France’s Series Mania, the biggest TV festival in Europe, will open with Disney+ title “The Testaments,” the sequel to the “The Handmaid’s Tale” from Bruce Miller, showrunner of both series. Stars in attendance at Series Mania will include Ann Dowd, Aunt Lydia in “The Handmaid’s Tale” who narrates “The Testaments,” and Chase Infiniti and Lucy Halliday.
This year’s lineup also includes AMC Network’s “The Audacity,” created by Jonathan Glatzer (“Succession,” “Better Call Saul”) and featuring Billy Magnussen, “The Big Bang Theory” star Simon Helberg and Zach Galifianakis, plus Netflix “Peaky Blinders” movie “The Immortal Man.”
As reported by Variety‘s Co-Editor-in-Chief Cynthia Littleton, “The Audacity” revolves around an aspiring tech CEO character (played by Magnussen) and a “successful but deeply alienated” founder and inventor played by Helberg.
“There’s times in history where there’s a Renaissance and Silicon Valley is one of those times in our modern era which is defining humanity,” said Magnussen, while Helberg called his character a “maladjusted genius.”
“He’s a bit of a recluse. And there’s loneliness at the heart of all the characters, and they’re all trying to connect, and they’re trying to connect through technology, which has some pitfalls.”
Opening up about this year’s trends, Managing Director Laurence Herszberg and Artistic Director Frédéric Lavigne noted that while there has been an “undeniable contraction” in the sector – fewer series submitted, shorter formats, and seasons with fewer episodes – an unexpected benefit has emerged:
“Today’s series creation seems to be less about scale and more about accuracy. There are fewer epic narratives and more concentrated, sometimes harsh offerings, often directly connected to a world under tension.”
Talking about the selection, they noted: “Europe is asserting itself as a nerve center of creativity.”
Apart from Belgium’s strong showing with “Breendonk,” “The Best Immigrant” and “Eternal,” Sweden will be represented by “My Brother” and “Burden of Justice.” Poland will have two series in the official selection for the very first time: “Love Is Enough” and “Variola Vera.”
The creators have been responding to the rise of authoritarian and fascist systems, stated Herszberg and Lavigne.
“Whether rooted in history or veering toward barely veiled anticipation, these series question our ability to resist, collaborate, or flee.”
This includes “Breendonk” and Spain’s “The Anatomy of a Moment,” as well as “The Best Immigrant” which depicts a government organizing the deportation of foreigners.
“These are all works of fiction that implicitly extend the prophetic intuitions of ‘Years and Years’ by [Welsh screenwriter and producer] Russell T Davies, our guest of honor, and force viewers to take a stand: submit, collaborate, resist from within, or go underground?”
Themes of violence and masculinity in crisis will be explored in “The Audacity” and “Dear Killer Nannies,” which follows Pablo Escobar’s son and explores “brutality as a legacy.” John Leguizamo will play Escobar.
In the International Panorama, the lawyers in Sweden’s “Burden of Justice” will have to test their own convictions – in “Waiting for the Out,” a philosophy teacher ends up working in prison. The show is based on Andy West’s memoir “The Life Inside: A Memoir of Prison, Family and Learning to be Free.” The cast is led by Josh Finan, known for “The Responder.”
That being said, Herszberg and Lavigne stressed that “heroines are never far away and their struggles are a powerful theme throughout the selection.”
Australian “Dustfall” takes on the sexual violence suffered by women, while “Babies” explores “the joys, sorrows, and social pressures experienced by infertile women.” French series “All Shapes of Us,” created by Fanny Riedberger, won’t shy away from the topic of eating disorders.
In addition to “All Shapes of Us” featuring Catherine Frot, French Competition will welcome “Camarades,” “Eldorado” with Jérémie Rénier and Karim Leklou, “Summer Of ’36,” “Unchained” and “Privilèges” with Manon Bresch and Melvil Poupaud.
And as for genre offerings? There will be “burlesque Western” (“Lucky Luke”), Japanese science fiction (“Queen of Mars”) and Korean and German comedies (“The Legend of Kitchen Soldier,” “The Flaws”).
“More necessary than ever, this year’s series remind us that telling stories about the world remains an essential way of questioning it. And sometimes, an invitation not to resign ourselves to it.”
Canada’s “The Glass House,” created by Martin Matte, will close the event, while “Peaky Blinders, The Immortal Man” will be shown out of competition.
Speaking to Variety after the conference, Laurence Herszberg called the depiction of rising fascism in the series, whether set in the past or a near future, “the most impressive trend” of this year’s edition.
“We received fewer shows than in previous years, about 20%, which illustrates the current contraction of the market. In terms of creativity, European shows are prominent. Last year was Spain’s year; this year seems to be the UK’s and Belgium’s, as well as the Nordic countries,” she said. The selection of two Polish shows marked “good news for the Eastern European industry.”
“We received less shows than previous years, about 20% which illustrate the current contraction of the market. Creativity speaking, European shows are prominent. Last year was the year of Spain, this one seems the one of UK and Belgian, and of course Nordic countries,” she said, with the selection of two Polish shows marking “good news for the East European industry.”
While the Lille audience is bound to be impressed by the “brilliant recreation of Escobar’s drug empire in the ‘80s and ‘90s” in “Dear Killer Nannies,” “The Audacity” will prove that “cable shows are still in the game.”
“It resonates with what we read in the press about the craziness of the GAFAM [Google, Apple, Facebook (Meta), Amazon and Microsoft] and their executives,” she said.
John Hopewell contributed to this article.
International Competition
“The Anatomy of a Moment”
Spain / Movistar Plus+, Arte / 4×50’
“The Audacity”
U.S/ AMC, AMC+ / 8×45’
“Dear Killer Nannies” (World Premiere)
Colombia / Disney+, Hulu / 8×35’
“Dustfall” (World Premiere)
Australia / ABC TV, BBC, ZDF / 6×50’
“Love Is Enough” (working title) (World Premiere)
Poland / HBO MAX / 8×35’
“Major Players” (World Premiere)
U.K. / Channel 4 / 6×30’
“My Brother”
Sweden / SVT, DR, NRK, YLE, Rúv / 4×45’
“Paolo” (World Premiere)
France / HBO MAX / 7×52’
“Waiting For the Out”
UK / BBC / 6×45’
French Competition
“All Shapes of Us”
France / TF1 / 6×52’
“Camarades”
France / Arte / 8×30’
“Eldorado”
France/Belgium / Arte, RTBF / 6×45’
“Privilèges”
France / HBO Max / 6×52’
“Summer Of ‘36”
France / Tf1 / 6×52’
“Unchained”
France / France Télévisions / 6×52’
International Panorama
“Babies” (World Premiere)
U.K. / BBC / 6×60’
“The Best Immigrant”
Belgium / Streamz / 5×45’
“Breendonk” (World Premiere)
Belgium / VRT, Streamz, New8 / 6×55’
“Burden Of Justice”
Sweden / Svt / 8×45’
“Eternal”
Belgium / RTBF, Proximus / 6×45’
“The Flaws” (World Premiere)
Germany / ZDF / 4×25’
“Prisoner 951”
UK / BBC One, BBC iplayer / 5×55’
“Queen Of Mars”
Japan / NHK / 6×49’
“Small Prophets”
UK / BBC / 6×30’
“These Sacred Vows”
Ireland / RTE One / 6×52’
“Welcome To Kingston-Falls” (World Premiere)
Canada / Ici Radio-Canada / 6×43’
“Variola Vera”
Poland / TVP / 7×45’
Special Screenings
‘Etty”
The Netherlands / ARTE / 6×45’
“Flunked” (World Premiere)
France / Netflix / 8×30’
“Lucky Luke” (World Premiere)
France / Disney+, France Télévisions / 8×35’
Opening
“The Testaments” (World Premiere)
USA / Disney+ / 10x(38’/59’)
Closing
“The Glass House” (World Premiere)
Canada / Prime Video / 6×32’
Short Forms Competition
“Atlantis Pasila”
Finland / Yle / 14×15’
“Ayer’s Cliff”
Canada / Ici Tou.Tv Extra / 7×15’
“Happiness” (World Premiere)
France / Arte / 9×10’
“Hirayasumi”
Japan / Nhk / 20×15’
“Homebodies” (World Premiere)
Australia / Sbs / 6×10’
“The Last Hour” (World Premiere)
France / Arte / 6×10’
“Saturniids” (World Premiere)
Canada / Tv5 Québec Canada, Unis Tv / 6×12’
“Unfiltered”
Spain / 3cat / 9×18’
Screenings Out of Competition
“Peaky Blinders, The Immortal Man”
UK / Netflix / 105’