Post-Peak Perspectives: Finding New Opportunities in the Series Landscape

Industry Insights – The EFM Podcast is presented by the European Film Market of the Berlinale. Hosted by Stewart Clarke it delves deep into the rapidly evolving film industry.

How has the TV industry evolved in the past year? How to attract and retain audiences? And where do we find new audiences in a seemingly saturated market? These questions and more are addressed by our experts Guy Bisson, Marina Williams, Richard O’Meara and Lars Hermann. Join us on this deep dive into the present landscape and macro trends of TV series.

Richard O’Meara graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in History in 2013, and also has a post-graduate diploma in Journalism. As Head of Drama and Insight, Richard oversees international television research consultancy K7 Media's scripted output. He has worked for close to a decade helping broadcasters, streamers, production companies and distributors build and refine their strategies.

Lars Hermann left DR in 2017 as deputy head of DR Drama with the head of drama, Piv Bernth to start Apple Tree Productions, with ITV Studios as a partner. The company has so far produced multi award winning tv series Blackwater for SVT and ARD, Equinox and Baby Fever for Netflix, One of the Boys for Viaplay and Chorus Girls for TV2 Denmark. Lars graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 1995 and produced a number of films including Danish Olsen Gang – Final Mission, Swedish Gullbagga winner Jan Troell’s As White as in Snow and British Vinnie Jones-starrer Johnny Was. Before joining DR, he also served as head of development at the Danish Film Institute, head of international co-productions for Nordisk Film, and CEO of regional fund FilmFyn, the Copenhagen Film Festivals, and Nordisk Film Post Post Production.

Prior to co-founding Asacha Media Group, Marina Williams was COO of International Operations at Endemol Shine Group (2015-2019), overseeing the company’s international growth across multiple territories . Before the merger with Shine Group, Williams led Endemol’s operations across Central and Eastern Europe and Middle East as regional CEO. (2008-2015). She was previously Executive Vice President and a member of the Management Board of Central European Media Enterprises (CME) managing leading FTA and Pay TV networks across six territories and establishing local production. Before joining CME, Williams played leading roles in launching and overseeing businesses in Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey for Fox International Channels, Fox Kids and Turner International Channels.

Guy Bisson has been a leading entertainment market analyst with a specialisation in the global television business for the past 30 years. He is a regular speaker and moderator at many of the world’s leading entertainment business conferences, a frequent media commentator in print and broadcast and author of numerous reports and research articles on the business and strategy of the global television industry. Guy is co-founder of Ampere Analysis a London-based analyst house focused on the entertainment and content business, which draws on title-level movie and TV analysis, consumer research and market forecasting to create a holistic outlook for the future of the industry. Guy previously led the television research practice at both Screen Digest and IHS.

The host Stewart Clarke is SVP, Content, International at Deadline, representing the brand at Festivals and industry events, and writing news and features for the website. He joined Deadline in late 2023 after a four-year stint as Creative Director at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the largest event of its kind in the UK. Prior to that, Stewart was a London-based International Correspondent for Variety, reporting from events around the world for the trade publication. He started his career in film and TV journalism at Informa, where he was rose to the position of Editorial Director, Television Business International.

The Berlinale’s European Film Market is the first international film market of the year, where the film industry starts its business. Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast puts a spotlight on highly topical and trendsetting industry issues, thereby creating a compass for the forthcoming film year. The year-round podcast is produced in cooperation with Goethe-Institut and co-funded by Creative Europe MEDIA.