Seriesly Berlin settled back into the Fotografiska venue in the German capital’s fashion-forward Mitte district for its second edition this week. A photography and arts center that once housed the Kunsthaus Tacheles artists’ squat, the space gives the event a distinctive air of Berlin cool. In a calendar that probably contains too many TV events, offering something different is essential for a new player and Fotografiska certainly does that.
Since inception, Seriesly has set out its stall as a writer-friendly confab that majors on discussions around creativity. Igor Simic’s freewheeling opener, ‘Are We Content With Content,’ that set the tone as the director and artist took in AI, Mickey Mouse, Donald Trump, Duchamp and pretty much everything in-between. It existed in a space where a philosophy debate-meets-industry keynote.
Later, Roy Ashton, partner at talent agency Gersh, clued in a room filled with younger writers and producers to the realities of the business. Speaking about the U.S. market, he said there are fewer writing jobs post-labor strikes and that the industry is feeling the effect of changes to pilot season, with the volume of new shows going down and shorter seasons the norm. This is a buyer’s market, Ashton said, and one in which the global streamers hold sway.
The Gersh exec urged writers and producers to be super-prepped for meetings with buyers. “You have to go into a pitch and make those people remember you for months,” he said. “You have to impress them. You have to be different and you can’t just bring in the same show someone could have written 10 years ago, that’s not going to sell.”
Seriesly’s own pitching competitions were well attended and brought the excitable energy that newer talent brings to proceedings. Naturally, a cannibal-themed sitcom and an apocalyptic animated series triumphed.
The confab did not swerve the big issues, illustrated by a session dubbed ‘Stories For Tomorrow’ on how Israeli and Palestinian writers can collaborate. It’s easier for organizers to avoid sensitive topics, but in this case, they found a sensitive way through. A mix of Israeli and Palestinian speakers addressed how human narratives can still make their way through despite the tragedy of the current crisis in Gaza, and the session acted as a small beacon of hope in a situation that feels largely hopeless. Emotions were high and some audience members had to leave the room to compose themselves, as was to be expected, and Seriesly can be commended for not shying away from the defining geo-political story of the day. We will have a full video of the session next week and it’ll be worth a watch.
Different spin
Seriesly also attempted to put a different spin on a TV conference staple, the co-production session. In truth, these can feel tired, so kudos to the organizers for looking to find new ways in. Sessions addressed shows such as Apple TV+’s Berlin ER (aka KRANK Belin) and Drops of God, HBO’s White Lotus and Netflix‘s local hit How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast).
Netflix was the main streamer in the room at the Fotografiska, speaking about its work with Philipp Käßbohrer and Matthias Murman’s German indie BTF, and unveiling a local adaptation of rom-com Love & Anarchy that the label is producing. Some attendees quietly voiced the opinion that Seriesly needs to attract more global streamers, more local networks and more international content distributors who can add spice to the screenings line up – something the nascent event will surely explore for 2026.
With the Berlin Film Festival scaling back its TV content – to the consternation of many, given it had made real headway before dialing down activity this year – Seriesly might just have kept the city on the TV conference map.
The post Seriesly’s Second Edition: Berlin’s Cool Confab Leans Into Creativity As TV Writers & Producers Gather At Fotografiska appeared first on Deadline.
