Séries Mania Forum · 2027

Agoris analysis · updated November 2026

Key facts

• Séries Mania Forum is the international professional market for series: producers, broadcasters, writers, buyers and decision-makers meet in Lille every March to present, finance and sell series. Its organiser describes it as the largest event in Europe dedicated solely to scripted series.
• Not to be confused with the Séries Mania Festival: same organisation, two events. The Festival, from 19 to 26 March 2027, is free and open to all. The Forum is for accredited professionals, and that is where the stands and exhibitors are.
• Next edition: from Tuesday 23 to Thursday 25 March 2027, at Lille Grand Palais and online. The 2027 opening hours have not been published yet.
• Organiser: Association du Festival International des Séries de Lille / Hauts-de-France, whose managing director is Laurence Herszberg. Francesco Capurro signed as the Forum's director in 2026. No co-organiser is listed.
• Annual frequency. The Forum states that it has existed for more than ten years and has been held in Lille since 2018.
• 2026 results: a record 97 exhibitors, 5,200 accredited professionals from 75 countries and 27 international delegations.
• The 2027 commercial catalogue is online: stands, meeting tables, Business Lounge, showcases. Stands are sold through a tailored offer.

Who exhibits

Typical profile

Here you do not exhibit a product but a catalogue of series, a production capacity or a territory seeking financing. The stand is used first and foremost to host meetings. Three families occupy most of the space: studios and distributors, broadcasters and platforms, and public support bodies, national or regional, that accompany their producers.

The 2027 offer is organised by floor, at Lille Grand Palais:

• Delegates' Hall (level 1): equipped stands, in the area dedicated to official country delegations.
• Private Meeting Tables (level 1): a table in the company's name, in the same hall, with one accreditation included in the package.
• Business Square (level 3): a limited number of private spaces, in a quiet setting.
• Business Lounge (level 4): spaces of 15 to 40 m² for receiving clients, with an exclusive bar and a rooftop terrace.
• Meeting Room: a fully equipped room for 20 people, hired in two-hour slots.

Showcases are added to these: a one-hour slot to present your series in a room seating 100 or 180, announced in the official catalogue.

Notable exhibitors

The 2027 list has not been published. The official page remains that of the 2026 exhibitors, which gives a good measure of the level, without prejudging the next edition.

In 2026, the Business Lounge brought together Banijay Entertainment, BBC Studios, Beta Film, Federation Studios, Fremantle, Gaumont, ITV Studios, Mediawan, Studiocanal, Studio TF1 and ZDF Studios, among others. The meeting tables hosted Amazon MGM Studios Distribution, Bell Media, Radio-Canada, Rai Com and SND Groupe M6. The Delegates' Hall gathered All3Media and Globo alongside the CNC, Creative Europe MEDIA, German Films, Telefilm Canada, the KOCCA Korean pavilion, and French regional bodies such as Pictanovo, Grand Est and Provence Studios.

Visitor quality

The 5,200 accredited delegates in 2026 came from 75 countries. The programme filters its sessions by profession, which describes the target audience well: authors and screenwriters, producers, commissioners, marketing and strategy, buyers. The 2026 press kit announced official delegations from 27 countries in Europe and beyond, with also representatives from South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, DRC, Brazil, Canada, Japan and Taiwan.

For a seller, the point to watch is the presence of buyers, for whom the Buyers Upfront sets aside dedicated time just before the Forum. No independent audit of attendance is published: the figures are the organiser's own.

Events & community

Conference programme

The 2027 programme has not been published. The 2026 one included 60 conferences, according to the commercial catalogue. The keynotes from HBO Max, Prime Video and Disney+ carried announcements there, the masterclasses were given by Hugo Blick, Russell T Davies and Nicola Shindler, and the showcases from Arte, France Télévisions and TF1 offered exclusive presentations to decision-makers. The 2026 programme also set aside "Coming Next from" sessions for series from several markets, including Korea, France and Flanders.

The Dialogues de Lille, an annual summit, bring together political decision-makers and audiovisual leaders. Their 8th edition, on 26 March 2026, the last day of the Forum, had as its theme "Les Nouvelles Alliances", with an opening speech by Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, on the programme. Nine ministerial delegations signed the Council of Europe Convention on the co-production of series during the 2026 Forum: France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Poland and Portugal.

Pitches, buyers and awards

The Co-Pro Pitching Sessions are the Forum's financing event: up to 15 fiction projects seeking international partners, presented to decision-makers and followed by one-to-one meetings. The 2026 edition received around 400 applications from 65 countries. For 2027, the call for projects is open until Monday 30 November 2026 at 11.59 pm, entry is free, the selection will be unveiled in mid-February, and the pitches will take place on 23 March.

The Buyers Upfront takes place the day before, on Monday 22 March 2027, at the Lille Chamber of Commerce. Reserved for buyers and by invitation only, it presents clips from up to 12 series. The application period runs from Wednesday 16 December 2026 at 2 pm to Wednesday 3 February 2027 at 2 pm.

Five awards are presented during the Forum. In 2026: Red Pants (Kyrgyzstan), best project of the Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, endowed with €50,000; R91 (France), Buyers Choice award; Chachachá!, Seriesmakers award; Marianne Furevold-Boland, head of drama at NRK, Woman in Series award; and Bref 2, Best Marketing Initiative award.

The Forum also highlights what comes out of it. In October 2026, it pointed to the arrival of Le Charles, winner of the 2026 Buyers Upfront, on Prime Video, and of The Airport Chaplain, presented at the 2025 Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, on Netflix.

Community & networks

The 2026 edition inaugurated the guest country status with Korea: KOCCA announced an official delegation of eight companies, including CJ ENM, KBS Media and Studio S, with the support of the CNC. No guest country has been announced for 2027 on the website to date.

The Creative Bazaar, held at the Bazaar St So in 2026, brings together, ahead of the Forum, writing and production residencies and workshops, those of Series Mania Institute and those of partners. It announced more than 60 participants from 15 countries from 20 to 23 March 2026.

As for the press, the Forum's press coverage section for 2026 cites Variety, Deadline, Broadcast International, World Screen and Écran Total.

Compared with MIPCOM in Cannes, which presents itself as the world's leading media and content market, the Forum specialises in series. The two calendars are not mutually exclusive: one covers all content, the other focuses on scripted series, from writing to sales.

On site: what to know

The Forum occupies several levels of Lille Grand Palais, 3 boulevard Emile Dubuisson. In 2026, it was open from 8 am to 7 pm on the first two days and from 8 am to 6 pm on the last; the 2027 hours are yet to be published. The venue is accessible to people with disabilities, with dedicated spaces in the auditoriums and a virtual tour.

Lille has two railway stations in the city centre, 400 metres apart. Paris is one hour away by train, Brussels 38 minutes and London 1 hour 20 minutes; a direct TGV links Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport to Lille Europe in 50 minutes. Lille-Lesquin airport is 10 km from the centre. In 2026, the Forum offered free shuttles, as well as a selection of partner hotels; the 2027 arrangements have not yet been detailed.

Some highlights take place outside the Grand Palais: the Buyers Upfront and the Welcome Drinks at the Chamber of Commerce, the Festival's headquarters, in the historic centre. During the Forum, the city also lives to the rhythm of the Festival, which should be factored into accommodation and travel.

How much does it cost to exhibit

The organiser does not publish a rate card for stands: the 2027 commercial catalogue describes the spaces and refers to a tailored offer, to be requested from advertising@seriesmania.com. This catalogue gives a price for only two items: the sponsored screening on the Series Mania+ platform, from €2,500, and official sponsor status, available above €30,000 of investment. The other media, such as signage, screens, evenings and promotional items, are not priced.

For accreditation, the 2027 rates have not been published to date. As a guide only, the calls for registration from SODEC and Telefilm Canada indicated for 2026 a full rate of €490, and SODEC €150 for online-only access. Both bodies offered €270 to companies within their remit: before booking, it is worth checking whether your national delegation offers an equivalent deal.

Planning your visit

For the exhibitor

• Choose the space according to use: the Delegates' Hall for a collective country or regional presence, a table for a small sales team, the Business Lounge for hosting private meetings.
• Budget for accreditations separately: the meeting table package includes only one, so plan for the rest of the team.
• If you sell series that are ready for release, consider a showcase or an application to the Buyers Upfront before 3 February 2027.
• If you are a producer seeking financing, aim for the Co-Pro Pitching Sessions before 30 November 2026: a maximum of two projects per company, application in English.
• Set your meetings before you arrive. The stand is only worth something if the diary is full, and the concentration of buyers plays out over a short time.

For the decision-maker visitor

• Get accredited when registration opens, on 18 November: the on-site option gives access to the professional programme and to the Festival programming. An online option exists for those who do not travel.
• Arrive from 22 March if you are a buyer invited to the Buyers Upfront.
• Choose your sessions with the programme's filter by profession, as soon as it is published.
• Watch for the place of the Dialogues de Lille in the 2027 programme if European regulation and cooperation matter in your role.

CSR policy & initiatives

Séries Mania states a CSR strategy developed in 2019, a first carbon footprint assessment in 2021 and ISO 20121 certification obtained in 2024. This is a commitment of the organisation, which sets it apart from a mere conference theme.

On the environmental side, the Forum lists: electric vehicles for the shuttles, print-at-home badges and cardboard badge holders, local caterers, water fountains, reduced carpeting, hired furniture, recycled banners and decarbonised energy. The 2026 press kit adds bicycle taxis for participants, as well as the hire and multi-year reuse of stand infrastructure, a point that directly concerns exhibitors.

On the social side, a dedicated traffic plan for people with reduced mobility, the preparation of welcome bags entrusted to a Centre d'Aide par le Travail (a sheltered employment centre), and a plan to prevent sexist and sexual violence, with an Audiens helpline.

No figures specific to the Forum are published, such as the weight of the accredited delegates' international travel in the carbon footprint.

How the show has evolved

Trajectory analysis

The Forum is growing in small steps on an already established base: 5,000 accredited delegates from 72 countries in 2025, 5,200 from 75 countries in 2026. These round figures, published by the organiser, indicate a trend rather than a fine measurement.

The most useful signal for an exhibitor is found in the space. In 2024, the Forum announced 3,000 m² of new exhibition and networking zones at Lille Grand Palais. In 2026, its results announced a record number of exhibitors. The 2027 catalogue points to new media around the building and a Buyer's Lounge: the commercial offer is therefore continuing to expand.

The other change is the weight given to selling. Launched in 2025, the Buyers Upfront will hold its third consecutive edition in 2027, which adds to financing and development, historically at the heart of the Forum, an event geared towards buyers.

The context remains to be watched. In its 2026 editorial, the organiser described an industry weakened by mergers, reorganisations and geopolitical tensions, with a lower volume of new series. A contracting market can make a specialised meeting more useful, but can also reduce attendance budgets: the 2027 results will show which way the balance tips.

The dates of the 2028 edition had not been announced when this was written.

All data that does not state its source comes from the organiser's website.

Unless otherwise stated, all factual data in this listing comes from the organiser's official website (seriesmania.com).