Dramas based on well-known IP and starring A-list talent were front and centre at this year’s Series Mania.
Mediawan, for example, hosted a splashy showcase of its upcoming mini-series The Count of Monte-Cristo, produced by Italy’s Palomar with France’s DEMD Productions, from Danish director Bille August, starring British actors Sam Claflin and Jeremy Irons.
During the festival, Paramount+ and France Télévisions also announced they had teamed up for an eight-episode adaptation of Zorro (working title) starring Jean Dujardin, the Oscar-winning actor of The Artist. France Televisions also announced a series commission for Lucky Luke, an adaptation of the cult Belgian comic book.
On the festival side of Series Mania, adaptations abounded. The festival opened with Netflix’s sci-fi drama The Three Body Problem, the adaptation of the best-selling book series by Cixin Liu.
In main competition, meanwhile, were titles such as Peacock’s Apples Never Fall starring Annette Bening, adapted from the book by Liane Moriarty, the author of Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers. Pierre Schoeller’s France 2 political thriller In the Shadows, meanwhile, was adapted from a novel by former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Gilles Boyer.
Many drama execs said that in the cautious and financially challenged post peak-TV era, buyers were ever more keen for projects that were already known to audiences. Heather Brewster, Keshet Studios’ LA-based senior VP of scripted, told Screen: “In the challenging market that we’re in right now, any project that can mitigate risk for a buyer is much more appealing.” Keshet Studios is currently adapting Katelyn Monroe Howes’ debut novel The Awoken as a returning drama for the US market adapted by the author herself.
Valérie Vleeschhouwer, managing director of Mediawan Rights in France, said The Count of Monte-Cristo “checks all the boxes” for a company like Mediawan. She called the eight-episode series “an iconic masterpiece known all around the world.”
The series format for such globally recognised stories is appealing for top talent like August too, who has previously worked on film adaptations like Smilla’s Sense of Snow, Les Miserables and The House of Spirits. “This kind of story deserves a TV series - it deserves eight hours,” he said, noting that a character-driven novel like The Count of Monte-Cristo series suits the longer-run time of a series. ”Every scene, every moment is driven by the relationships.”
Alexia Laroche-Joubert, CEO of Banijay France, told Screen that Banijay France has just signed on for an adaptation of UK IP, Gemma Malley’s The Declaration and is currently in development on an English-language series of the dystopian 22nd-century set trilogy.
Some noted, however, that demand for well-known literary IP was pushing up prices to option titles. ”If suddenly the demand is for books, guess what happens to the price? It is not quite as cheap as it was before,” said one exec.
To help producers identify IP with such potential for global success, Series Mania this year launched a Forum IP Market, which focused on literary properties with high potential for European TV series. It hosted Cannes’ Marché du Film’s Shoot the Book initiative as well as panel discussions on current trends and new voices in literary adaptation and one-on-one meetings between editors and producers.
Francesco Capurro, director of Series Mania’s Forum, told Screen the Forum’s IP market was designed to facilitate exchanges between producers, publishers and other IP owners. “Everyone is looking for ideas to develop their content and we are here to facilitate and accelerate the process.”
No comments yet