MIPCOM Preview: The End of TV as We Know It?

This year’s MIPCOM marks the end of an era and the beginning of an uncertain future, both for the 41-year-old TV market and for the industry it serves. The global conference has long been a barometer of the small-screen business. But the center of gravity has shifted. Streamers undercut MIPCOM’s currency, the traditional licensing model, years ago. Now the bigger disruption comes from YouTube. Marking its 20th anniversary, the Google-owned giant will take over MIPCOM this year with a keynote from YouTube EMEA vp Pedro Pina and a branded space in the Palais. The focus of the 2025 edition is the “creator economy,” a business model that flips the TV system on its head by outsourcing development and production to creators.

It’s a bold move, and one that risks making MIPCOM indistinguishable from Cannes Lions, the advertising-centric showcase held just down the Croisette each May. For MIPCOM to remain relevant, it will need to effectively integrate the business of influencers and branded storytelling with the still-significant traditional TV industry.

For those still hungry for small-screen fare, there is plenty on offer this year, from old-school procedurals to unscripted formats set to grab the attention of broadcasters.

Boston Blue

Pitch The Blue Bloods universe expands to Boston as Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) joins the BPD and partners with Detective Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green) while reconnecting with his rookie-cop son. The spinoff of this proven CBS procedural brand should land with free-to-air buyers worldwide.

Commissioning Broadcaster CBS (U.S.)

Sales Paramount Global Content Distribution

Heist Academy

Pitch Ten celebrities learn the dark arts of a “perfect bank job,” guided by three top comedians in this high-concept comedy competition show out of Norway. Think Ocean’s Eleven meets Survivor. The simple, trailer-ready concept, easily adaptable to local tastes and stars, make this caper one that networks and streamers alike will want in on.

Commissioning Broadcaster NRK (Norway)

Sales Fremantle

Kill Jackie

Pitch Catherine Zeta-Jones stars as Jackie Price, a cocaine dealer turned globe-trotting art maven who discovers that seven elite hitmen have been hired to kill her, but she decides to take them down first. Jackie is rolling out on Amazon in the U.K., Canada and select European territories but is up for grabs in the U.S. and most of the world.

Commissioning Broadcaster Prime Video (select territories)

Sales Fremantle (world excluding U.S.); Steel Springs (U.S.)

A Lovely Mess

Pitch When a middle-class couple hits financial rock bottom, they become cat burglars to keep up appearances — stumbling into bigger secrets and, unexpectedly, each other. A light-crime series with rom-com energy and sexy French flair, this has mainstream breakout written all over it.

Commissioning Broadcaster France Télévisions

Sales Beta Film

The Miniature Wife

Pitch Hunger Games alum Elizabeth Banks and Emmy-winning Succession star Matthew Macfadyen headline this high-concept marital dramedy, based on Manuel Gonzales’ short story about a tech accident that detonates a couple’s power dynamics and spirals into marriage mayhem. Sony Pictures Television will preview the Peacock series for global buyers, targeting upscale cable and local streamers.

Commissioning Broadcaster Peacock (U.S.)

Sales Sony Pictures Television (world excluding U.S.)

PONIES

Pitch Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke and The White Lotus alum Haley Lu Richardson play embassy secretaries working in Moscow in 1977 in this period spy series for Peacock. They are officially “Ponies” — “persons of no interest” — but become CIA operatives themselves after their husbands are mysteriously killed. It’s a premium thriller offering for pay TV and top-tier networks alike.

Commissioning Broadcaster Peacock (U.S.)

Sales NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution

The Walsh Sisters

Pitch This dark drama tracks five Irish siblings bound by history, love and a knack for self-destruction. Derry Girls alum Louisa Harland leads an ensemble cast in what should easily find a home at premium networks and upscale streamers.

Commissioning Broadcaster BBC (U.K.)/RTE (Ireland)

Sales Cineflix Rights (worldwide)

This story appeared in the Oct. 1 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.