Series Mania, which takes place in the northern city of Lille, France, is divided between a TV Festival (that is open to the public) and a business TV section, or Forum, for professionals only, which offers both panels and a market. The Forum started on March 24 and ends today, Thursday, March 26, 2026.
The Festival portion started on March 20 and will end on March 27. According to official figures, the Forum portion of Series Mania is attended by 5,000 participants from 75 countries, which makes it (and the Festival) the undisputed winner among the now numerous TV series events around the world, including Canneseries, to be held in the South of France, April 23-28, 2026.
However, despite the large number of Forum participants — which looks to have reached a plateau — the number of buyers in attendance is difficult to ascertain even by the exhibiting companies themselves since the Forum’s database doesn’t provide a complete list of acquisitions executives that are there. (One estimate puts the number of content buyers at the event at 120.)
In addition, an envious 97 exhibiting companies from 16 countries housed on three levels of the Grand Palais — the Lille Convention Center — are participating at the Forum with stands, meeting tables, and pavilions.
Pavilions include the KOCCA Korean pavilion (with South Korea being this year’s Series Mania country of honor), Spain Audiovisual, Creative Europe Media, Quebec Creatif, and Screen Ireland, in addition to pavilions from Belgium, Turkey, Taiwan, and Canada, among others.
Forty companies opted for meeting tables, which make the market relatively inexpensive to attend, compared to participation with a stand (which can reach up to $40,000, all included).
Large distribution companies — such as BBC Studios, FOX, Fremantle, Inter Medya, Studiocanal, and Banijay, among others — were grouped on the fourth floor of the Grand Palais like in previous years.
A large chunk of Forum participants is composed, once again, of producers with projects in development who are looking for partners and networking opportunities. In fact, one of the biggest draws of Series Mania is its consistent focus on drama, which sets it apart from other, similar events.
The conference part of the Forum has been particularly dense this year, with panels spanning from “Key TV Trends” to “Micro-dramas to Marketing TV Series to Producing for Less,” in addition to showcases, previews, and keynotes from HBO Max, to Disney+.
The traditional Co-Pro Pitching segment was held on Tuesday with 16 projects in competition. The winner of the 50,000 euro (U.S. $58,000) prize, which was announced at the awards ceremony held at Theatre Barriere in the evening, was the drama Red Pants from Kyrgyzstan.
Pictured above, from top l.: Unifrance’s Gilles Pelisson, Series Mania general director Laurence Herszberg, and Series Mania Forum director Francesco Capurro at Series Mania Forum’s opening night cocktail party at the Lille Chamber of Commerce; Inter Medya’s Hasret Ozcan and Sinem Aliskan; posters around the city of Lille; the info desk at the Forum; Fox Entertainment’s David Smyth.
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