By: John Hopewell, Elsa Keslassy
April 1st, 2025
J.J. Abrams’ Max period crime thriller “Duster,” AMC Networks’ “The Walking Dead: Dead City,” Season 2 and Paramount+ with Showtime’s “The Agency” will bow at this year’s Canneseries whose 2025 lineup belies naysayers who argued, without a parallel MipTV and the buyers it brought to Cannes, the French TV festival would fail to draw series or celebs of weight.
“Dead City” is a world premiere, “Duster” looks like one too – it’s slated to be made available on Max on May 15. Starring Michael Fassbender, “The Agency” bowed on Paramount+ on Nov. 29, but not in France where it’s hugely awaited as a U.S. makeover of milestone French spy thriller “The Bureau.”
Among stars expected to walk the Festival’s pink carpet are main jury president Norman Reedus, absolute star of “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.”
“Bridgerton’s” Nicola Coughlan, a Konbini Award recipient, will deliver a masterclass on April 28.
Josh Holloway, Sam Clafin and Jeffrey Dean Morgan will hail into Cannes to promote “Duster,” European mega-series “The Count of Monte Cristo” and “Dead City” respectively, all playing out of competition.
Announced Tuesday in Paris, the Canneseries’ selection is certainly somewhat lighter on big U.S. series compared to a stellar 2024 edition which premiered Disney+ “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld” and Apple TV+’s “Franklin” and hosted the European bow of Prime Video’s “Fall Out.”
That, however, could be a sign of the times and timing: Cost-conscious U.S. streamers are increasingly reluctant to pay to fly in stars from the U.S. to Europe on multiple titles and ever more interested in using Canneseries and other top European festivals to promote local series with a chance of breaking out in international.
Netflix and Apple TV+ will not have series at this year’s Canneseries, which was a question of timing on big titles, said Canneseries artistic director Albin Lewi.
Conversely, apart from “Duster,” Canneseries this year will screen series for the first time from Warner Bros. Discovery, taking in two from Max France – Roma community action-packed thriller “Malditos” and soccer themed “Maintenant ou jamais, FC Montfermil” – as well as rated YA social misfits drama “nOOb” from New Zealand.
Prime Video fields Season 2 of one of its biggest bets from France, the raunchy “Escort Boys,” and Belgian period crime thriller “The Big Fuck-Up,” a potential crowd-pleaser backed by Prime Video, Netherlands, said Lewi, Disney+ backs “Kun by Aguëro,” a bioseries on the Argentine soccer legend playing Canneseries weightier than ever Rendez-vous section.
“Mip TV’s leaving Cannes in 2025 would have been a larger challenge if it had happened earlier, but we’d just ended amazing editions with big U.S, talents, big series and an edgy selection,” said Lewi, noting Canneseries received more series this year than last.
Also, Lewi argued that Canneseries is not about on-site buyers but “buzz,.” “The word of mouth of being in selection, even if buyers are not on-site, is very important. You don’t have to have thousands of people to have a market impact,” he said. Moreover, “many of our industry participants also wear different hats and all the series are supported by international distributors,” Lewi added.
Of competition series, there’s good word on Canal+/Studiocanal title “The Corsican Line,” reuniting “Mafiosa” writer-director Pierre Leccia and Mediawan’s Image et Compagnie, headed by Nicole Collet, and on “Reykjavic Fusion,” starring Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (“Trapped”), co-produced by Erik Barmack and the awaited first project to go into production from new Icelandic production powerhouse ACT4.
Further buzz titles take in South Korean father-daughter crime thriller “Doubt,” army conscript black comedy “Dorm No. 13,” from admired Finnish duo Teemu Nikki and Jani Pösö, behind Canneseries winner “Mister 8,” Beta Film pick-up “Rebound” and, in fest’s Docuseries strand, “The Nazi Cartel,” from Justin Webster, a doyen of Spain/Latin America-focused docs.
Of Long Form Competition titles, six of the eight contenders are from Nordics or Belgium, two from Norway and two airing on Belgian streaming service Streamz, which has five shows across all festival sections.
“Norway is for me the most inventive TV country in the world,” Lewi enthused. “We’re going to have a tribute to Belgium out of competition with “The Big Fuck-Up” and “Holy Shit!” “[Their respective stars] Willem De Schryver and Mona Mina Leon are both amazing.”
Also, led by “Surface,” most every major French broadcaster has titles at this year’s Canneseries, whereas French presence has been more limited in past years. Several factors are at work, said Canneseries Deputy Artistic Director Claire-Marine. “[French network] M6 is moving big into fiction again. The calendar of series has changed and is much more all-year-long than around specific launch dates. And I think that we have a really nice track record in terms of French launches, especially in the Rendez-vous last year,” she added.
Speakers at a boutique Canneseries Industry – focused on producer, writers, distributor, composer and casting directors clubs – will take in Bad Wolf’s Jane Tranter, “House of Cards” showrunner Beau Willimon, David Hadda, creator of Canneseries 2024 best series winner “The Zweiflers” and Eric Rochant, who launched “The Bureau” 10 years before this year’s Canneseries day and date on April 27, 2015. “He changed the world of series in France,” said Lewi.
Budgeted at €3.8 million ($4.1 million), backed mainly by Cannes Town Hall and with Canal+ as its media partner, Canneseries eighth edition will unspool April 24-29.
Canneseries titles in more detail:
“Duster,” (Max, U.S.)
J.J. Abrams’ latest, a period crime thriller set in a “wild, wily and wacky world,” he says, starring Rachel Hilson (“Love, Victor”) as the FBI’s first Black woman agent who teams with a getaway driver (Josh Holloway, “Lost”) to take down a crime syndicate. Created and written with LaToya Morgan (“Shameless”) produced by Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and Morgan’s TinkerToy Productions through their deals with WBTV.
Morgan is represented by WME and attorney Rob Szymanski.