Italian Global Series 2026 Unveils 21-Series Competition
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- Italian Global Series festival returns for its second edition, running July 3-6 in Rimini and July 7-10 in Riccione, with 21 series from 15 countries competing for Maximo Awards.
- IGS organizers received over 160 series submissions and narrowed the International Competition to 21 titles spanning Europe, Asia, North America, and Latin America, divided into Drama, Comedy, and Limited Series categories.
- Sally Wainwright, creator of Happy Valley, headlines the guest list alongside Bates Motel co-creator Carlton Cuse, Doctor Foster's Bertie Carvel, and German-Turkish actor Serkan Çayoğlu.
- The Drama section opens with world premieres of UK/Spain's Benidorm Is Murder (starring John Hannah) and Brazil's Emergency 53, plus Italian premieres of Gemma Arterton spy thriller Secret Service and Korean thriller Speaking Dead starring Han Suk-kyu.
- Nicholas Meyer will preside over the Limited Series jury, Marti Noxon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) over the Drama jury, and Bruno Gouery (Emily in Paris) over the Comedy jury.
- Carlton Cuse hosts a 'Lost in Fellini' panel with John Ridley, while David W. Zucker (Alien: Earth) and Steve Stark (The Handmaid's Tale) lead a session on the future of international productions.
- The festival is directed by Marco Spagnoli, organized by APA (Association of Audiovisual Producers) in collaboration with Cinecittà, and backed by Italy's Ministry of Culture and the Emilia-Romagna Region.
Why it matters: For international TV creators, IGS is positioning itself as a serious prestige showcase in year two, with a 160-to-21 selection ratio signaling real curatorial selectivity across three competitive categories. The guest roster — Wainwright, Cuse, Meyer, Noxon — reads like a play for the limited-series and high-end drama crowd that currently orbits Series Mania and Canneseries, with state-backed Italian infrastructure (Cinecittà, Ministry of Culture) providing the runway.
