SeriesFest

Season 12 is bringing the heat 🔥 From major premieres like Netflix’s “Lord of the Flies”, “Little House on the Prairie,” “The Four Seasons,” and Peacock’s “Ponies,” to unforgettable conversations with the creatives behind them. We’re also spotlighting never before seen independent series through our Independent Pilot Competition, showcasing bold new voices and original storytelling from emerging creators. Plus appearances from D’Arcy Carden, John J. Sie, Liz Jenkins, Graham McTavish, Amy Seimetz, Marco Calvani, Kerri Kenney-Silver and more. Tickets on sale now → link in bio

From the #CollegeTelevisionAwards to #SeriesFest ✨ Grace, a 2025 alum, returns to SeriesFest. This time with a brand-new project and a whole new perspective. From panels and screenings to reconnecting with a community of storytellers, she reflects on what it means to keep creating and growing along the way. #CollegeTelevisionAwards #TelevisionAcademyFoundation #FutureOfTV

✨ An unforgettable night at the 2026 @seriesfest Soirée on Friday — celebrating storytelling, creativity, and visionary leadership. 🎬🌟 We were incredibly PROUD to celebrate #GLOBAL co-founder, John J. Sie, as he received the inaugural Visionary Award for his groundbreaking contributions to television and media. From helping transform cable television and digital entertainment to changing countless lives through philanthropy, Mr. Sie’s legacy continues to INSPIRE across industries and generations. 👏 Read about his impact: 🔗 in bio! Hosted by @erichbergen and celebrating fellow honorees including @darcycarden , @amy.seimetz.1981 , @giarayne & @littleton_road , the evening was filled with inspiration and connection. Congratulations, Mr. Sie, on this incredible honor. Your vision has changed the world—and your impact continues to shine brighter than ever. ✨ #SeriesFest #JohnJSie #GlobalDownSyndromeFoundation #VisionaryAward #InclusionMatters #LegacyOfImpact #GLOBALImpact #CelebrateInclusion #GlobalDownSyndrome #GLOBALFamily

Season 12 Award Ceremony Ending this year’s fest with an evening celebrating this community. Every winner thanked their community - partners, friends, the people they met at SeriesFest, and beyond. They made it know that the best work is done when it is shared, collaborative, grounded in lived experience and intersectional. Thank you to all of the creators who allowed us into your worlds. We cannot wait to see where we are at this time next year 💜🫶 Winners - please tag your projects below ⬇️⬇️ #seriesfest #sfs12

Episode 4 | SeriesFest 2026 Saturday at SeriesFest explored storytelling as a way to preserve identity, challenge systems, and deepen our understanding of one another. We began with the Television Academy Foundation’s College Television Awards showcase, highlighting student creators already telling nuanced stories about family, displacement, disability, resilience, and belonging. Across the featured projects, young filmmakers explored questions that feel incredibly relevant right now: What do we inherit from family and culture? How do communities survive disruption and displacement? And who gets to define strength, leadership, or identity? From Unbroken Spirits documenting the resilience of a Wixárika family displaced by cartel violence, to a young boy learning to embrace life with a prosthetic leg through imagination and courage, the showcase reflected a generation of creators deeply committed to empathy-driven storytelling. At the Impact in TV panel, Littleton Road Productions discussed how projects like Dr. Death, The Girl from Plainville, and Devil in Disguise center the human realities behind headline-making tragedies, and how storytelling can extend beyond entertainment into advocacy, awareness, and community impact. Meanwhile, creatives from Shondaland offered insight into the collaboration, directing, and cinematic vision behind one of television’s most influential storytelling universes. Screenings throughout the evening continued many of the same themes. My Father, Dick Allen explored legacy and redemption behind one of baseball’s most misunderstood figures, while Zorro reintroduced an iconic character through questions of justice, power, and leadership. Across every panel, screening, and conversation, one thing became increasingly clear: the future of television is being shaped by creators unafraid to tell stories rooted in complexity, cultural specificity, emotional honesty, and social impact. Four days in, and SeriesFest continues to feel less like a festival and more like a living conversation. #sfs12 #seriesfest

SeriesFest Soiree 2026 Red Carpet May 8 📸 : Thomas Cooper (Getty Images)

SeriesFest Soiree 2026 Red Carpet May 8 | @asterisk_denver 📸 : @roxymoure #sfs12 #seriesfest

Episode 3 | SeriesFest 2026 Friday at SeriesFest was a reminder of how expansive storytelling can be when creators have the space to take risks and bring their full perspectives to the screen. From the international screening of Raul Seixas: Let Me Sing, exploring creativity and rebellion during Brazil’s military dictatorship, to NBC’s writers’ room panel celebrating 100 years of television storytelling craft, the day moved between legacy and what comes next for the industry. Independent drama and comedy pilots brought emotional depth, sharp humor, and bold new voices into the spotlight, while conversations with the creative team behind Peacock’s Ponies explored reinvention, partnership, and finding humanity inside a Cold War espionage story. We also revisited Lord of the Flies, reflecting on why stories about power, fear, and survival continue to resonate across generations. And by late night, the festival embraced genre storytelling in ALL. ITS. RANGE. From the offbeat chaos of Chihuahua, to the supernatural world of HAINT rooted in Gullah Geechee culture and tradition, to Puke Bitch and its honest, lived-in exploration of queer identity and human complexity. Audiences are hungry for stories that reflect the full spectrum of human experience. We deserve these sstories that challenge assumptions, expand representation, and normalize the reality that so many different kinds of people, communities, and perspectives exist in the world around us. We closed the night at the Soirée, where creators, supporters, and industry leaders gathered in celebration of that shared mission and the future being built together through storytelling. Heading into the weekend inspired by the creativity, courage, and imagination this community continues to bring to SeriesFest. #sfs12 #seriesfest

I could talk to John J. Sie *for days* about the incredible things that he accomplished. This year at @seriesfest he was given “The Visionary” Award, and prior to the ceremony I talked with him about his legacy as a cable TV pioneer and his amazing work as a philanthropist.

🌟 A LEGEND. A VISIONARY. A LIFETIME OF IMPACT. 🌟 We are beyond PROUD to celebrate one of our founders, John J. Sie, who is being honored at this year’s @seriesfest with a prestigious Visionary Award!! 👏 Read more: 🔗 in bio! ✨As shared by @hollywoodreporter , John’s groundbreaking work—from founding @starz to the opening of @thedenverfilm #SieFilmCenter in 2010 AND championing inclusion & representation—continues to shape industries and change lives. 💙💛 But here at #GLOBAL, we know his greatest legacy is even more powerful! ❤️Because of John’s leadership and generosity, @globaldownsyndrome has become a driving force behind life-changing research, medical care, and advocacy for people with #DownSyndrome—helping to improve and save lives around the world. 🌎 As he just celebrated an INCREDIBLE milestone—his 90th birthday🎉—we highlight not just what he’s built, but the future he continues to inspire. John, your vision created a movement. Your impact is immeasurable. And your legacy will live on for generations. 👏 Join us in congratulating this true pioneer! #GlobalDownSyndromeFoundation #SeriesFest #VisionaryAward #GlobalDownSyndrome #GLOBALImpact #InclusionMatters #CelebrateInclusion #JohnJSie #HollywoodReporter #GLOBALFamily #GLOBALRocks

Episode 2 | SeriesFest 2026 ✨ Today felt like a masterclass in what storytelling can do when imaginative creatives, fresh perspectives, and curious audiences all end up in the same room. We started internationally with Babies (UK), a story that held grief, hope, humor, and love all at once, and somehow made it feel deeply human instead of heavy. Then came Pitch-A-Thon!, where creators brought big swings, personal truths, and wildly original ideas to the stage. From queer anglers finding community through fishing, to cinematic journeys exploring identity, healing, spirituality, and belonging, the projects today reminded us that some of the best stories come from people willing to ask bigger questions. Across every screening, panel, and breakout conversation, one thing became clear: storytelling gets stronger when more people are invited into it. We could feel it in the room. Creators swapping ideas in the lobby. Executives leaning into conversations with emerging voices. Honest discussions around queer representation, navigating the industry, and the realities of building a creative career today. And then there was the ESPN panel, pulling back the curtain on how some of the most impactful stories in sports are shaped and shared with the world. SeriesFest has always been about more than watching something on a screen. It’s about what happens when artists, audiences, and industry come together to challenge ideas, share perspective, and create something bigger than themselves. We closed the night with The Testaments on Hulu, ending Day 2 with a powerful reminder that stories don’t just reflect culture, they help shape where we go next. Episode 3, we’re ready for you...

Thank you for having us @seriesfest ! We had the best time screening the first two episodes of S2 of @universaltv @netflix The Four Seasons! 💄HMU: @erinblakleyartistry 💎Beautiful jewelry: @raz_gnat 👽Proof that I’m the alien life form Celine is searching for: final slide