Series Mania 2023 Preview: Retro Nostalgia, 80s/90s Wave, Female Power Dominate World Television Series

French series festival Series Mania grew to become an important event dedicated uniquely to TV series in Europe. The festival brings world premieres of the intriguing international series to big screens throughout eight days of discoveries.

The 2023 edition will unfold from March 17-24. The programmers sifted through 396 series from 63 countries.

The final line-up includes 54 series from 24 different nationalities and the programming team dared to venture outside the usual Anglo-Saxon and European territory, bringing series from Greece, Pakistan, Benin, Uruguay, and Iran. The festival notes that “the success of these serial works that rely on different narrative and aesthetic conventions leads us to question our own 'Western' means of telling and understanding stories”.

This year's Series Mania has three distinct topical branches: 80s/90s wave, a retro-nostalgia that is at its height throughout pop culture; social issues of the ethical and environmental nature; and female power.

The international competition will present Norwegian near-future sci-fi The Fortress, where Norway decides to isolate itself from the rest of the world; Norwegian society must then face the consequences of their decision after an outbreak of a fatal disease. Chernobyl and The Baby producers tackled a young-adult fantasy, Power, based on Naomi Alderman's novel of the same name about a world where all teenage girls develop the power to electrocute people at will. The Almodóvar brothers are producing a comedy about “appearances, the obsession of beauty and success,” titled Fleeting Lies.

The international competition will host Canadian series Little Bird, exploring themes of identity, trauma, and loss, based on the real-life controversy of the “1960s scoop” in Canada when the government forcibly removed thousands of indigenous children from their families. In the series Funny Women, Gemma Arterton stars as Barbra Parker, a woman who revolutionized the male-dominated world of sitcoms in the Swinging Sixties, based on Nick Hornby's bestselling novel. The crime genre remains one of the most popular, and the international competition will feature Nordic noir from Sweden, Blackwater, about a small community shocked and haunted by a double murder for several generations.

The French competition will welcome the family dramedy Aspergirl about a single mother who finds out she is on the spectrum when her son is diagnosed with autism. The revelation triggers an investigation by social services to find out whether she can take care of her child and thus keep custody. Danièle and Christopher Thompson retrace the origin of the first French superstar in biopic dramedy Bardot. The series Split explores a relationship between an actress and her body double, the latter contemplating leaving her male partner when she begins to succumb to desire.

Katherine Ryan, Romesh Ranganathan, and Johnny Vegas meet in a British comedy series Romantic Getaway about a couple (Ryan and Ranganathan) desperate for a kid so much they rob their boss (Vegas) to be able to pay for IVF. Romantic Getaway will screen in the comedy competition along with the French series Rictus, set in a world where laughter is prohibited and the anti-laughter police hunting down the rebels.

And Everyone Else Burns is another U.K. comedy series in the competition with a tempting premise that follows a religious family of Lewises who believe the end is nigh. The synopsis reveals: "‘Patriarch David longs for the church to promote him. Long-suffering wife Fiona hungers for a life beyond sermons and squash. Aaron is a model young believer – except his drawings feature the rest of the family burning in hell. And anxious 17-year-old Rachel is about to fall for someone who could save her social life, but also damn her soul…".

International Competition

GRACE OF HEAVEN / DE GRÂCE

France-Belgium (World Premiere)

DROPS OF GOD / LES GOUTTES DE DIEU

France, USA, Japan / Apple TV+, France Télévisions, Hulu Japan / (World Premiere)

FLEETING LIES / MENTIRAS PASAJERAS

Spain / Paramount+  (World Premiere)

MILKY WAY

Greece / Mega TV (World Premiere)

RED SKIES

Israel / Reshet 13 (World Premiere)

THE ACTOR

Iran / Filimo, Namava (International Premiere)

THE FORTRESS

Norway / Viaplay  (World Premiere)

THE POWER

USA / Prime Video (World Premiere)

French Competition

ASPERGIRL

France-Belgium / OCS (World Premiere)

BARDOT

France, Italy / France Télévisions (World Premiere)

SIX WOMEN / LES RANDONNEUSES

France / TF1 (World Premiere)

POLAR PARK

France / ARTE (World Premiere)

UNDER CONTROL / SOUS CONTRÔLE

France / ARTE (World Premiere)

SPLIT

France / France.tv slash (World Premiere)

International Panorama Competition

A BODY THAT WORKS  

Israel / Keshet TV (World Premiere)

OFFWORLD / APAGÓN  

Spain / Movistar+ (International Premiere)

A THIN LINE

Germany / Paramount+ (International Premiere)

LIMBOLAND / BARZAKH

India, Pakistan, UK (World Premiere)

BLACKWATER

Sweden / SVT (International Premiere)

DISOBEY / DÉSOBÉIR : LE CHOIX DE CHANTALE DAIGLE

Canada / CRAVE (BELL Medias) (International Premiere)

FUNNY WOMAN  

UK / Sky Max, OCS (French Premiere)

INNERMOST

Israel, Germany (World Premiere)

LA RUTA

Spain / ATRESplayer PREMIUM (International Premiere)

LITTLE BIRD

Canada /Crave, APTN lumi (World Premiere)

NORDLAND’ 99  

Denmark / DR (International Premiere)

TENGO QUE MORIR TODAS LA NOCHES

Mexico / Paramount+ (World Premiere)

Comedy Competition

RICTUS  

France / OCS (World Premiere)

LOVE IS ALL / BESOIN D’AMOUR  

France / OCS (World Premiere)

CALL ME DAD  

Denmark / Viaplay (World Premiere)

EVERYONE ELSE BURNS

UK / Channel 4 (French Premiere)

ROMANTIC GETAWAY

UK / Sky (French Premiere)

THE LOVERS  

UK / Sky (World Premiere)

Series Mania unspools on March 17-24 and the full programme can be explored here.