Swiss thriller The Deal has won the inaugural Buyers Choice Award at the Series Mania Forum, the industry section of the French TV festival Series Mania.
Series Mania founder and general director Laurence Herszberg announced the winner at an event Monday night ahead of the Series Mania Forum launch on Tuesday.
The six-part thriller stars Veerle Baetens (The Broken Circle Breakdown) as Alexandra Weiss, a Swiss diplomat charged with navigating the high-stakes 2015 nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. When a former lover, now an endangered Iranian engineer, reappears in her life, Alexandra is forced to make decisions that could alter the course of history.
The Deal is produced by Bande à Part Films, Les Films Pelléas, Gaumont Télévision, Bidibul Productions and Versus Production. Gaumont is handling international sales on the series.
The Deal was picked from a slate of 10 sales titles by a six-person jury of key international buyers. The award was presented by jury president Katie Keenan, group director of acquisitions, U.K./ROI & Europe, Sky, alongside fellow jurors Ghislain Barrois (Mediaset Spain), Marina Chiaravelle (RAI Cinema), Rubén Fernández Loa (Movistar Plus+), Julia Fidel (ZDF) and Virginie Padilla (Arte).
“The jury and I were very impressed with the variety of genres and the quality of productions for the titles that were presented this afternoon,” said Keenan. “We chose The Deal as the winner as it is a very timely drama given the state of world affairs, which adds to its market appeal. Alongside the dynamics of diplomacy and the tension it brings to the drama, there were also human and personal stories that we are certain will unfold.”
The Buyers Choice Award capped the inaugural Series Mania buyers upfront event, one of several industry-facing sections at this year’s festival. With the demise of long-running international TV market MipTV last year, many in the European TV industry are looking to Series Mania as a new platform to launch their shows to global buyers.
Source: Hollywoodreporter
