American Isolation, Star Power & YA: Five Key Takeaways From This Week’s Series Mania

Series Mania, European television’s biggest get-together of the year, has come to an end for another 12 months following a festival and forum that brought many of the industry’s biggest names to the quirky French city of Lille. The vibe on the ground has been one of cautious optimism, as creatives and producers embrace challenges with spirit. Here, Deadline takes you through the top five talking points.

American Isolation

Just like in politics, the U.S. and Europe seem to be getting further and further away from each other in the world of television. Notable on the ground was a lack of American buyers, execs, writers and creatives. “They’re just not here,” observed one European producer. Netflix didn’t hold its traditional commissioner session, instead sending European TV makers who’ve worked with the streamer in its place during a poorly-received talk on Wednesday. Note to Netflix: Must do better. We heard Apple TV+ had a commissioning exec in town, though several sources said they were not taking pitches. There were several big-name American actors in town, including Amanda Seyfried and Christina Hendricks (more on that below), but it was hard to shake the feeling that the transatlantic divide is getting wider. Numerous sources told us there were less Americans present than in previous years. American networks and streamers have been steadily more focused on domestic product since the streamer reset of summer 2022 (see below), and some European execs believe that Donald Trump’s trade war policy is slowly beginning to be reflected in the content world. It will be intriguing to see how many make the journey across the pond in 2026.

Funding in Crisis

Series Mania always seems to carve out that positive buzz but there was no doubt this year’s market came awash with challenges – most pressingly, how to fund new drama. The funding crisis is certainly no ‘one size fits all’ problem and differs territory by territory but with the Americans pulling out of co-pros in a big way, landing that all-important greenlight and subsequently getting to the 100% funding mark is proving very tough. Several producer sources we spoke with said financing projects was the raison d’être of their existence in Lille and taking meetings with potential co-producers or financiers appeared a priority above all else. “All anyone wants to talk about is money,” said one such person. On record, the likes of Sky Studios boss Cécile Frot-Coutaz tackled the challenge head on, saying “there is some pain” in the prolonged industry “transition” kickstarted by American contraction and this could continue “for a few more years,” while ITV Studios sales chief Ruth Berry labeled the last 12 months a “bittersweet” year for drama. With fewer Americans in town, a renewed focus on European co-pros and new funding models was welcome. Partnerships like this splashy high-end drama tie-up between the BBC and ZDF, which has already spawned a new show from the team behind Killing Eve, will help. Creatives and producers appear primed to face these challenges head on.

Series Mania 2025 was Big – Now it Has to Decide How Big it Will Become

Deadline hears that attendance to the Series Mania Forum – the business-y part of proceedings – was up 20% at around 4,800. That is, of course, because the organizers put on a great show. It’s also a result of the shift in the TV calendar, and notably the death of MIPTV. The London Screenings feel very UK and MIP in London is nowhere near the size of its Cannes forbear. That has created an early-year gap for a big international get-together. Series Mania has happily taken that slot. The people who have made the event such a success now face a choice – do they consolidate its position as the top Euro confab for drama coproduction and creativity – or do they build it into a fully fledged buy-and-sell market. The Grand Palais in Lille doesn’t yet fully resemble the Palais des Festivals in Cannes during a TV market, where hundreds of distributors jam their diaries with days of back-to-back 30-minute meetings. The Series Mania Forum folks have to make a call on how they want to go to market.

Protecting European Culture

Perhaps the most consistent theme from those who were at Series Mania was that European TV makers must not cry into their Americanos about the loss of U.S. co-pro money. Instead, this is being seen as an opportunity to reiterate the power and influence of European culture. With numerous commissioning and funding groups springing up across the continent, there is a sense that productions can tell great European stories. In an on-stage interview Deadline conducted with Romain Bessi, the former Newen Studios and Studiocanal boss who is now leading production club The Creatives, the theme was clear. Bessi passionately set out why protecting French and European culture is vital for the industry, as he outlined how those in the The Creatives are working together to get shows into production. “I gave up an executive salary for this, but I consider it my most important role,” he told us. Numerous others expressed similar sentiments in panel sessions throughout the week, and now feels the time to put theory into practice.

YA All the Rage, But How Easy Is it to Make?

Some of the biggest breakouts of the past couple of years have been in the YA space and so it was no surprise that big-name execs from the young adult programing world were in Lille. While Maxton Hall, yours and A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder have been breaking records in the recent past, Patrick Walters, who produces Netflix YA smash Heartstopper, remains cautious abut the prospects of getting future shows to screen. Speaking to the present funding challenges in the drama market, Walters explained that the best YA shows often come from “nascent IP or original ideas that are hard to get over the line.” His comments came as Heartstopper Season 4 remains in recommissioning question mark hell, and Walters said there are “lots of moving parts” around the future of the show. IP is of course big business and was a major topic at the market, both in panels and quietly in the halls. Prime Video, which has been on a YA tear with the Guilty movies and Maxton Hall, was bullish when showcasing Italy’s Love Me, Love Mea movie that she thinks will “resonate with a global audience.” But how many more of these could we be seeing in the near future?