Scripted

Banijay Entertainment is heading to Series Mania with a strong lineup of scripted series, among them the new UK titles A Woman of Substance, Falling, and Half Man; streamer titles Motorvalley, BOHO and La Nena from Italy, Belgium and Spain respectively; French series Montmartre and Marie-Line Incognito; and from Sweden, a contemporary re-imagining of iconic detective drama Wallander alongside the character-driven psychological drama, My Brother, selected for competition in Lille.

Steve Matthews, Head of Scripted, Creative and Johannes Jensen, Head of Scripted, Business at Banijay Entertainment, comment: “Banijay Entertainment’s creative community is shaping culture and delivering unmissable scripted content for partners and audiences across all platforms. We’re scaling innovation, backing talent, investing in development, and pushing into new ways to tell ambitious stories. With all eyes on European drama at Series Mania, this line-up is a snapshot of the energy and ambition our scripted labels foster.”

Leading the slate is The Forge’s brand-new adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's iconic A Woman of Substance, and Falling, a modern love story from BAFTA-winning writer Jack Thorne, both for Channel 4. Also, Half Man from Emmy-winning creator Richard Gadd, produced by Mam Tor Productions in association with Thistledown Pictures, for the BBC, BBC Scotland, and HBO.

Streamer originals include Grøenlandia’s high-speed family saga Motorvalley for Netflix; BOHO, a contemporary women-centred dramedy from jonnydepony, created by writer Abbie Boutkabout for Streamz; and La Nena, an intense crime thriller from Diagonal TV in association with Buendía Estudios Canarias, the latest adaptation in the Carmen Mola universe for Atresmedia.

Further international highlights include the historical drama Montmartre, produced by Authentic Prod for TF1, and character-driven procedural dramedy Marie-Line Incognito from DMLS, also for TF1. They sit alongside the re-imagining of Wallander from Jarowskij/ YellowBird and Banijay Rights for TV4 and ARD Degeto, with Gustaf Skarsgård leading a contemporary take on one of Europe’s most enduring detective franchises.

Selected for Series Mania’s competition is Filmlance’s My Brother, a tense and atmospheric drama exploring fractured loyalties and family turmoil, and DLO’s true life political thriller An Anatomy of a Moment for Movistar+. Banijay Rights’ These Sacred Vows, an Irish comedy-drama from Treasure Entertainment for RTÉ is part of the official selection for the International Panorama section of the festival.

The Special Screenings strand will showcase Topkapi’s Etty, a bold and inventive reinterpretation of Etty Hillesum’s diaries by Hagai Levi, co-produced with Les Films du Poisson, Komplizen Serien, Arte France and Quiddity. Events in Lille also include a special 25th anniversary screening for Zodiak Kids & Family France’s Totally Spies!.

Complementing the Series Mania showcase is a broader pipeline of scripted releases from across the Banijay Entertainment network. Peaky Blinders is set to return with two six-part series produced by Kudos and Garrison Drama for BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK and for Netflix globally. Additional forthcoming releases include Unchosen from Double Dutch, Pokeepsie Film’s Enfrentados for Prime Video; and the third season of The Buccaneers from The Forge for Apple TV+.