Catalan’s well-supported TV sector is striking gold by embracing the global market

Catalan television talent is stepping out in buoyant form at Series Mania 2026 (March 20–27), highlighting the region’s vibrant production landscape, underpinned by creative ambition and a substantial public fund supporting high-end TV drama.

Three of Catalan TV’s latest productions are ready for their close-up in Series Mania: Unfiltered (Sense Filtres), selected in the Short Forms Competition strand, and In Vitro, showcased in Buyers Upfront. The project, The Glacier Murders, written by Mariano Baselga and Enrique Videla and produced by Arlette Peyret from Brutal Media, a co-production with Chile’s Fabula, has been selected at the Co-Pro Pitching Sessions.

Produced by Catalan public broadcaster 3Cat and Vértigo Films, Unfiltered is a nine-part series created by Amaya Izquierdo about how digital and social media are shaping relationships among adolescents. Sandra Reina, Jiajie Yu Yan (a Screen Spain Star of Tomorrow in 2021) and Ainhoa Bolaños are directing.

The first season explores three different stories focusing on the complexities of sexting. Izquierdo’s had already dealt with the topic of digital privacy in the 2024 series Nudes about the leak of nude photos online. (That series was also backed by 3Cat and Vértigo Films with ESCAC Films).

In Vitro, sold internationally by Beta Film and produced by Moiré Films and Rodar y Rodar with 3Cat and HBO Max, is one of the series selected for the invitation-only Buyers Upfront selection, dedicated to anticipated productions already delivered or in post-production.

The six-part comedy drama series is the story of Blanca, a biologist in her late 30s who takes a job at a fertility clinic in the hope of a turn for the better in her career. There she will have to face plenty of challenges, including dealing with her colleagues and patients, ethical dilemmas and personal pressures to do with her partner’s wish to start a family.

The series, created by Marc Crehuet with Alejandra Guimerà, stars Bruna Cusí as Blanca.

In Vitro received the support of the Catalan film body ICEC (Catalan Institute for Cultural Companies), a cornerstone of Catalonia’s thriving series production environment. The region’s high-end TV production fund was set up in 2022 and provides up to €1.5m ($1.7m) per project with a minimum budget of €4m ($4.6m).  It is also open to a second international broadcaster or streamer.

The grant is available for series aiming to produce second seasons to consolidate TV hits, such as the upcoming second season of This Is Not Sweden (Això no és Suècia), a comedy about the ups and downs of a young family who move to a chic back-to-the-woods village in the hills overlooking Barcelona.

The first season of This Is Not Sweden was introduced at Series Mania in 2024, and went on to win the best performance award for actress Aina Clotet at Cannesseries the same year. It was produced by Nanouk Films and Funicular Films in Catalonia and Anagram in Sweden, in co-production with public Catalan broadcaster 3Cat, RTVE and SVT (Sweden), with NDR (Germany) and YLE (Finland).

It was also the first series in Catalonia to receive the Green Film label for a sustainable production.

Ravalear: Not For Sale, which premiered at the 2026 Berlinale Special Series section, is a further example of how strategic public investment in TV production in Catalonia is boosting a production’s reach in the international market.

Directed by Pol Rodríguez and Isaki Lacuesta, the six-part series was inspired by Rodríguez’s family history and centres on a family-run Barcelona restaurant threatened by a developer. Sold internationally by Filmax, the series is produced by Arcadia Motion Pictures with Supernova, 3Cat and Eter Pictures AIE in Spain, with Belgium’s UMEDIA.

Created by David Pujol, the upcoming series Genesis (Gènesi) has also been supported by the Catalan government fund. Gènesi is about one of the most famous restaurants in Catalonia: El Bulli. With chef Ferran Adrià at the helm, El Bulli earned three Michelin stars and topped the list of the world’s 50 best restaurants several times in the early 2000s.

The 22 Catalan companies attending Series Mania – eight more than last year – are: 3Cat, Angeli Pictures, Brutal Media DeAPlaneta, Escándalo Films, Fasten Films, Filmax, Funicular Films, Ginga Stories, Gravando Sound, La Drecera Produccions, Marineda Films, Moiré Films, Neo Art Producciones, Nocturna Pictures, Playlab Films, Ringo Media, Serielizados, Sweet Film Memories, The Mediapro Studio, Vanvelvet Studio and Zabriskie Films.

Catalan Films is operating from its own stand: DH23.

Contact: Haizea Alberdi, International Promotion, Catalan Films / catalanfilms.cat/en

Laia Boixader, Catalunya Film Commission / bcncatfilmcommission.com/en