How Much Development Is Enough? Time, Money and Creative Risk in European Drama
In an increasingly competitive drama landscape, development is expected to achieve more than ever before. It must transform promising ideas into compelling series, help writers find distinctive voices, build projects capable of travelling internationally, and reduce creative and financial risks before production begins. At the same time, producers, broadcasters, and public funds face growing pressure to shorten development cycles, control costs, and bring projects to market more quickly. How is the development process evolving in response to these competing demands? How much time does great writing really require? Can projects become overdeveloped, or are they more often rushed into production before they are ready? As international co-productions increasingly shape the financing of premium drama, how do creative partnerships influence the development process itself? Do they strengthen projects by bringing broader perspectives and editorial expertise, or do they encourage creative compromise in pursuit of wider market appeal? Bringing together perspectives from editorial development, writing, production, and international curation, this discussion explores development as the creative engine of premium drama. At a moment when speed, efficiency, and commercial expectations increasingly shape decision-making, the panel asks whether Europe can continue to produce bold, distinctive, and internationally successful series without losing the time and creative ambition on which they are built.
SPEAKERS
Marina Williams
Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Asacha Media Group (Fremantle) (UK)
Frederic Lavigne
Artistic Director, Series Mania Festival (FR)
Ava Jodar Payet Creative Executive, ARTE France (FR)
Marc Lorbe
Executive Producer, The Art of Coproduction (UK)
Alex Traila
Programme Manager Series Co-Productions, Council of Europe (FR)
MODERATED BY
TIME
August 19th, 2026
11:00 – 12:00 (CET)
LOCATION
Festival Garden
Marina Williams
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 the 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 free-to-air 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.
Frédéric Lavigne
A scientist by training, Frédéric Lavigne was in charge of the selection of the films at the Angers Premiers Plans Festival from 2000 to 2004. He then became Audiovisual Attaché at the French Embassy in London in charge of promoting French cinema in the UK. In 2006, he joined the Forum des Images in Paris as Director of Educational Action, before launching and programming the Séries Mania festival in 2010. In 2013, this public event dedicated entirely to television series from around the world added an Official Competition and a Professional Forum. In 2018, Lavigne became full-time Artistic Director of Series Mania, which moved to Lille and grew to 108,000 spectators and 5,000 accredited industry guests by 2026.
Ava Jodar Payet
Ava Jodar Payet has been working at ARTE France's Fiction Unit in Paris since 2021, first as editorial project manager and, since June 2023, as creative executive. She accompanies series projects from development to production, and represents ARTE at festivals and writers' residencies (Séries Mania, Groupe Ouest, Serial Eyes). Prior to ARTE Fiction, she handled international SVOD acquisitions at Canal+'s Studio+ (2017-2018) and worked in ARTE's digital editorial team (2018-2020). Recent series she has been involved in include MACHINE (ARTE, Prime Video, 2024) and ELDORADO (ARTE, airing 2026).
Marc Lorber
Residing in London as a dual citizen, Marc Lorber works with diverse media enterprises on a mandate to build upon their content creation/development and/or physical productions, acquisitions, and/or co-production opportunities. Lorber has significant experience in international multi-genre creative content and programming executives; has been nominated for an Emmy and International Emmy as an executive producer. He is highly skilled in conception, acquisition, development, strategic partnerships, co-productions, direct physical production, and financial oversight and works on both scripted and unscripted projects and multiple formats in the Unites States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechia, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, Morocco, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and the Philippines, and across the EMEA, MENA and CEE regions, which are among the more than twenty non-English-speaking countries he has worked and/or lived in to date.
Alex Traila
Alex Traila holds a PhD in European audiovisual policy and is a European audiovisual policy expert with over fifteen years of experience in the film industry and in governmental affairs. His work is driven by a particular interest in audiovisual works that generate meaningful cultural impact and that contribute to cultural diversity and cross-border dialogue. He is currently Programme Manager for the Pilot Programme for Series Co-Productions at the Council of Europe, where he is actively involved in developing and implementing measures to strengthen the co-production practices of international series.