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Running July 3–11 along the Adriatic coast, the Italian Global Series Festival returns for its sophomore edition with a leaner lineup and sharper focus. As international attendees hit up Rimini and Riccione, the showcase
once again transforms the Riviera Romagnola into a beachfront crossroads for the television industry.
“We wanted to open this festival to the world,” says IGS artistic director Marco Spagnoli. “It’s not just about promoting Italian creation, but also the region, the culture and the spirit of collaboration. We need people to meet. Last year, you could see an American actor, a Spanish actor and an Italian director all together. Television rarely creates those opportunities.”
Building on his 2025 inaugural edition — either a reboot or a spinoff of the RomaFictionFest, which held its finale in 2016 — Spagnoli has streamlined the selection to give attendees more breathing room. The international competition now features 21 series from 15 countries, down from 32 titles last year. He describes the move as a “rationalization” that brings IGS more in line with other major international festivals.
IGS takes a flexible approach to premieres. The U.K.-Spanish detective drama “Benidorm Is Murder” and Brazilian medical thriller “Emergency 53” will make their world debuts at the festival, though exclusivity is not a requirement for competition. International premieres include the spy thriller “Secret Service,” directed by James Marsh and starring Gemma Arterton; Korean thriller “Speaking Dead” from Lee Jung-hyo; and historical epic “Raza Brava,” which follows Santiago’s violent soccer ultras during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship in Chile.
“At this point, I wouldn’t insist on world premieres,” Spagnoli says. “There are too many interesting shows from around the world that deserve to be seen. What matters is that the festival functions as a platform where international series can reach audiences, journalists and industry professionals alike.”
Among the talent heading to the Adriatic coast, U.S. performers CCH Pounder and Judith Light will support the social horror series “The Terror: Devil in Silver,” while France’s Virginie Ledoyen and Camille Razat accompany the Stendhal adaptation “Le Rouge et le Noir.” Carlton Cuse, Titus Welliver, Lisa Mulcahy and Richard Gadd will all be on-site to receive the festival’s Maximo Excellence Award.
The festival’s three jury presidents each represent a different strand of its identity. Overseeing the comedy competition, French actor Bruno Gouery (“Emily in Paris,” “The White Lotus”) brings international visibility and multilingual appeal. “Bruno’s mother is Italian, and he speaks the language perfectly,” says Spagnoli. “He could start working here tomorrow, and we want to encourage that kind of crossover.”
Drama jury president Marti Noxon will also be honored for her influence on contemporary television. “What Marti did on ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ changed the very concept of vampires, and those vampires have been with us ever since,” says Spagnoli. “A festival like this needs to acknowledge that continuity — to show which works have mattered and who has shaped the landscape.”
Meanwhile, few creators have had a broader cultural impact than limited-series jury president Nicholas Meyer. After Meyer’s “The Seven-Per-Cent Solution” helping modernize Sherlock Holmes in ways that still resonate across every subsequent adaptation, the director reframed nuclear proliferation with his 1983 television film “The Day After” — “perhaps the only film that really changed the course of history,” as Spagnoli puts it.
Of course, Meyer also took Kirk and Spock to new frontiers – making “The Wrath of Khan” director one of the key auteurs of the wider “Star Trek” franchise and a fitting centerpiece for a festival celebrating the franchise’s 60th anniversary. The program includes a conversation between Meyer and producer David W. Zucker, as well as a screening of the “Strange New Worlds” Season 4 premiere, with stars Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Celia Rose Gooding and “Voyager” favorite Jeri Ryan in attendance.
“[Through her character Seven of Nine,] Jeri Ryan has explored questions about machines, artificial intelligence and what it means to be human — all very modern concerns” says Spagnoli. “ ‘Star Trek’ was born of the Vietnam era, but so many of its themes still resonate, especially that idea of peace, that optimistic vision of a future driven by cooperation. That’s not limited to 1966.”
Spagnoli is equally enthusiastic about Netflix’s upcoming “Little House on the Prairie” reboot, which will screen as a special preview event. By embracing new iterations of familiar IP — and by leaning into his festival’s international cross-roads ambitions — Spagnoli hopes to send a message to the European television industry.
“Intellectual property can and should live on, and it must be renewed,” he says. “We Europeans should learn from that. There are so many Italian and European series that shaped my generation and could be just as powerful for modern audiences.”
“In Italy, we’re born with the past,” he adds, connecting his interest in reboots to something deeper than brand recognition. “These series meant something to millions of people. We need to keep looking backward to understand the present and imagine the future.”
