Series Mania 2025, 10 Takes From the Fest’s New Commercial Edge to Crime’s Sway on European TV and the First Inkling of Market Rebound

variety.com:

Series Mania lifted off with a spring in its step, standing tall for one more year as Europe’s premier TV festival. An extraordinarily long line on Saturday, encircling Lille’s major Nouveau Siècle theater for Joe Wright’s “M: Son of the Century” shows how much Series Mania’s home city in north-east France has taken the festival to its heart.

Europe’s industry has embraced Series Mania for many years as a co-production forum. “I spend my life on this circuit going from town to town and to forums and there’s me and some other guys,” says Steve Matthews, Banijay Entertainment’s head of scripted, creative. “Series Mania last year I couldn’t get a seat in the damn room.

And that’s at a forum of young writers pitching projects: standing room only. It gives me hope that there’s a chance for new writers and new talent.” Series Mania’s big question in industry terms is how much the event, already Europe’s foremost TV co-production meet, could also replace Mip TV as an early Spring sales market.

Some answer to that, trends, buzz titles and deals to date at Series Mania 2025 which runs March 21-28. Series Mania Holds, Builds Certainly, attendance at the Series Mania Forum, the fest’s industry area, is up to an all-time record, tracking for 4,600 delegates, vs.