country where history has buried women who dared to fight back. Their rebellion, at once violent and tender, exposes the fragile line between survival and criminality, justice and vengeance.”

Dzhumakmatova can be behind “Kurak.” “This project continues the thematic path I began with ‘Kurak,’ dedicated to violence against women in Central Asia. If ‘Kurak’ exposes the systemic brutality women face today, ‘Red Pants’ travels further back, into the late 1970s, to reveal how young girls, dismissed by the society and the Soviet authorities, created their own language of power and survival.”

The present is co-produced by Pavel Feldman and Alexander Seliverstov for Human Films.

“We are drawn to stories that uncover silenced histories through a powerful human lens. ‘Red Pants,’ created by Kyrgyz voices, reveals a rarely explored chapter of Soviet Central Asia while speaking to a universal struggle for dignity, agency and survival. The project stands out for its emotional rawness and its fearless young female protagonists,” mentioned Feldman.

Creator Tilek Cherikov known as “Red Pants” a “deeply personal story.” 

“I was born in Issyk-Kul, the region where the events of this project unfold. What matters to me in this story isn’t just the crime plot: it’s the deeper exploration of power, identity and female agency within a rigid, patriarchal and controlling system. The title comes from an awkward moment when their leader’s jeans were stained with menstrual blood. The girls transformed into an act of solidarity by dyeing their own pants red, turning it into a symbol of strength, unity and womanhood without shame.”

Since the launch of the initiative, greater than 40 initiatives have been produced and efficiently broadcast throughout quite a few territories, in keeping with Francesco Capurro, Director of Series Mania Forum. That consists of “Unspoken,” “Off Season,” “Keeping Faith,” “Stella Blomkvist,” “Devils”, “The Head” and lots of extra. 

“As a true development accelerator, these sessions offer producers a unique opportunity to connect with potential co-producers, distributors and international broadcasters, helping ambitious series reach audiences worldwide,” he added. 

The titles:

“Aurora.Newsroom.”

(6 x 52) 

Latvia

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Created by: Gints Grūbe

Produced by: Gints Grūbe, Inese Boka Grube and Elīna Gedina-Ducena for Mistrus Media (Latvia)

Co-produced by: Riina Sildos for Amrion (Estonia) and Petri Kempinnen for Good Hand Film & TV (Finland)

Written by: Katri Manninen, Juris Kursietis, Osvalds Zebris, Martin Algus

Directed by: Juris Kursietis

A blackout in Latvia spirals into digital power terrorism forward of nationwide elections. Journalist Guna, working inside the worldwide “Aurora” newsroom community, investigates a sabotaged wind farm and uncovers a plot the place drones are managed by means of a online game, turning gamers into unwitting weapons. As deepfakes destroy her repute and her boyfriend is revealed as a covert agent, she exposes Russian-backed interference reside on TV. 

“Death of a Diplomat”

(6 x 55’)

Iceland, Canada

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Created and written by: Lynne Kamm

Produced by Kristinn Thordarson and Leifur Dagfinnsson for Truenorth (Iceland), and Virginia Rankin and Carolyn Newman for Blink49 Studios (Canada)

A homicide at a high-profile occasion in Iceland turns the Canadian ambassador’s spouse into an unofficial detective, making an attempt to uncover the reality and remedy the crime with an underestimated native investigator. Together, they uncover buried secrets and techniques, diplomatic deceit, and the lies propping up her personal marriage.

“Dejima”

(6 x 52’) 

France

Genre: Drama

Produced by: François Lardenois and Nathan Franck for Studio 14 Films, and Olivier Wotling for Mintee Productions

Written by: Mehdi Ouahab

Framed and hunted in 1828 Japan, a French physician and a Japanese noblewoman of samurai blood should flee. But because the previous order begins to crack and the nation plunges into turmoil, he needs to flee it, she needs to reserve it, and falling in love will flip their opposing wishes into an inconceivable selection.

“Dark Moors”

(6 x 52’)

Belgium

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Created by: Vero Cratzborn 

Produced by: Catherine Burniaux for Les Gens Studio (Belgium)  Co-produced by Katarzyna Ozga for Iris Productions (Luxembourg)

Written by: Vero Cratzborn, Gilles de Voghel, Maia Descamps, Logan De Carvalho and Judith Perrin

Key Cast: Léontine Clerbois, Naomi Pecher, Yannick Renier, Axel Capite

In the guts of Belgium’s Little Siberia, Sarah desires of freedom in her small neighborhood of Yenish vacationers who reside on the sting of a navy base. Her life is turned the wrong way up when she discovers a field of stolen weapons along with her brother Angelo, after which he mysteriously disappears. Meanwhile, a younger sergeant coming back from convalescence is tasked with recovering this arsenal of weapons by the bottom commander, who fears for the way forward for the bottom.

“Fit”

(8 x 40’)

Israel

Genre: Drama, Comedy

Produced by: Alona Refua and Maya Fischer for Green Productions

Created, written and directed by: Moshe Rosenthal

The household lives of the conservative residents of a luxurious suburban high-rise spin uncontrolled when intimate safety footage from the constructing’s health club goes viral, exposing the affairs of a number of married girls with the adored health club teacher, Osher. What begins as public humiliation rapidly spirals right into a felony investigation when Osher goes lacking – and the constructing’s households change into prime suspects.

“The Glacier Murders”

(6 x 50’)

Spain, Chile

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Produced by: Arlette Peyret for Brutal Media (Spain)

Co-produced by: Alvaro Cabello for Fábula (Chile)

Written by: Mariano Baselga and Enrique Videla

When a younger Spaniard discovers a frozen corpse, completely preserved and bearing solely a hoop engraved with the Latin phrase “Lupus occidere vivendo debet,” he’s pulled right into a thriller nobody on the town can clarify. Teaming up with a former police lady from city, he begins to unravel a double homicide that leads deep into his household’s previous – all the way in which again to Catalonia.

“Gold” 

(6 x 45’) 

Switzerland

Genre: Thriller

Created by: Christian Wehrlin and Pascal Glatz

Produced by: Stefan Eichenberger for Contrast Film

Written by: Christian Wehrlin, Pascal Glat, Mariama Djité, Jessica Hagan

To save her household’s legacy, an excellent Swiss gold dealer begins compromising her morals and is pulled into the darkest corners of the worldwide gold commerce, the place the stakes are not simply her firm, however her household’s very survival.

“Ignition” 

(6 x 40’)

Germany

Genre: Action, Dark Comedy

Created by: Jessical Hölzl, Sebastian Herbst, Markus Adrian

Produced by: Sebastian Herbst for Arkanum Pictures

Co-Produced by: Carolin Haasis and Christoph Pellander for ARD Degeto

Written by: Jessica Hölzl, Susann Schadebrodt, Nadine Gottmann

Directed by: Markus Adrian

To save her household’s failing storage, a proud East German automobile mechanic turns into a reluctant driver for outlaw bikers, however when the intoxicating thrill of empowerment behind the wheel ignites a harmful felony profession, she should confront whether or not true freedom in a rigged system is definitely worth the final worth. Will she keep behind the wheel – or get below it?

“Imposter Syndrome”

(6 x 60’) 

United Kingdom

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Created, Written and Executive Produced by: Tom Stuart

Executive Produced by Eve Gutierrez and Paula Cuddy for Eleventh Hour Films (UK)

A failing actor is employed as a safety double for a member of a well-known household dynasty. When his employer is discovered lifeless, he should show his innocence, reclaim his identification and uncover a darkish conspiracy on the coronary heart of the household enterprise.

“Konrad”

(6 x 45 & 39’)

Iceland

Genre: Crime, Thriller

Created and written by: Andri Óttarsson 

Produced by: Andri Ómarsson for Glassriver

Directed by: Baldvin Z (main director)

When a physique frozen in a glacier resurfaces, a disgraced Icelandic detective is dragged out of retirement right into a decades-old homicide he failed to resolve. As he seeks redemption, he realizes that it’s inconceivable with out confronting himself and the darkness he inherited from his father.

“Montroc”

(6 x 52’)

France

Genre: Drama, Action

Produced by: Simon Arnal, Caroline Benjo, Clarence De Fontenay and Eliott Khayat for Haut et Court TV

Written by: Clément Peny

Chamonix Valley, a quaint ski resort, 1999. Blaise Agresti, 34, has only recently taken command of the PGHM, the High Mountain Rescue Unit, when an avalanche of unprecedented scale hits. Countless are all of the sudden lacking. For Blaise, this marks the start of the most important rescue operation the PGHM has ever undertaken. The starting of a race in opposition to time. Against loss of life.

“Power Couple”

(6 x 45’) 

Finland

Genre: Thriller, Drama

Created by: Laura Suhonen, Roope Lehtinen, Mikko Pöllä

Produced by: Roope Lehtinen and Mikko Pöllä for Fire Monkey (Finland)

Written by: Laura Suhonen

A number one presidential candidate learns that her beloved husband is a Russian-born sleeper agent who has simply been reactivated. Together, they resolve to outlive the key that’s about to destroy them each.

“Red Pants”

(10 x 60’)

Kirghizstan

Genre: Drama, Action

Created by: Erke Dzhumakmatova, Tilek Cherikov

Produced by: Erke Dzhumakmatova for Oymo Studio (Kyrgyz Republic)

Co-Produced by: Pavel Feldman and Alexander Seliverstov for Human Films (Netherlands)

Written and directed by: Tilek Cherikov

Late Nineteen Seventies, Soviet Kyrgyzstan: after her embellished military father is framed as an “enemy of the state” and dies, Aisha rises from a vocational college outcast to chief of the all-female gang Red Pants. What begins as petty extortion turns into management of the native drug commerce, as the women model themselves as protectors of the poor and enemies of the corrupt. Their rising reputation alarms authorities, and the case escalates from regional police to the KGB. 

“The Transfer of the Century”

(5 x 50’)

Italy

Genre: Drama, Comedy

Produced by: Indiana Production and Lucky Red

Written by: Raffaele Iaccarino, Giacomo Zibardi, Filippo Gravino

The worst membership within the league. Eight billion lira of debt. Forty days for a as soon as in a lifetime likelihood. This is the true story of the person who risked every part to purchase Maradona.

“Twisted Vines”

(8 x 60’) 

South Africa

Genre: Drama, Procedural

Produced by: Stan Joseph for Ochre Moving Pictures

Written by: Paul Crilley and Thomas Hall

When her estranged father dies and her brother is arrested for the homicide, Tamsin Hope – against the law novelist with author’s block – is pressured to return to the house she fled a decade in the past, and a small city steeped in secrets and techniques. There, she should unravel the thriller of her father’s homicide whereas teaming up along with her reluctant ex, now a police detective, to resolve different native crimes alongside the scenic South African wine route.

“Without Standing” 

(8 x 50’)

Spain

Genre: Drama, Thriller, Procedural

Created and written by: Jessica Aran

Produced by: Candela Izquierdo for 100 ACRES

Madrid, 1981. When Spain legalizes divorce, a blacklisted secretary opens a one-woman “law firm” for determined wives, turning survival right into a hustle that leaves a path of enemies. She wins by weaponizing loopholes, lies, and public opinion—till her victories flip her into a logo… and a goal. In a rustic studying democracy, Blanca isn’t combating to be good – she’s combating to be untouchable.