– This year’s event has celebrated a diverse range of storytelling, with Guts and I Always Sometimes also featuring among the main victors
Alice and Steve, directed by Tom Kingsley and written by Sophie Goodhart
The ninth edition of Canneseries, which ran from 23-28 April, has announced its winners. The jury, presided over by Catalonian writer-director and producer Isabel Coixet, included French actor, director and screenwriter Simon Astier; British composer Ruth Barrett; French actor Vincent Elbaz; director, producer and choreographer Lesli Linka Glatter; and actor Mamadou Sidibé. They awarded the top prize to the UK series Alice and Steve, a sharp and confrontational comedy exploring friendship, family and obsession.
Directed by Tom Kingsley and written by Sophie Goodhart (Sex Education), the first season of the 6×30-minute series follows Alice, whose life unravels when her best friend, Steve, begins a relationship with her daughter. What starts as a personal betrayal quickly escalates into a fierce and darkly comic battle, as Alice attempts to sabotage the relationship by any means necessary. The series stars Nicola Walker and Jemaine Clement, and also features Yali Topol Margalith and Joel Fry. Produced by Clerkenwell Films and broadcast on Disney+, the series also received the High School Award and a Special Performance Award for its ensemble cast.
The Finnish-Slovenian psychological thriller Guts also stood out, earning rising Finnish star Roosa Söderholm the Best Performance Award. Created by Jemina Jokisalo, the series centres on a competitive women’s national ski team and explores the psychological and physical toll of ambition at the highest level. Jokisalo previously made an impression at Canneseries with her short series Money Shot.
Meanwhile, the Best Screenplay Award was presented to Marta Bassols, Marta Loza and Almudena Monzú for the Spanish drama I Always Sometimes, a character-driven drama that examines motherhood, instability and emotional resilience through the story of a young woman raising her child under precarious circumstances. In the music category, Swedish composer Jonas Wikstrand was recognised for the score of the coming-of-age thriller series Summer of 1985, which is directed by Björn Stein (see the news).
Finally, in the documentary series competition, the Belgian show The Deal with Iran, created by Lennart and Maarten Stuyck, took home the top prize. The series delves into geopolitical tensions and covert operations triggered by a bomb plot near Paris, unfolding into a complex narrative of diplomacy and espionage.
The tenth season of the event will shift its schedule and is set to unspool from 11-16 February 2027.
Here is the full list of award winners at season 9 of Canneseries:
Best Series
Alice and Steve – created by Sophie Goodhart (UK)
Best Performance
Roosa Söderholm – Guts (Finland/Slovenia)
Special Performance Award
Entire cast of Alice and Steve
Best Screenplay
Marta Bassols, Marta Loza, Almudena Monzú – I Always Sometimes (Spain)
Best Music
Jonas Wikstrand – Summer of 1985 (Sweden)
Best Short Form Series
Boho – created by Abbie Boutkabout (Belgium)
Best Documentary Series
The Deal with Iran – created by Lennart Stuyck, Maarten Stuyck (Belgium)
High School Award for Best Series
Alice and Steve – created by Sophie Goodhart
Student Award for Best Short-form Series
Sheep – created by Alex Reinberg, Leni Gruber (Austria/Germany)
