Industry

Adolescence emerged as the standout title of the 2025 Rose d’Or Awards, winning in the Drama category, securing the Emerging Talent accolade, and ultimately taking home the prestigious Golden Rose. The Netflix series also celebrated Owen Cooper’s win as Emerging Talent of the Year, awarded for his breakthrough performance.

The jury hailed Adolescence as “an extraordinary, sector-changing achievement – a set of outstanding production techniques used to rewire storytelling for a vital collective issue of our time,” adding that it was “simply the show of the year.”

Accepting the award, co-creator Jack Thorne reflected on the show’s ambitions: “This is a show that attempted to look at something quite complicated. There are those who believe that the kids are fine, that we need to leave them to their freedom. But we are conducting a giant science experiment with immature brains, and some teenagers will be profoundly affected by the loneliness and toxicity of the online space. If you have any sort of power, please check that the teenagers you’re responsible for are OK. The idea that we provoked a bit of talk on people’s sofas with Adolescence means the world.”

The 64th annual Rose d’Or Awards were presented at Kings Place in London on Monday, December 1, during a ceremony hosted by comedian Dara Ó Briain. Hundreds of finalists, commissioners, producers and executives gathered to celebrate international excellence across 13 programme categories and four special awards.

The Performance of the Year Award went to the ensemble cast of HBO Spain’s comedy drama Furia (Rage). Star Carmen Machi said: “There is nothing more rewarding than receiving an award together with all your castmates, because teamwork is what makes it work.” Creator Félix Sabroso praised the cast as “generous and brilliant,” noting their portrayal of “five women who represent different cracks in the system, pushed to their limits to create a satirical portrait of the current moment.”

Veteran British actor Anne Reid received the Lifetime Achievement Award for a career spanning over six decades. From her breakthrough in Coronation Street to acclaimed roles in Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, Dinnerladies, Last Tango in Halifax and the recent Riot Women, Reid’s performances have significantly shaped the landscape of British drama and comedy. Paying tribute, writer Sally Wainwright said: “Annie has that extraordinary quality of realness that so few actors have… You can’t see her acting – she just is. The nuance and the subtlety take your breath away. I cannot imagine anyone who deserves this award more.”

The United States prevailed in the Comedy Drama or Sitcom category with Seth Rogen’s The Studio for Apple TV, which judges described as “a brilliant contemporary satire of art versus business versus ambition versus humanity turned up to 11 – so accurate and hilarious you can only watch through your fingers.”

Japan took Comedy Entertainment honours with Ants, praised as “an original idea with broad family appeal – and very funny!” Norway’s The Box won Competition Reality, recognised as “brilliantly unique, high-octane and entertaining.” Belgium led in Arts with Soundtrack to a Coup d’État, described as “a tour de force of rhythm.”

Other winners included BBC animated film Tiddler (Children & Youth); Sky’s A League of Their Own (Studio Entertainment); and Channel 4’s The Jury: Murder Trial (Factual Entertainment & Reality).

In the audio category, The Ballad of Scout and the Alcohol Tag, produced by the Prison Radio Association for the BBC, won for being “full of character and empathetic storytelling.”

Presenting the Golden Rose, Jean Philip De Tender, director of media and deputy director general of the European Broadcasting Union, highlighted the significance of the winners: “This year’s submissions show our industry’s power to reflect the lives of diverse communities and offer audiences stories they can trust. Whether delivered through digital innovation or emerging formats, the work honoured tonight demonstrates a shared commitment to storytelling with genuine purpose.”

Mark Rowland, chair of the Rose d’Or, added: “Congratulations to the winners and to everyone from a remarkable field of more than 600 entries from 30 countries. Each year the bar rises again. The ambition, craft and imagination across these categories is extraordinary, and our judges faced an exceptionally difficult task choosing between so many outstanding programmes.”

2025 Rose d’Or Winners

Arts
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Onomatopee Films & Warboys Films / Mediawan / VRT Canvas / Belgium

Audio
The Ballad of Scout and the Alcohol Tag
Prison Radio Association / UK

Children and Youth
Tiddler
Magic Light Pictures / BBC / BBC One / UK

Comedy Drama and Sitcom
The Studio
Lionsgate Television in association with Apple / Apple TV / USA

Comedy Entertainment
Ants
Nippon TV / Fremantle / Japan

Competition Reality
The Box
Seefood TV / Seefood Distribution / TV 2 Norway / Norway

Documentary
Louis Theroux – The Settlers
Mindhouse Productions Ltd / BBC Two / UK

Drama
Adolescence
Warp Films, Matriarch Productions / Plan B for Netflix / Netflix / UK

Factual Entertainment and Reality
The Jury Murder Trial
ScreenDog Productions / Blue Ant / Channel 4 / UK

Multiplatform Series
Oorlogsdetective
KRO-NCRV / NPO / NPO 3 Zapp / Netherlands

News and Current Affairs
We Will Dance Again
Sipur Studios / Bitachon365 / HSCC Slutzky Communication / Osmosis Global / Hot 8 (Israel) / Paramount+ (US) / BBC (UK) / Israel