Carmen Machi, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Hagai Levi, Steven Moffat, Sue Vertue, Victoria Martín, Ferran Adrià. All will bring star power to Barcelona’s leading series festival Serielizados which is set to kick-off Oct. 19 with the Catalan premiere of the 3Cat-HBO Max “In Vitro.”
A prime launching pad for Spanish premieres, the festival will showcase six international series in competition and a four-title national competition led by the world premiere of Movistar Plus-100 Balas’ “Celeste 2,” and Catalan premiere of “Killing a Bear” (“Killing a Bear”), another Movistar Plus Original.
On the industry front, Serielizados Pro will consolidate and expand its program, taking in case studies on successful co-productions, (“In Vitro,” “Segunda temporada”) trend analysis, networking sessions, and the second Mind the Gap international pitch with 11 premium projects. More than 300 delegates are expected including reps from YouTube, Mubi, RTVE, Arte France, Beta Film, ZDF, Oble, DR Sales, Imagina Sales, and many more.
Betu Martínez Molero, Serielizados’ co-founder with Victor Sala, unpacks the festival’s DNA and program highlights.
You said last year that your goal was both to up your number of visitors and to better serve the local industry. Is it mission accomplished after last year’s 80% increase in visitors and Serielizados Pro’s first Mind the Gap?
Yes, we totally accomplished that and after growing by 80% last year, our challenge this edition is consolidation. Our main hurdle has always been convincing people to pay for a cinema ticket to watch two episodes of a series. We’ve overcome that by not only premiering great series but also bringing the talent directly to the fans.
On the industry side, Serielizados Pro has settled into its identity as a boutique forum. We don’t want to be huge; we want to be effective. We focus heavily on European co-productions, matching local Catalan and Spanish creators with international agents through pitching sessions, masterclasses, and networking.
In fact, after our first Mind the Gap Pitching, we’re already seeing participating projects secure financing and move into production, which proves that the concept works.
This year your motto is ‘An Eye for It,’ to spotlight your unique cultural curation remit. Could you expand on this theme and why you chose it?
When we launched Serielizados in 2013, finding great TV was almost a DIY effort. In Spain, VOD was basically limited to Canal+ and Filmin. There was very little original local production, and people were finding their favourite TV shows through obscure corners of the web. Fast forward to today, and we’ve shifted from discovery to extreme content overload. We now consume series at the same frantic pace as social media or fast food.
That’s why our motto this year is ‘An Eye for It.’ In an era of overabundance driven by algorithms, a festival’s core job is editorial curation. We act as a filter. We spend the whole year searching for series that truly matter, offering our audience a thoughtful selection rather than an infinite scroll. We strongly believe festivals must remain trusted cultural tastemakers
Your opening series is “In Vitro,” an HBO Max, 3Cat co-production: How important was it for you to secure this prestige show?
It’s a festival tradition for us to open with top Catalan talent, we’ve done it with “This Is Not Sweden” and “Yo, adicto” in the past. Opening with “In Vitro” continues that legacy. It’s a powerful story with a relevant and very current topic (fertility clinics) and bringing together HBO Max and 3Cat, showing the strength of local co-productions. We’re confident “In Vitro’”will spark a strong conversation with our opening night audience and in the media.
How was the selection process this year for the two main competitions: National and International?
Every year we receive hundreds of submissions across national and international categories, this year well over 200 projects.The selection process is intense: We look for editorial coherence, distinctive voices, and strong production value. We make sure every show in competition brings something unique, avoiding generic platform filler.
From the projects submitted, what trends can you identify in terms of genres, formats, creatives involved, topics, commissioners?
This year we noticed a strong shift toward European productions, particularly from Northern and Central Europe. We think that co-production model in Europe is finally bearing fruit, delivering deeply human, socially-engaged stories connected to modern politics and everyday life. Germany was a surprise this year, the quality leap in their fiction is remarkable. Also France continues to perform at an exceptionally high level.
Another key trend I’d point out is the crucial role of public broadcasters like Arte in France (“Etty”), ARD in Germany (“Naked,” “A Better Place”), or even Estonia’s ERR (we’ll have “In Darkness “at the online festival on Filmin), the first Estonian show ever at Serielizados.
The feeling is that private VOD platforms often rely on safe algorithms and public networks are taking risks, backing bold, out-of-the-box auteur series like “Naked,” “A Better Place,” or “In Darkness.” For years, SVT, DR, or the BBC were the main gold standards for public TV, but now we see public broadcasters from other countries stepping up.
Could you outline your national and international competition, and highlight one or two titles that you’re particularly eager to showcase?
The festival motto for this year could also be “Life Through Series.” Every selected show mirrors current societal anxieties with a strong authorial voice.
In the national competition, we’ve leaned into sophisticated dramedies and tragicomedies with a distinct Coen brothers touch (“In Vitro,” “Killing a Bear,” “Celeste S2,” “Segunda Temporada”). They explore modern human contradictions, from millennial burnout to corporate fraud and environmental hypocrisy.
I’d highlight “Segunda Temporada,” from the team behind “Autodefensa,” for its sheer freshness, unique voice, and politically incorrect humor.
Hosting the world premiere of “Celeste 2” is obviously a massive highlight. We premiered Season 1, which was a huge hit at the festival and later became the most-watched show of the year on Movistar Plus. Honestly, we didn’t know we needed a series about the Spanish IRS, but Diego San José absolutely nailed it. Having Carmen Machi and the creative team in Barcelona is very special. “Celeste” is the gold standard of what a dramedy should be: it balances sharp writing, great direction, and exceptional performances completely naturally.
The International Competition is more eclectic, touching on everything, from sex addiction (“Naked”) to corporate eco-scandal (“Dirty Business”). Two titles I’m especially proud of are “A Better Place,” because it thinks outside the box by bringing progressive, utopian ideas about justice to a world in political crisis. Then “Ann Droid,” simply because we love Diane Morgan. Having a show created by her where she stars is fantastic. It’s a dramedy about AI with a feelgood heart, tremendous sensibility and great comedy all at the same time.
Last year you hoped to launch a production outfit. Is it again ‘mission accomplished’ with your closing series being “Episòdic: El principi d’Arquimedes” that you’re producing?
This is a major milestone for us, but honestly, that happened completely naturally and organically. Through initiatives like Serielizados Kick, our screenwriter talent campus, we were already nurturing new voices. All of a sudden, we realized we weren’t just discovering talent anymore, we were actually producing.
Created alongside the Barcelona City Council and public broadcaster betevé, “Episòdic”’s purpose is to bridge the gap between film school and the professional industry, giving 38 film students from 11 educational centers their first official IMDb credit by involving them directly in the creation of a short-form TV series.
“Episòdic “is an anthology series that adapts prestigious Catalan plays for television. Season 1 adapts Josep Maria Miró’s “El principi d’Arquimedes,” an award-winning play staged in nearly 50 countries that explores prejudice and moral panic through an innocent gesture at a swimming pool. We stepped in as executive producers, supervising the entire development and production process alongside a top professional cast.
After a preview presentation at Iberseries 2026, we’re thrilled to host its world premiere as our closing session, before it’s broadcast on betevé this autumn. And we’re already working on selecting the play we’ll adapt for Season 2.
Could you say a few words about the very special guests attending, from Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Steven Moffat, Sue Vertue, to Ferran Adrià?
Since 2015, we’ve always aimed high, bringing creators like Dan Harmon, David Simon, Vince Gilligan and later Jesse Armstrong. Every year, we build a wishlist of our top dream guests, and Steven Moffat has always been right at the top.
Having Steven in Barcelona, where “Sherlock” and “Doctor Who” have huge cult followings, is incredible. And bringing Sue Vertue completes the picture: she’s one of the U.K.’s sharpest producers, behind classics like “Mr. Bean,” which is practically part of Catalan pop culture DNA. Honestly, Rowan Atkinson is almost considered an honorary Catalan citizen!! Historically, Catalan public TV imported British comedy (“Fawlty Towers,” “The Young Ones,” “Monty Python,” “Allo Allo” etc) which deeply shaped our local comedy writers. So having Steven and Sue here is a true celebration of that cultural bridge between the U.K. and Catalonia.
Beyond that, we always aim to create an eclectic constellation of top talent. This year we have Rodrigo Sorogoyen, arguably Spain’s finest director today, creator of the masterpiece “Antidisturbios” (“Riot Police”) and co-founder of Caballo Films, one of our favourite production companies in Spain. He’ll serve as president of our international jury during a banner year for him, fresh off “The Beloved” a world premiere at Cannes, and with a lot of international attention about his work.
And finally, having Ferran Adrià is huge for us. Ahead of 3Cat’s premiere of “Gènesi,” the series detailing his legacy and how El Bulli revolutionized global gastronomy, Ferran will join us for an open talk at Casa Cupra. We’ll dive into “Gènesi” versus his real memories, while exploring the intersection of TV series and gastronomy. Having minds of this caliber eager to participate is the very core of what Serielizados stands for.