A series spin on a beloved bilingual crime-comedy classic (“Bon Cop, Bad Cop”), buried secrets and power games in a Canada-U.S. border town (“Prescott”), plus two psychological thrillers created by writer Simon Boulerice (“Getting Under Your Skin,” “Take Care”) are among seven series from Quebec producers bullish on channeling local momentum into international sales at Series Mania.
The Coming Next from Quebec showcase, which also includes Robin Aubert’s International Panorama Competition entry “Welcome to Kingston Falls,” lands as U.S.-owned streaming platforms are luring more francophone viewers away from homegrown programming.
While conventional TV viewing is still strong in Quebec, producers also need to aim their premium scripted programs at international buyers and audiences. And Series Mania is the sweet spot.
Last year, writer and actor Florence Longpré’s “Empathy,” in which she plays a criminologist-turned-psychiatrist, was the first French-Canadian series to screen in Series Mania’s International Competition. It not only won the Audience Award but also was picked up by Canal+, where it was top performer.
With top-tier talent, topical themes, and a tradition of TV storytelling with wide general audience appeal, the Quebec slate is built for maximum impact.
The showcase lineup:
“Bon Cop, Bad Cop”
Canada’s 2006 domestic box-office topper its 2017 sequel, and the series adaptation originate in an idea by Quebec actor Patrick Huard, who stars in all three and has screenwriting, producing, and directing credits on the series.
“[The series] brings together the three cultures that shaped Canada, in a joyful and vibrant Tower of Babel,” Huard says. “There is nothing more universal than seeing human beings turn their differences into their strengths.”
The 6×60-minute series, produced by Montreal’s Jesse Films and PaNik Fiction in collaboration with Bell Media, reunites cop duo David Bouchard (Huard) and Martin Ward (Henry Czerny, taking over the role from the films’ Colm Feore) to solve the case of a missing band chief of an Indigenous community in the Gaspé Peninsula, with action unfolding across the country.
Young officers joining the investigation are David’s daughter Gabrielle (Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, who played the role in the two films) and Joe, a Mi’kmaq police officer played by rising star Joshua Odjick (“It: Welcome To Derry”). Attraction Distribution is handling international sales.
“Getting Under Your Skin,”
An 8×24-minute series produced by Montreal’s Zone3 (“Drifting,” “Still I Rise”), “Getting Under Your Skin” melds coming-of-age and undercover genres and is based on a true story that screenwriter Simon Boulerice (“Chouchou”) experienced at high school. “A new student came into my class, and I learned that he had infiltrated the school to find out who dealt drugs,” Boulerice says. “So, I thought, what if a young queer infiltrated the life of a police infiltrator?”
Anthony Therrien plays the young undercover police officer, and Félix-Antoine Bénard plays the queer, teenage crime-show fan who infiltrates his life. Éric Piccoli directs the series, which premieres in Quebec March 26. Sphere Abacus is handling international sales.
“Prescott”
‘Prescott’
“Border towns are front-page news right now,” says “Prescott” producer Nathalie Cécyre of the Montreal scripted and factual production house Pixcom. “[The series] explores how power operates in a place like this, where a prison, organized crime, and legitimate business coexist, and where family loyalties are often caught in the middle.”
Created and co-written by Anie Pascal and directed by Julian Hurteau, the 10 x 42-minute series—now in post and greenlit for a second season that will start filming this fall—stars Catherine Chabot as a motel owner who finds a body encased on her land, which is coveted by her cement-magnate father-in-law.
“’Prescott’ is about the lengths people will go to lie to themselves to protect their own,” adds Cécyre. Pixcom’s Nicola Merola, also a producer on the film, is handling international sales.
“Take Care”
“Take Care”(“Je te tiens”), produced by PassezGo (2024 inheritance thriller “In Memoriam”) in collaboration with Bell Media, is an 8 x 60-minute thriller created by Boulerice that watches Raphaëlle, a personal attendant to Mathias’s grandfather, become obsessed with Mathias’s girlfriend, a sexual assistant.
“[The series] taps into the guilty pleasure genre that global audiences crave, with the depth that prestige TV demands,” says Vicky Bounadère, who produced the film alongside Marie-Claude Blouin and Félix Tétreault, both also directors on the series.
“Built on a parallel between eldercare and sex work, ‘Take Care’ exposes the selfishness hidden inside every act of devotion,” adds Bounadère. “Think ’90s psychological thriller, reimagined for today.” Sphere Abacus is handling international sales.
“The Luminous Abyss”
‘The Luminous Abyss’
Known for popular unscripted series such as “Occupation Double,” Montreal’s Productions J steps into scripted series with creator and writer Anick Lemay’s “The Luminous Abyss.” The 10×60-minute series is based on a true story and is co-written with Marie-Ève Perron, also starring as Agathe, who loses her breasts, her partner and job after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
“”Many of us have been touched by cancer, whether personally or through someone we love,” says Lemay. “The series aims to demystify the illness and portray cancer in a way we rarely see on screen—not only through fear and darkness, but also through humanity, empathy, and the light that can exist around it.” Encore is handling international sales.
“Wild Horses”
Family saga “Wild Horses”– created by Mireille Mayrand-Fiset and Sylvie Bouchard, who also serve as writers alongside Marie-Ève Bourassa, Pierre-Louis Sanschagrin – tracks a lawless clash between two powerful families in a rural community.
The 26×44-minute series, now completed, is produced by Encore and Productions Déferlantes in collaboration with Quebecor Content.
“The country culture unfolds on several levels,’’ says Jaime Alberto Tobon, who serves as producer alongside Richard Haddad. “The writing sets up Western codes– duels, territorial wars, unsavory characters. The themes are also specific to country culture: family values, respect for traditions, the importance of rural life, and freedom, in particular.”
“Welcome to Kingston-Falls”
Encore, whose crime series “Dark Soul” is licensed in 100 countries, is also behind Aubert’s “Welcome to Kingston-Falls”(Bienvenue à Kingston-Falls), a 6×43-minute comedy-drama in which Inspector Gabriel Serpent (Maxime Le Flaguais) finds a dead body’s buttocks protruding from the ground with a bicycle wheel driven into them.
“‘Welcome to Kingston-Falls’ is a singular and offbeat police mini-series,” says producer Isabelle Thiffault of Encore. “It stands out for a skillful balance of humour, intrigue, humanity, and darkness. One thing is certain—it will not leave anyone indifferent.” The series premieres at the festival and airs on Radio-Canada in May.
The 2026 Coming Next from Quebec showcase is presented at the Series Mania Forum on Wednesday March 25.The event is organized by the Quebec government agency SODEC (Société de développement des entreprises culturelles) in collaboration with Bell Media, Radio-Canada, Quebecor Content, and TV5.
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