In honor, Richard Gadd (“Half Man”) and Natasha Lyonne (“Poker Face,” “Russian Doll”) were among the big winners at this year’s Festival Italian Global Series, which concluded July 11. The two received the Breakthrough Storyteller Award and the Maximo Excellence Award, respectively, which they had collected in person earlier last week at awards ceremonies held at the ornate Teatro Galli in Rimini, Italy.

Announced Saturday as the Italian Global Series award winners for television programs, Marco Bellocchio’s “Portobello,” presented on HBO in Venice, took home three major awards, and Sally Wainwright a double for “Riot Women.”

However, the goal of the festival is to shed international light on series and creators that are not as well known. Here, Italy did its part with awards for “La legge di Lidia Poët” and “I casi di Teresa Battaglia – Figlia della cenere”.

The praise also shed more light on the Irish-British series “Leonard and Hungry Paul,” the French series “Laura’s Treatment,” and the Chilean soccer fandom series “Raza Brava.”

Other awards went to the Swedish “Burden of Justice” and the German series “The Flaws”, as well as “Secret Service”, for which British actor Rafe Spall won the award for best dramatic actor.

The festival’s opening ceremony also featured a host of trophies, led by “Lost” co-showrunner Carlton Cuse, who took home the festival’s Top Award for Excellence. The festival honored Cuse for “changing the television landscape” when “Lost” debuted and the “world stopped in front of the screen.”

Led by Anson Mount, Generations of “Star Trek” cast and creatives also received Maximo Celebration Awards.

‘Star Trek’ at 60 years old

All the gold aside, the celebration of the 60th anniversary of “Star Trek” marked one of the highlights of the Italian Global Series Festival, which culminated with a preview screening of the fourth season of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.”

There were also guests from across the creative history of “Star Trek,” including Nicholas Meyer, director of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” Meyer spoke to Variety about his writing process and how he, as a “Star Trek agnostic,” came about through the support of producer Harve Bennett. “I had seen ‘Star Trek’ on TV and I didn’t understand it at all,” Meyer said. “I missed everything interesting about the show, the idea that people of different races, genders and cultures could come together to do something good, that struck me.”

The cast also described the enduring qualities of the series and how it searched for the spirit of creator Gene Roddenberry. Part of this was due to its flexibility with genre, as exemplified by “Strange New Worlds,” and its own ability to shapeshift between a musical or something more akin to a Western at times.

“We wanted to get back to the big idea that week the planet of the week, the ship is the star, and at the same time use our platform to show that ‘Star Trek’ can be more, really test the form,” said Anson Mount, who plays the series’ protagonist, Captain Pike. “I think we’ve tried to embrace what the original series did, which is Mission of the Week, along with the serialized stories and character arcs,” added Rebecca Romijn, who plays Una Chin-Riley (aka Number One). “But there was a sexiness that the original series had, which I think we’ve also tried to embrace. The Enterprise is kind of a sexy, wonderful ship, you know!”

Celia Rose Gooding, who plays Nyota Uhura, another character from the original series, also noted that the strength of the new series lies in how it leaves room for internal exploration of these familiar characters.

“But there’s something I think is really interesting about the future of ‘Trek’ being a little more internal and the genesis of ‘Trek’ being a lot more exploratory on the outside. I think ‘Strange New Worlds’ has a really wonderful way of meeting us right in the middle, where we see how our characters’ internal worlds color their style of exploration.”

Film/TV Overlay

The changing nature of television was, of course, a frequent point of discussion throughout the week, especially in terms of its relationship and comparison to the medium of film.

One of the first highlights of the IGS festival was a conversation primarily about “Lost” between co-showrunner Carton Cuse and John Ridley (“12 Years a Slave,” “Shirley”). The two discussed the film influences on the visual language of “Lost” that helped it stand out at the time of its release. “It was a kind of cinema of the subconscious,” Cuse said, speaking of the work of director Frederico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni. “It was about moods, mystery, images and dreams, and it was ambiguous.” Cuse said he saw these works at a formative time and that “Lost” was a perfect opportunity to bring those influences to a television show. “‘Lost’ was a really mystery-driven series,” Cuse continued. Network television was very literal: you were always getting notes like ‘explain it more, make it clearer, turn the subtext into text,’ and it was deeply annoying.”

Another conversation about the nuances between the media followed immediately, with a conversation with actor Bertie Carvel, known for his recent portrayal of Baelor Targaryan in the “Game of Thrones” spin-off, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”

A television industry in crisis

The debate over the issue of blurring lines in the television industry was not entirely positive. A panel between David W. Zucker, creative director of Scott Free, and Steve Stark, president and executive producer of Toluca Pictures, discussed the industry’s existential problems.

The rise of streamers turned out to be an insistent approach. Zucker said streamers “fundamentally changed the way content was produced and the way content engaged with the viewer.” He went on to point out that television was often about people developing long-term relationships with characters. Now streaming services are “interested in giving you something that will make you pay again next month,” he explained, adding that this changes both the nature of how audiences watch TV and the very nature of the TV they will watch.

Stark noted that an overreliance on audience data is determining how television is chosen.

Increase in popularity of global series

One of the most popular panels took place on July 5 at the Rimini portion of the festival, led by on- and off-screen couple Özge Gürel (“Wolf,” “Mr. Wrong”) and Serkan Çayoğlu (“Wolf,” “Cherry Season”). It was a compelling example of the panel’s topic: the surprising success of the Turkish company. disciple, particularly with international audiences in Italy and beyond. Gürel and Çayoğlu talked about how they saw the excitement of each show as something that easily translated to new audiences, while talking about Türkiye’s film industries.

The Italian Global Series’ focus on internationality ties in with Zucker and Stark’s panel, with something both producers highlighted as one of the positive aspects of television’s modern status quo: a new immediacy to connecting with audiences around the world thanks to the international reach of streamers (and maybe just the Internet itself, on a simpler level). That interconnectivity, whether through online fan communities or through streamers themselves reaching out to producers and studios around the world, was felt as an ambient influence on the Italian Global Series 2026 festival as a whole.

A list of some of this year’s winners can be found below.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION DRAMA CATEGORY

Best Series

“The burden of justice”

best director

Lisa Linnertorp for “The Burden of Justice”

Best Leading Actress

Elena Sofia Ricci for “I almost di Teresa Battaglia – Figlia della cenere”

Best lead actor

Rafe Spall for “Secret Service”

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION – COMEDY

Best Series

“The defects”

Best Creator/Director

Sally Wainwright for “Women in Riot”

Best Leading Actress

Joanna Scanlan for “Women in Riot”

Best lead actor

Alex Lawther, “Leonard and Hungry Paul”

Special Jury Award

“Leonard and Hungry Paul”

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION – LIMITED SERIES

Best Series

“Laura’s treatment”

best director

Hernán Caffiero, “Raza Brava”

Best Leading Actress

Valérie Bonneton, “The Treatment of Laura”

Best lead actor

Gabriel Muñoz, “Raza Brava”

Maximin Prize

“Brave Breed”

ITALIAN FICTION EDIT COMPETITION

Best drama series

“Guerrieri – The rule of balance”

Best comedy series

“Pesci piccoli” – Season 2

Best miniseries

“Portobello”

Best TV Movie

“Franco Battiato. The long journey”

BEST DIRECTOR

Best direction, drama

Giuseppe Mezzapesa, Jacopo Bonvicini, Letizia Lamartire (“La Legge di Lidia Poët” – Season 3)

Best direction, comedy

Francesco Ebbasta, Alessandro Grespan, Danilo Carlani, Alessio Dogana (“Pesci piccoli” – Season 2)

Best Director, Miniseries

Marco Bellocchio (“Portobello”)

Best Director, Television Movie

Stefano Lodovichi (“The Fake”)

BEST ACTRESS AND BEST ACTOR

Best drama actress

Marina Occhionero (“Avvocato Ligas”)

Best comedy actress

Sara Drago (“Call My Agent – ​​Italy” – Season 3)

Best Actress in a Miniseries

Carolina Crescentini (“Mrs. Playmen”)

Best Actress in a Television Movie

Giulia Michelini (“The Fake”)

Best actor in a drama

Lino Guanciale (“Il commissario Ricciardi” – Season 3)

Best comedy actor

Francesco Russo (“Call My Agent – ​​Italy” – Season 3)

Best actor in a miniseries

Valentino Mannias (“The Show”)

Best actor in a television movie

Darío Aita (“Franco Battiato. Ilungo viaggio”)

BEST SCRIPT

Best dramatic script

Gianrico Carofiglio, Doriana Leondeff, Antonio Leotti, Oliviero Del Papa (“Guerrieri – La regola dell’equilibrio”)

Best comedy script

Francesco Apolloni, Giovanni Cardillo, Giovanni Tancredi Brusaporci, Giulio Manfredonia, Valentina Capecci (“L’appartamento – Sold Out”)

Best miniseries script

Jordana Mari, Giuseppe Fiore, Marco Bellocchio, Stefano Bises (“Portobello”)

Best TV Movie Screenplay

Sandro Petraglia, in collaboration with Lorenzo Bagnatori and Eleonora Bordi (“Zvanì – The Family Tale of Giovanni Pascoli”)