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Series Mania 2025 confirmed its status as Europe’s leading TV event, with a vibrant Forum that welcomed over 5,000 professionals from 75 countries — including 500 buyers — marking a 20% increase compared to last year. Held at Lille Grand Palais, the Forum once again positioned itself as the one-stop shop for everything from content creation to international distribution.
International stars graced the event, including Amanda Seyfried, Christina Hendricks, Charlie Brooker, Miguel Bernardeau, and Edvin Ryding. They were joined by a host of prominent French celebrities who drew massive crowds: Audrey Fleurot, Jonathan Cohen, Alain Chabat, Gilles Lellouche, Laurent Lafitte, Géraldine Nakache, François Hollande, Patrick Bruel, and Kyan Khojandi.
According to the organization, attendance numbers are nearing final confirmation, but the event has already surpassed 108,000 spectators — 10,000 more than last year.“We made a selection of works that were very open to the world, and we’re delighted that the prizes reflect these choices — rewarding, among others, an American independent series, an Israeli series, an Algerian series, and an Iranian series,” commented Laurence Herszberg, founder and general manager of Series Mania. “The two major international prizes also confirm the prominent place of Spanish series in today’s serial landscape.”
In a year marked by the absence of MIPTV in Cannes, Lille stepped up to become the industry's must-attend spring market, offering exclusive networking opportunities and introducing the first-ever Buyers’ Choice Award.Francesco Capurro, Series Mania Forum Director, confirmed the vibrant atmosphere: “There was so much energy—people talking, networking, queues everywhere. It was busy and packed at all times, so I’m absolutely thrilled.”
The five finalists presented their campaigns to a packed hall. Sputnik Media and DPG Media’s VTM Creative took over three student pubs in Belgium for the launch of the YA series Blur, which is the name of a fictional bar and follows a close-knit group of friends as they navigate the complexities of post-high school life. Koen Freson from Sputnik Media emphasized the importance of a close collaboration with the (creative department of the) broadcaster. VTM Creative’s Lynn Petit shared that they stared that they invited a group of people from gen Z and asked them how they would like to be addressed by brands. During the brainstorming one of the participants said, “How nice would it be if you would take over one of our most popular student bars and transform it into Blur”. In the first phase of the campaign, VTM as home of the show was not mentioned and let the target group wondering what Blur was.
BDA Creative’s Benjamin Kerneck presented a 360 campaign for the launch of Prime Video’s Polish series Gąska, an adaptation of the German Prime Video hit Die Discounter. Gąska is comedy about a group of employees of a fictional supermarket franchise operating in the suburbs of a Polish city. The agency built a supermarket and celebrated the grand opening including cutting the ribbon, a massive goose mascot and the actors performing as staff, but no one had to pay, leading to long chains of people.And as final contender DDP Paris showcased a campaign for Prime Video France for the launch of the new crime show The Source, a social immersive investigation on the show’s story line in reallife.
photo @SChampeaux
