The event welcomed over 112,000 attendees, growing 4000 from last year. Next year’s edition will take place on March 19-26, with the Series Mania Festival on March 23-25.
Lille once again came alive with the energy of Series Mania, across both the Festival and its professional Forum. Creators and talent from around the world were met with an exceptionally warm and enthusiastic reception.
Early figures confirm the event’s continued growth and popularity: approximately 112,000 attendees, up 4,000 from last year, with 9,000 students welcomed through educational initiatives.
New alliances, partnerships, and networking were at the heart of the Series Mania Forum at the Lille Grand Palais this year where we welcomed 5,200 professionals, from 75 countries with a record 97 exhibitors. Of significance this year was the historic signing of the Council of Europe Convention on the co-production of audiovisual works in the form of series where nine countries – France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Poland and Portugal – signed this first international legal framework dedicated to the independent co-production of television and streaming series.
This edition once again confirmed the Series Mania Forum as the one stop shop for content creation to international distribution.
“We are delighted that the awards list confirms the trends we observed: the strong presence of the United Kingdom and the quality of Polish series, both awarded three times, as well as the notable presence of Quebec. We are also particularly pleased that such a unique series as The Flaws has earned its place among the winners. Finally, we commend the presence of two fully female teams in their creation, production, and direction, My Brother and Dustfall. We warmly thank all of our partners, without whom this event could not take place, including the Hauts-de-France Region, the CNC, the MEL, the City of Lille, and Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe”, said Laurence Herszberg, Founder and Managing Director of Series Mania.
The 2026 Series Mania Awards
AUDIENCE AWARD
This prize is awarded to the audience’s favorite series from all the titles in competition – except for Short Forms- voted on at the end of each screenings.
DUSTFALL (Australia) — ABC TV, BBC, ZDF
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
The international jury, chaired by Icelandic showrunner, director, and actor Benedikt Erlingsson, alongside Brazilian actress and producer Alice Braga, Belgian actress Cécile de France, French actor and rapper Hatik, Iranian director Ida Panahandeh, and British screenwriter and director Luke Watson, awarded four prizes among the 9 series presented in world or international premiere.
Grand Prize: PROUD (Poland) — HBO Max
Best Screenplay: Dennis KELLY, for WAITING FOR THE OUT (UK) — BBC
Best Actress: Amanda JANSSON, in MY BROTHER (Sweden) — SVT / DR / NRK / YLE / RÚV
Best Actor: Ignacy LISS, in PROUD (Poland) — HBO Max
FRENCH COMPETITION
The jury, composed of international journalists Arabella Wintermayr (Germany), Irene Crespo (Spain), Miina Väisänen (Finland), Justyna Mis (Poland), and Barry Levitt (UK), awarded four prizes among the six French series presented in their world premieres.
Best Series: ALL SHAPE OF US (GRANDIOSE) — TF1
Best Actress: Manon KNEUSÉ, in CAMARADES — ARTE
Best Actor: Karim LEKLOU, in ELDORADO — ARTE / RTBF
Best Original Score: Amine BOUHAFA, for PRIVILÈGES — HBO Max
INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA
The jury, chaired by French author and illustrator Pénélope Bagieu, alongside Italian director and screenwriter Enrico Maria Artale, Norwegian producer Synnøve Hørsdal, and French comedian, actor, director, and screenwriter Thomas Ngijol, and Czech producer and creator Kamila Zlatusková, awarded four prizes among the 10 series presented in preview:
Best Series: SMALL PROPHETS (UK) — BBC
Best Director: Arne FELDHUSSEN, for THE FLAWS (Germany) — ZDF
Best Actress: Lauren PATEL, in SMALL PROPHETS (UK) — BBC
Best Actor: Maxime LE FLAGUAIS, in WELCOME TO KINGSTON-FALLS (Canada) — ICI Radio-Canada
A student jury also awarded its prize to VARIOLA VERA (Poland) — TVP
SHORT FORMS COMPETITION
The Short Forms competition jury was chaired by German showrunner, screenwriter, and producer Ceylan Yildirim, alongside Lebanese actress, screenwriter, and director Mounia Akl, actor, rapper, and director Younès Boucif, and Swedish actor Simon Lööf.
Best Series: AYER’S CLIFF (Canada) — ICI Tou.tv Extra
Mention: Hirayasumi (Japan) — NHK
A student jury also awarded its prize to LA DERNIÈRE HEURE (France) — ARTE
Mention: Homebodies (Australia) — SBS
DATES FOR 2027
Series Mania 2027 will take place on March 19-26, while the Series Mania Forum will take place from March 23 to 25.
