Serielizados Doubles Co-Pro Pitches as Catalonia Sets the Pace

By Daniel Okafor

Serielizados' Mind the Gap co-pro pitch doubled its submissions from 2025's inaugural edition and crowned "El Observatorio," an early-development drama by Laura Roqué, Eloy Zamora and Luis Sorolla, as this year's top project. The award landed Oct. 22 at the Moritz brewery, the 19th-century Barcelona complex renovated by French architect Jean Nouvel.

"After a great deliberation we've decided to award new talent who need to be discovered," said Arte France's Alexios Kastrissianakis, co-juror with Mubi's Ben Driscoll, Movistar Plus' Laura Escrivá, ZDF Studios' Susanne Frank and Beta Film's Peter Lohrer. The jury also handed honorable mentions to two female-led series about abuse: Finland's "Dangerous Woman," helmed by Zaida Bergroth ("Tove") for Gutsy Pictures ("Moominvalley"), and "Callback," a second series by Catalan sisters Joana and Mireia Vilapuig for Funicular Films ("This is Not Sweden") and Left Tackle Films.

Co-founder Victor Sala opened the industry days, held under the motto "An Eye for It" at the modernised Renaissance Palau Bru in the Gothic Quarter, with a mandate to "inspire, connect Catalan and Spanish producers, series creators with international players and get projects going." Some 300-plus professionals gathered Oct. 22 at Barcelona's CCCB arts centre, with Arte France, Beta Film, Imagina Sales, DR Sales, Oble, 3Cat and RTVE taking the stage.

How big did the festival get?

Big enough to make claims. "This year, we solidified our position as the leading international TV series festival in Spain and one of the most prominent in Southern Europe, reaching 18,000 attendees across more than 60 activities, including more than 30 national and international premieres," said co-founder Betu Martínez Molero. Masterclasses came from "Sherlock" creator Steven Moffat with producer Sue Vertue, plus drama heavyweight Hagai Levi, who collected the Serielizados Best International Series Prize for "Etty" from Rodrigo Sorogoyen ("The Beloved"). The Miniput 12-hour marathon of public-broadcaster programming drew hundreds of young Spanish students.

What does the HBO Max-3Cat partnership deliver?

Three premium series so far, with a fourth now filming. The partners received the inaugural Audiovisual 451 Award for "outstanding contributions to the development of the Catalan audiovisual industry through co-productions and alliances." The slate: Leticia Dolera's "Pubertat," which bowed at San Sebastian 2025; Pol Rodríguez's "Ravalear," which premiered in Berlin's Special Series section; and Marc Crehuet and Alejandra Guimerà's dramedy "In Vitro," launched Oct. 19 simultaneously on 3Cat and HBO Max and winner of a Special Mention in the national competition. "In Vitro" and "Pubertat" are sold by Beta Film, "Ravalear" by Filmax.

The fourth, "Los Huérfanos" ("The Orphans"), created by Miguel Ibáñez ("Frontera") with director Patricia Font for NewCo Audiovisual, stars Iria del Río, Enric Auquer, Mima Riera and Carlos Cuevas. Inspired by true events about children abandoned in a train station, it films in Barcelona before moving to Tenerife and Paris, premiering in 2027 on HBO Max and subsequently on 3Cat.

"Everyone wants the first window, but with HBO Max, we decide on a project by project. It's exceptional to have this collaboration with a huge platform like HBO Max," 3Cat's head of fiction and film Oriol Sala Palao told Variety. HBO Max acquisition executives Joana Correia da Silva and Jessica Ortiz said the partnership "reflects HBO Max's commitment to support the local industry by fostering synergies between the various Spanish players."

Is Catalonia's ecosystem actually healthy?

The numbers say yes. Catalonia's ICEC (Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals) can pump up to €1.5 million ($1.7 million) per TV project. According to OPA (Observatori de la Producció Audiovisual), 67 Catalan series were produced between 2024-2026. Over 2024-25, 3Cat commissioned 19 local dramas, ahead of Netflix (7), RTVE Play (7), Atresplayer (5), Prime Video (4), Movistar Plus+ (3) and HBO Max (3). Catalan-language series rose from 28.6% of productions in 2024 to 52.2% in 2025; international collaborations climbed from 8.7% to 28.6%.

Mind the Gap already pays out: last year's pitches "Genesis," the 3Cat-Netflix drama about chef Ferran Adrià, world premiered at San Sebastian, while "Past Waters," with "Money Heist"'s Enrique Arce and Helena Caldeira, was boarded for Portugal's RTP. A third, "Robbery, Beating & Death" from Funicular Films, is in pre-production with Filmin and Belgium's Boucan Film Production aboard.

Funicular itself is now filming "This is Not Finland," with creators Aina Clotet, Valentina Viso and Daniel González. Clotet directs with Celia Giraldo and Sara Fantova and reprises her role as Marianna opposite Marcel Borràs. Nanouk Films produces with Funicular for 3Cat, Movistar Plus+ and Finland's Yle.

What about microdrama?

Arte France has bought its first Spanish microdrama, "A Christmas Bride" ("Una novia por Navidad"), from Atresmedia: 55 one-minute episodes running Nov. 2 to Dec. 22 on arte.tv and YouTube. "It's a love story, with a queer element, which tries to push the typical micro-romance genre," Kastrissianakis said. RTVE's Alberto Fernández said youth platform PlayZ becomes a vertical-drama app in November with "Estúpido Cupido," while warning that AI-generated microdrama, now dominant in China, is "the real threat for us in Europe." Five Catalan microdramas competed in the Microseries Showcase for the EVA Award.

Distributors, meanwhile, stayed pragmatic. "Consolidation is happening, budgets are shrinking, but we remain truly independent — fiercely European, and Mipcom was super busy for us," said Beta Film's Peter Lohrer. Oble's Katia Sol, repping Screenplay winner "Segunda Temporada," noted that "streamers don't do 100% buyouts for huge money anymore." DR Sales' Ella Glantz, first-time attendee, called the market "slightly opening up" — which, in 2025's distribution climate, counts as good news.