Overview

Industry Talks on Showrunning in Europe

The European Showrunner Training is flanked by several industry talks – both online and at major industry events. The European Showrunner Think Tank opens the discussion to industry audiences, focusing on core areas such as creative control, legal issues, and social responsibility.  With the European Showrunner Think Tank, the ESP aims to contribute to discussing, defining, and eventually establishing the showrunner position in Europe.

This event is part of the European Showrunner Programme and is funded by the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union.

Venue

Online and in person at major industry events

Fee

Participation in the European Showrunner Think Tank is free of charge
(in case of on-site panel discussions at industry events, access may be limited to accredited delegates)

Upcoming Events

The European Showrunner Think Tank explores and discusses the advantages and challenges of showrunning in Europe.

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Previous Events 2024

European Showrunner 2024: Think Tank: Showrunning in Europe: Spotlight on Miikko Oikkonen

The European Showrunner Think Tank »Showrunning in Europe: Spotlight on Miikko Oikkonen« took place in cooperation with the industry conference Seriencamp on Thursday, 6 June 2024 at Cinenova Cinema in Cologne.

Speaker: Miikko Oikkonen | writer, showrunner, director (»Estonia«, »Bordertown«, Finland)
Moderator: Barbara Petronio | writer, showrunner (»Suburra – Blood on Rome«, »Uonderbois/Wonderboys«, Italy)

The international co-production »Estonia« is Finland's biggest drama project to date. Showrunner MIIKKO OIKKONEN (»Estonia«, »Bordertown«) used this ambitious project to illustrate his approach to showrunning in Europe. A special focus was on the relationship between showrunner and lead director as well as on strategies for ensuring the success of a series that is co-produced with partners from seven (!) European countries.
The session was moderated by Italian writer and showrunner BARBARA PETRONIO (»Suburra – Blood on Rome«, »Uonderbois/Wonderboys«).

European Showrunner Think Tank »Social Impact Storytelling & Showrunning«

The European Showrunner Think Tank »Social Impact Storytelling & Showrunning« took place on 8 April 2024 – with a panel discussion followed by the screening of the pilot episode of »The Handmaid's Tale«.

Guests:
Matthew Hastings | writer, director, and executive producer (»The Handmaid's Tale«, »Smilla’s Sense of Snow«, »Fallen«, USA/UK)
Tyron Ricketts | actor, writer, and executive producer (»Sam – A Saxon«, »Dogs of Berlin«, Austria)
Moderator: Fitore Muzaqi | Director & Writer, Germany

In recent years, series have become central pillars of social narratives – precisely because they have often found new ways of highlighting existing social issues in their fictionally differentiated narrative worlds.
Because of the large amount of time audiences spend with characters and stories that are told in serial formats, series writers have a great influence – and responsibility – in this regard.
The showrunners amongst these writers are able to extend this influence to the production side of their work. As lead creatives overseeing the entire creation and production process of a drama series, they can have a lasting impact on cast, crew, and audience.

With »The Handmaid's Tale« and »Sam – A Saxon«, two outstanding series were at the center of this first joint session of our two event series »ifs encounters« and »European Showrunner Think Tank«. Both shows have shown an almost prophetic visionary power in their countries of origin and seem to be disturbingly ahead of their time. Against this backdrop, Matthew Hastings (USA) and Tyron Ricketts (Austria) discussed the power of serialised fictional storytelling and production, and the social responsibility that comes with it.

European Showrunner 2024: Think Tank: »Showrunning in Eastern Parts of Europe«

The European Showrunner Think Tank »Showrunning in Eastern Parts of Europe« took place on 26 March 2024 at Meeting Point Vilnius, Lithuania.
This panel, organised in cooperation with and taking place at Meeting Point Vilnius, set out to explore the phenomenon of Showrunning in Eastern Parts of Europe on stage in Lithuania.

Speakers:
Wiktor Piątkowski | writer, showrunner, »Wataha« | Poland
Teodora Markova | writer, showrunner, »Padomju dzinsi / Soviet Jeans«, »Me and My Wives« | Bulgaria
Stanislavs Tokalovs | writer, director, showrunner, »Padomju dzinsi / Soviet Jeans« | Latvia

Moderator:
Alex Traila | Eurimages | Council of Europe/Conseil de l'Europe | Romania

European Showrunner 2024: Think Tank: Showrunning in Europe: Spotlight on the HaRiBos (»Kleo«, »4 Blocks«)

The first European Showrunner Think Tank in 2024 took place on 30 January at the international industry conference TV Drama Vision as part of the Göteborg Film Festival, Sweden.

Event: European Showrunner Think Tank I
Topic: Showrunning in Europe: Spotlight on the HaRiBos (»Kleo«, »4 Blocks«)
Date: January 30, 2024 | Time: 12.15 pm - 1 pm CET
Guests: Hanno Hackfort, Bob Konrad (»KLEO«), Germany
Moderation: Marike Muselaers (Head of International Financing & Coproductions at Nordisk Film Production, Sweden)
Scope: TV Drama Vision Conference @Film Festival Gothenburg
Venue: Draken, Järnbäraregatan 6b, Göteborg, Sweden
Room: Drama Hall

When their latest hit show »Kleo« called for a showrunner-led production, creators Hanno Hackfort, Richard Kropf, and Bob Konrad employed a unique three-person showrunner model. Having worked together for years, the “HaRiBo” trio had created, tested and revised this work method by building on their strong friendship as well as on their extensive knowledge and refined collaboration skills acquired in their successful careers as series writers.
By exploring this journey from the learning-by-doing approach of their first shows as creators to the well-oiled machine their show-run productions resemble today, this session aims to spotlight the collaborative aspect of the writer-led showrunner model – within the showrunner team and beyond. The discussion will focus on the requirements and benefits of this approach as well as on the challenges posed by recent developments in the series market.

Previous Events 2023

Previous Events 2022

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Questions? Contact us!

Carolin Groẞe Hellmann

Head of Serial Storytelling

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Head of Professional Training for Screenwriters

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Head of European Showrunner Programme

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Phone
+49 221 920188261
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Hannah Schorr

Coordinator European Showrunner Programme

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Deputy Equal Opportunities Officer

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Phone
+49 221 920188270
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