Richard Gadd, Jisoo from Blackpink, Michel Platini on the pink carpet at Canneseries this year

The pink carpet of “Canneséries” is preparing to welcome beautiful people once again this year. The festival will be held on the Croisette, in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes), from April 23 to 28 and will open with the screening of “Half Man”. This series, expected the next day on HBO Max, is the new creation of Scotsman Richard Gadd after “My Little Reindeer”, which created a surprise on Netflix in 2024. This time, the screenwriter, producer and actor plays Jamie Bell (“Billy Elliot”). The actors embody the tumultuous relationship between two friends as close as brothers, over more than thirty years.

Richard Gadd will also receive the Konbini prize for commitment. For his part, the American Adam Scott, star of “Severance” and seen in “Big Little Lies” or “Parks and Recreation”, will be recognized with the Canal + Icon Award rewarding his career. Finally, the Korean Jisoo, member of the K-pop group Blackpink and actress (“Boyfriend on demand” on Netflix), is the winner of the Madame Figaro Rising Star Award, a revelation prize.

In total, 43 series (fiction and documentaries) from 17 countries will be screened over six days, in competition or not, during free sessions open to the public. You can reserve your tickets on the festival website from April 7 at 11 a.m. (canneseries.com).

The conquest of space from the Soviet point of view

Fans of French fiction will be treated to numerous previews: “Le Rouge et le Noir” from France Télévisions (with Victor Belmondo and Virginie Ledoyen), the new version of “Zodiique” for TF 1 (with Francis Huster and Marine Delterme), the first series created by Roman Doduik, “P*tain de soir” (France.tv), or even the comedy “Surveillant! » with Audrey Lamy taking place in prison (Disney +). The second season of “Brigade Anonyme” with Éric Cantona and welcoming Claire Keim will also be revealed, as will “Paris Police 1910”, the third and final part of the historic police saga from Canal +.

As for foreign series, in addition to “Half Man”, festival-goers will be able to discover “Prisoner”, a British production with Tahar Rahim expected soon on Canal +. Also on the program: “Star City”, a series derived from the excellent “For All Mankind” (Apple TV) which rewrites the conquest of space but from the Soviet point of view, or “The Terror: Devil in Silver”, the third season of the collection, this time set in a psychiatric hospital (with Judith Light from “Madame Est Servie” and Dans Stevens from “Downton Abbey”). At the end of the festival, the first episode of “California Avenue” by Hugo Blick (“The English”, “The Honorable Woman”) with Bill Nighy and Helena Bonham Carter will be screened. The creator and the actor are expected in Cannes for the occasion.

In the official fiction competitions, France is absent from the long series but has one title in the running in the short series: “Paradoxes” (Arte). Xavier Lacaille (“Parliament”) plays a depressed journalist who will have to save the world. The scenario takes up the subject of generative AI to speak with seriousness and humor about mental health.

Serial docs on sport

Documentary series are also in the spotlight. With in particular quite a few productions devoted to sport. Outside of competition, the public will be able to attend screenings of “Platini” (Canal +). Footballer Michel Platini looks back on his entire career, both sporting and non-sporting, and will himself be present in Cannes.

Also note the preview of “I don’t like to swim”, a documentary series shot by amateur directors who followed Florent Manaudou (expected on the pink carpet) during the year preceding the 2024 Olympics. With an unexpected bias: showing the excesses, the nights in clubs, the chaotic training, the opposite of what we imagine of the preparation of a champion (soon on HBO Max). “Vendée Globe, alone around the world” (France Télévisions) will also be there, with cameras on board different boats, including that of the young Violette Dorange who will also be at the festival.