Spain’s “The Interregnum” was named the winner of SeriesMakers, receiving the Beta & Kirch Foundation Award which carries a cash prize of €50,000 ($51,000).
SeriesMakers is a creative initiative headed by Laurence Herszberg, general director of Series Mania, and Ferdinand Dohna, head of content & co-production of Beta. It was launched in 2022.
The winning team will have a chance to work closely with Beta’s Content and Co-Production Division to develop a pilot script and a full package. Co-development means that it is very likely that Beta Film would handle International distribution if the series were to go into production.
Created by Simón Casal and produced by Mariela Besuievsky at Oscar winning Tornasol Media (“The Secret in Their Eyes”), the six-episode show jumps to 2031, when the E.U. faces a decisive referendum to approve an AI system that would replace human judges.
As Inma and Lyda, the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ campaign managers, battle for victory, a dark secret surrounding the death of the AI system’s creator, Alicia, threatens to revolutionize not only the campaign, but everything they believed themselves to be.
Casal had already directed a film on the subject of AI called “Justicia Artificial.” Also produced by Besuievsky, it was released in 2022.
“We didn’t have time to tell the whole story because it was a film. The movie was pretty accessible, however, and had very good reviews. But it was a little short for what we wanted to speak about,” said Besuievsky, accepting the award with Casal.
Casal noted that thanks to SeriesMakers, he had learned how to tell a story in episodes and design characters’ journeys, separating plotlines and mixing them together to build tension. He also gained a better understanding of “how to build and manage the project to be attractive for international audiences.”
“The creators of ‘The Interregnum’ impressed with a political thriller that reflects the complexity of some of the most pressing issues of our time: AI and justice,” said Ferdinand Dohna.
“The multi-layered aspects of these issues are told in a gripping thriller that introduces the ticking clock of a fictional EU referendum where the viewer has to decide where they stand.”
Other selected projects included “A Person of Interest,” “Le Bouton d’Or,” “Cow’s Tongue,” “Death Becomes Him,” “Falke Motors,” “Pigs’ Disco,” “Stick ‘Em Up,” “Unequal” and “The Wonderful Golem.”
Laurence Herszberg said: “When we started SeriesMakers three years ago, our goal was to become the best mentoring program for filmmakers making their TV creator debut. As evidenced by the ten projects [making] part of this year’s event and with the prize going to ‘The Interregnum’, we couldn’t be more pleased with our results.”
John Hopewell contributed to this article.