Series Mania unveiled 15 new projects selected for its Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, which will take place on March 24 as part of the Series Mania Forum (March 24-26).
The winner will be awarded €50,000 ($59,000) and will be chosen by Alexandre Piel, Laura Mae Harding, Alon Aranya and Johanna Gårdare. Jorge Pezzi, head of fiction and entertainment at Spain’s Movistar Plus+, will serve as jury president.
The 16th project, “Gold,” was announced on Feb. 17 as part of the Berlinale’s Co-Pro Series Market. It will be excluded from the competition for the Pitchng Sessions’ Grand Prize.
Among the lineup which is packed by thrillers, one of Iceland’s leading production companies, Glassriver, will present “Konrad” based on best-selling novels by Arnaldur Indriðason. In the story, a retired Icelandic detective is pulled back into his dark past, confronting personal demons on a painful road to redemption.
“This series is based on a best-selling IP from an author whose work has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, bringing a built-in global audience,” pointed out creator and writer Andri Óttarsson.
“Drawing from the first two books in the series, it follows an older, retired and deeply flawed protagonist – not a heroic detective archetype, but a man seeking moral redemption – in a psychological character study wrapped in the tension of a crime thriller. Each episode will blend slow-burn mystery with moments of emotional revelation as Konrad is forced to confront the one mystery he’s never solved: himself.”
Another Icelandic offering, “Death of a Diplomat,” is produced by Blink49 Studios and Truenorth Nordic. The latter produced and serviced the fourth season of HBO’s “True Detective,” as well as “The Darkness,” co-produced with CBS Studios.
Based on the debut novel by Eliza Reid, former First Lady of Iceland, it sees the wife of the Canadian ambassador as she’s pulled into an unexpected role as a detective after a murder at a high-profile event in Iceland.
“Diplomacy is lying in a tuxedo, and nobody knows this better than Eliza Reid. She spent eight years smiling through state dinners with politicians, corporate sharks and performance artists angling for a patron,” said its creator and showrunner Lynne Kamm, calling the show “wickedly fun.”
“‘Death of a Diplomat’ is what happens when the smile finally cracks, the cocktails get poisoned and somebody has to pay the price.”
German series “Ignition,” about a car mechanic who starts to flirt with the criminal underworld, is a “high-octane, female-led action series” that “fills a major gap in the market for gritty, East German-set, high-end dramas,” said co-creator and producer Sebastian Herbst.
“It tells the story of an anti-heroine’s fight for survival, filled with dark humor, and explores the lengths she will go to in order to save her family’s legacy when the system of late-stage capitalism crushes her.”
‘Ignition’
Arkanum Pictures
Another series, “Fit,” is about the residents of a suburban high-rise who are about to be exposed when security footage from the building’s gym goes viral.
“This project mixes satire and heart with an unapologetically sexy take, as it examines the clash between our societal family roles and our deeper secret passions,” said producer Alona Refua. Green Productions, with branches in Australia and New Zealand, is also behind “Red Alert.”
Brutal Media, a Spanish production company owned by BBC Studios, will bring “The Glacier Murders,” adapted from a novel by Cristian Perfumo.
It follows a young Spaniard, who has inherits a remote hotel in Patagonia and discovers a corpse – frozen for thirty years in the nearby San Quintín Glacier.
“It’s one of the projects born from Brutal’s strategy to open up to international co-productions, particularly with Latin America and other global partners. We’re excited to join forces with Fábula and bring our talent together to build something ambitious and meaningful,” said Brutal Media’s Arlette Peyret, with co-producer Alvaro Cabello adding: “Patagonia and Barcelona are currently two of the most visually striking places on our planet, each in its own unique way. The environment surrounding our story is infinitely enhanced by this visual richness, intensifying both the narrative and the thriller (element).”
It’s not the only show from Spain, which also brings “Without Standing” about the turbulent time when divorce finally becomes legal and one-woman law firm ready to represent them.
Created by Jesica Aran, it “flips the legal procedural,” she said.
“The law isn’t justice here, it’s a weapon – and our heroine knows how to use it better than the men who wrote it. It’s a propulsive case-of-the-week engine with a serialized descent into power, where every win costs something and the audience is forced to question what ‘right’ looks like.”
From France, “Dejima” goes back to 1828, when a French doctor and a Japanese noblewoman of samurai blood flee together. “Montroc,” produced by Haut at Court TV, explores the 90s, when a tragic avalanche tests the limits of its protagonist, Blaise.
In “Dark Moors,” also known as “Fagnes” and set in Belgium’s Little Siberia, a Yenish teenage girl and a young female sergeant seek a truth that could trigger a war neither of them wants to fight.
Producer Catherine Burniaux (Les Gens Studio) praised its “intimate power and rare territorial grounding.”
“Born from Vero Cratzborn’s personal vision, it explores the emancipation of two women in a world – that of the High Fens and the Yenish community – that is still rarely depicted on screen. What distinguishes the series is the tension between a deeply local narrative and a universal ambition, driven by rigorous writing and a strong visual identity.”
More thrills will come courtesy of “Imposter Syndrome,” where a failing actor is hired as a security double for a member of a famous family dynasty.
According to executive producer Eve Gutierrez, “it feels like the perfect time to shine an unflinching light on the world of the uber-wealth through the eyes of Kevin, an ordinary guy who always wanted to be somebody famous but now finds himself fighting to prove he isn’t. This fiendishly clever and entertaining original series from Tom Stuart grabbed us straight away.”
Eleventh Hour Films, majority-owned by Sony Pictures Television, is currently producing a second series of “Rebus” for BBC and is in post on “Marble Hall Murders.” Other productions include “Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue,” “The Killing Kind” and “Alex Rider.”
Finnish thriller “Power Couple” will explore the dilemma of a presidential candidate who learns that her husband is actually a Russian-born sleeper agent.
“Beneath the sleeper-agent premise, the series explores whether it is ever truly possible to know another person – even after twenty years of marriage,” said Mikko Pöllä, the show’s co-creator and producer at Fire Monkey.
‘Power Couple’
Fire Monkey
“At its heart, it is also a story about love, resilience, and the strength of genuine partnership in the face of overwhelming forces.”
Italy is represented thanks to “The Transfer of the Century,” about the worst club in the league, while “Twisted Vines” from South Africa focuses on a crime novelist with writer’s block, who’s forced to return to her hometown where her father was murdered.
The lineup also includes Latvian series “Aurora.Newsroom.,” starring Agnese Budvoska, in which an investigative journalist exposes a new Cold War spy network operating in the Baltics after an explosion in a wind farm.
“We believe this story is both urgent and essential, not only for the Baltic region, but for Europe and global audiences,” said Gints Grūbe, who created the show. He produces for Mistrus Media, established in 2000, also developing “She-Devil.”
“This series responds directly to escalating hybrid threats, growing political disinformation and rising distrust in democratic institutions, which are shaping public life across the continent. As producers based in Latvia, we have seen first-hand how disinformation campaigns, sabotage operations and intelligence activity unfold in our region. Not as fiction, but as daily geopolitical realities.”
“Aurora.Newsroom.” is “more than a thriller,” he assured. “It’s a timely and necessary political drama that blends genre entertainment with deep relevance.”
“The Co-Pro Pitching Sessions have had a tangible impact on many projects over the years,” said Series Mania general manager Laurence Herszberg, noting that “a wide variety of countries were represented, both in the submissions and the selected projects.”
This year’s applications came from 65 countries, including new territories such as Palestine, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, Uruguay, Panama and Malaysia.
This includes “Red Pants” from Kyrgyzstan: a “unique, bold dramatic series inspired by true events in set in the rarely explored world of Soviet-era Central Asia,” noted Erke Dzhumakmatova, founder of Oymo Studio.
“At its core is the story of teenage girls – barely more than children – who refuse to be erased by patriarchy and silence in a country where history has buried women who dared to fight back. Their rebellion, at once violent and tender, exposes the fragile line between survival and criminality, justice and vengeance.”
Dzhumakmatova is also behind “Kurak.” “This project continues the thematic path I began with ‘Kurak,’ dedicated to violence against women in Central Asia. If ‘Kurak’ exposes the systemic brutality women face today, ‘Red Pants’ travels further back, into the late 1970s, to reveal how young girls, dismissed by the society and the Soviet authorities, created their own language of power and survival.”
The show is co-produced by Pavel Feldman and Alexander Seliverstov for Human Films.
“We are drawn to stories that uncover silenced histories through a powerful human lens. ‘Red Pants,’ created by Kyrgyz voices, reveals a rarely explored chapter of Soviet Central Asia while speaking to a universal struggle for dignity, agency and survival. The project stands out for its emotional rawness and its fearless young female protagonists,” said Feldman.
Creator Tilek Cherikov called “Red Pants” a “deeply personal story.”
“I was born in Issyk-Kul, the region where the events of this project unfold. What matters to me in this story isn’t just the crime plot: it’s the deeper exploration of power, identity and female agency within a rigid, patriarchal and controlling system. The title comes from an awkward moment when their leader’s jeans were stained with menstrual blood. The girls transformed into an act of solidarity by dyeing their own pants red, turning it into a symbol of strength, unity and womanhood without shame.”
Since the launch of the initiative, more than 40 projects have been produced and successfully broadcast across numerous territories, according to Francesco Capurro, Director of Series Mania Forum. That includes “Unspoken,” “Off Season,” “Keeping Faith,” “Stella Blomkvist,” “Devils”, “The Head” and many more.
“As a true development accelerator, these sessions offer producers a unique opportunity to connect with potential co-producers, distributors and international broadcasters, helping ambitious series reach audiences worldwide,” he added.
‘Aurora.Newsroom.’
Mistrus Media
The titles:
“Aurora.Newsroom.”
(6 x 52)
Latvia
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Created by: Gints Grūbe
Produced by: Gints Grūbe, Inese Boka Grube and Elīna Gedina-Ducena for Mistrus Media (Latvia)
Co-produced by: Riina Sildos for Amrion (Estonia) and Petri Kempinnen for Good Hand Film & TV (Finland)
Written by: Katri Manninen, Juris Kursietis, Osvalds Zebris, Martin Algus
Directed by: Juris Kursietis
A blackout in Latvia spirals into digital energy terrorism ahead of national elections. Journalist Guna, working within the international “Aurora” newsroom network, investigates a sabotaged wind farm and uncovers a plot where drones are controlled through a video game, turning players into unwitting weapons. As deepfakes destroy her reputation and her boyfriend is revealed as a covert agent, she exposes Russian-backed interference live on TV.
“Death of a Diplomat”
(6 x 55’)
Iceland, Canada
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Created and written by: Lynne Kamm
Produced by Kristinn Thordarson and Leifur Dagfinnsson for Truenorth (Iceland), and Virginia Rankin and Carolyn Newman for Blink49 Studios (Canada)
A murder at a high-profile event in Iceland turns the Canadian ambassador’s wife into an unofficial detective, trying to uncover the truth and solve the crime with an underestimated local investigator. Together, they uncover buried secrets, diplomatic deceit, and the lies propping up her own marriage.
“Dejima”
(6 x 52’)
France
Genre: Drama
Produced by: François Lardenois and Nathan Franck for Studio 14 Films, and Olivier Wotling for Mintee Productions
Written by: Mehdi Ouahab
Framed and hunted in 1828 Japan, a French doctor and a Japanese noblewoman of samurai blood must flee. But as the old order begins to crack and the country plunges into turmoil, he wants to escape it, she wants to save it, and falling in love will turn their opposing desires into an impossible choice.
“Dark Moors”
(6 x 52’)
Belgium
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Created by: Vero Cratzborn
Produced by: Catherine Burniaux for Les Gens Studio (Belgium) Co-produced by Katarzyna Ozga for Iris Productions (Luxembourg)
Written by: Vero Cratzborn, Gilles de Voghel, Maia Descamps, Logan De Carvalho and Judith Perrin
Key Cast: Léontine Clerbois, Naomi Pecher, Yannick Renier, Axel Capite
In the heart of Belgium’s Little Siberia, Sarah dreams of freedom in her small community of Yenish travelers who live on the edge of a military base. Her life is turned upside down when she discovers a box of stolen weapons with her brother Angelo, and then he mysteriously disappears. Meanwhile, a young sergeant returning from convalescence is tasked with recovering this arsenal of weapons by the base commander, who fears for the future of the base.
‘Dark Moors’
Samuel Letecheur
“Fit”
(8 x 40’)
Israel
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Produced by: Alona Refua and Maya Fischer for Green Productions
Created, written and directed by: Moshe Rosenthal
The family lives of the conservative residents of a luxury suburban high-rise spin out of control when intimate security footage from the building’s gym goes viral, exposing the affairs of several married women with the adored gym instructor, Osher. What begins as public humiliation quickly spirals into a criminal investigation when Osher goes missing – and the building’s families become prime suspects.
“The Glacier Murders”
(6 x 50’)
Spain, Chile
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Produced by: Arlette Peyret for Brutal Media (Spain)
Co-produced by: Alvaro Cabello for Fábula (Chile)
Written by: Mariano Baselga and Enrique Videla
When a young Spaniard discovers a frozen corpse, perfectly preserved and bearing only a ring engraved with the Latin phrase “Lupus occidere vivendo debet,” he is pulled into a mystery no one in town can explain. Teaming up with a former police woman from town, he begins to unravel a double murder that leads deep into his family’s past – all the way back to Catalonia.
“Gold”
(6 x 45’)
Switzerland
Genre: Thriller
Created by: Christian Wehrlin and Pascal Glatz
Produced by: Stefan Eichenberger for Contrast Film
Written by: Christian Wehrlin, Pascal Glat, Mariama Djité, Jessica Hagan
To save her family’s legacy, a brilliant Swiss gold trader starts compromising her morals and is pulled into the darkest corners of the global gold trade, where the stakes are no longer just her company, but her family’s very survival.
“Ignition”
(6 x 40’)
Germany
Genre: Action, Dark Comedy
Created by: Jessical Hölzl, Sebastian Herbst, Markus Adrian
Produced by: Sebastian Herbst for Arkanum Pictures
Co-Produced by: Carolin Haasis and Christoph Pellander for ARD Degeto
Written by: Jessica Hölzl, Susann Schadebrodt, Nadine Gottmann
Directed by: Markus Adrian
To save her family’s failing garage, a proud East German car mechanic becomes a reluctant driver for outlaw bikers, but when the intoxicating thrill of empowerment behind the wheel ignites a dangerous criminal career, she must confront whether true freedom in a rigged system is worth the ultimate price. Will she stay behind the wheel – or get under it?
“Imposter Syndrome”
(6 x 60’)
United Kingdom
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Created, Written and Executive Produced by: Tom Stuart
Executive Produced by Eve Gutierrez and Paula Cuddy for Eleventh Hour Films (UK)
A failing actor is hired as a security double for a member of a famous family dynasty. When his employer is found dead, he must prove his innocence, reclaim his identity and uncover a dark conspiracy at the heart of the family business.
“Konrad”
(6 x 45 & 39’)
Iceland
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Created and written by: Andri Óttarsson
Produced by: Andri Ómarsson for Glassriver
Directed by: Baldvin Z (leading director)
When a body frozen in a glacier resurfaces, a disgraced Icelandic detective is dragged out of retirement into a decades-old murder he failed to solve. As he seeks redemption, he realizes that it’s impossible without confronting himself and the darkness he inherited from his father.
‘Konrad’
Glassriver
“Montroc”
(6 x 52’)
France
Genre: Drama, Action
Produced by: Simon Arnal, Caroline Benjo, Clarence De Fontenay and Eliott Khayat for Haut et Court TV
Written by: Clément Peny
Chamonix Valley, a quaint ski resort, 1999. Blaise Agresti, 34, has just recently taken command of the PGHM, the High Mountain Rescue Unit, when an avalanche of unprecedented scale hits. Countless are suddenly missing. For Blaise, this marks the beginning of the largest rescue operation the PGHM has ever undertaken. The beginning of a race against time. Against death.
“Power Couple”
(6 x 45’)
Finland
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Created by: Laura Suhonen, Roope Lehtinen, Mikko Pöllä
Produced by: Roope Lehtinen and Mikko Pöllä for Fire Monkey (Finland)
Written by: Laura Suhonen
A leading presidential candidate learns that her beloved husband is a Russian-born sleeper agent who has just been reactivated. Together, they decide to survive the secret that is about to destroy them both.
“Red Pants”
(10 x 60’)
Kirghizstan
Genre: Drama, Action
Created by: Erke Dzhumakmatova, Tilek Cherikov
Produced by: Erke Dzhumakmatova for Oymo Studio (Kyrgyz Republic)
Co-Produced by: Pavel Feldman and Alexander Seliverstov for Human Films (Netherlands)
Written and directed by: Tilek Cherikov
Late 1970s, Soviet Kyrgyzstan: after her decorated army father is framed as an “enemy of the state” and dies, Aisha rises from a vocational school outcast to leader of the all-female gang Red Pants. What begins as petty extortion turns into control of the local drug trade, as the girls style themselves as protectors of the poor and enemies of the corrupt. Their growing popularity alarms authorities, and the case escalates from regional police to the KGB.
“The Transfer of the Century”
(5 x 50’)
Italy
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Produced by: Indiana Production and Lucky Red
Written by: Raffaele Iaccarino, Giacomo Zibardi, Filippo Gravino
The worst club in the league. Eight billion lira of debt. Forty days for a once in a lifetime chance. This is the true story of the man who risked everything to buy Maradona.
“Twisted Vines”
(8 x 60’)
South Africa
Genre: Drama, Procedural
Produced by: Stan Joseph for Ochre Moving Pictures
Written by: Paul Crilley and Thomas Hall
When her estranged father dies and her brother is arrested for the murder, Tamsin Hope – a crime novelist with writer’s block – is forced to return to the home she fled a decade ago, and a small town steeped in secrets. There, she must unravel the mystery of her father’s murder while teaming up with her reluctant ex, now a police detective, to solve other local crimes along the scenic South African wine route.
“Without Standing”
(8 x 50’)
Spain
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Procedural
Created and written by: Jessica Aran
Produced by: Candela Izquierdo for 100 ACRES
Madrid, 1981. When Spain legalizes divorce, a blacklisted secretary opens a one-woman “law firm” for desperate wives, turning survival into a hustle that leaves a trail of enemies. She wins by weaponizing loopholes, lies, and public opinion—until her victories turn her into a symbol… and a target. In a country learning democracy, Blanca isn’t fighting to be good – she’s fighting to be untouchable.
‘Without Standing’
100 ACRES
