Series Mania Awards: Poland Stand ‘Proud’ as HBO Max Series Sweeps Top European TV Festival   

“Proud,” a show that came out of nowhere at Series Mania to become one of its leading crowd-pleasers yet may still be controversial in its native Poland, walked off Friday night at the French TV festival’s top Grand Prix. 

Created by Karol Klementewicz, “Proud” also won lead Ignacy Liss best actor for his engratiating turn as a young gay man, a party animal, who’s suddenly forced to step up his game and take care of a baby orphaned by his late sister. The two hope that the series will spark dialog in Poland where there are no legal previous for gay couples  to adopt children.

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“There hasn’t been a show like this before, and this subject continues to polarize our society. I think ‘Proud’ has a chance to show both sides and prove that you can – and you should – talk to each other,” Liss told Variety ahead of the show’s world premiere at Series Mania.

Beyond Poland, whose medical drama-espionage thriller, strikingly directed by Kuba Czekaj, won a Student Jury Award, much of the night belonged to the BBC, with two early 2026 gems winning major plaudits at Series Mania, Waiting for the Out, scooping best screenplay, while best sries and actor plaudits in International Panorama went to “Detectorists” creator Mackenzie Crook’s “Small Prophets,” hailed by The Guardian as “a magical new comedy, pure, pure pleasure.”

The coveted main competition Audience Award was won by Australian ABC-BBC-ZDF drama “Dustfall,” a sweaty and discomforting Australia tropical noir “Dustfall,” driven by a powerhouse performance by Anna Torv.

“We are delighted that the awards list confirms the trends we observed: the strong presence of the United Kingdom and the quality of Polish series, both awarded three times, as well as the notable presence of Quebec,”  said Laurence Herszberg, founder and managing director of Series Mania. 

She added: “We are also particularly pleased that such a unique series as ‘The Flaws’ has earned its place among the winners. Finally, we commend the presence of two fully female teams in their creation, production, and direction, ‘My. Brother’ and ‘Dustfall.’ We warmly thank all of our partners, without whom this event could not take place, including the Hauts-de-France Region, the CNC, the MEL, the City of Lille, and Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe.”

“My Brother” took best actress for Amanda Jansson (“Thin Blue Line”) who delivers a remarkable performance in an SVT psychological mystery-thriller of elemental, carnal passions with Jansson playing Jana who returns home to remote Smalånger in rural to save her brother Bror, drinking himself to death after heartbreak in love, and haltingly confront her own past of ghastly domestic abuse.  

Quebec took home an actor plaudit for Maxime Le Flaguais (“Rodeo”) as a conflicted investigator Gabriel Serpent in what Variety describes as a “dark and quaint crime dramedy,” “Welcome to Kingston-Falls,” while best short form series went to “Ayer’s Cliff,” from Canada’s Zacharie Larou and Edouard Gringas, an “offbeat thriller which shatters the codes of film noir to deliver an unpredictable and hilarious getaway, where unabashed kitsch is elevated to the level of high art,” in Series Mania’s own words.

Arne Feldhussen took best director for ZDF’s “The Flaws.” He could have won an award for originality – and pure insanity – Think “The Office” but with the kind of uncontrollable physical humor Monty Python would love to dabble in.   

SERIES MANIA PRIZES:

Audience Award

“Dustfall” (Australia) — ABC TV, BBC, ZDF 

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Grand Prize 

“Proud” (Poland) — HBO Max

Best Writing

Dennis Kelly, for “Waiting for the Out” (U.K.) — BBC

Best Actress

Amanda Jansson, in “My Brother” (Sweden) — SVT-DR-NRK-YLE /RÚV

Best Actor  

Ignacy Liss, in “Proud” (Poland) — HBO Max

FRENCH COMPETITION

Series

“All Shape of Us” (“Grandiose”) — TF1

Best Actress

Manon Kneuse, in “Camarades” — ARTE

Best Actor

Karim Leklou, in “Eldorado” — ARTE / RTBF

Best Original Score

Amine Bouhafa, for Privileges — HBO Max

INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA

Best Series

“Small Prophets” (U.K.) — BBC

Best Directing 

Arne Feldhussen, for “The Flaws” (Germany) — ZDF

Best Actress

Lauren Patel, in “Small Prophets” (U.K.) — BBC

Best Actor 

Maxime Le Flaguais, in “Welcome to Kingston-Falls” (Canada) — ICI Radio-Canada

Student Jury Prize

“Variola Vera” (Poland) — TVP

SHORT FORM COMPETITION

Best Series

“Ayer’s Cliff” (Canada) — ICI Tou.tv Extra

Special Mention

“Hirayasumi,” (Japan) — NHK

Student Jury Prize

“La Derniere Heure,”(France) — ARTE

Mention

“Homebodies,”(Australia) — SBS