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Justin Hartleyis teasing what fans can expect from his “Tracker” character, Colter Shaw, in Season 3 of his hit CBS series.

“I know we’ll get to the nitty-gritty of why my mother hired this guy,” he toldVarietyWednesday at the premiere ofhis new movie “Bride Hard”in Los Angeles. “Was she protecting her kids? Was an affair happening? Was the government involved? Was it strictly just my mother? Why did she hide that from us for so long? Why did she lead me to believe that it was my brother who was involved when he wasn’t? It seems like this divide-and-conquer thing that she’s doing. It was just an odd thing to do with your children. There’s some deep psychosis there. We’ll unpack that.”Related Stories'Doctor Who' Showrunner Says 'We Don't Know What's Happening Yet' Amid Uncertain Future, but Insists Series 'Will Never End'BBC Confirms Appointment of Kate Phillips as New Content Chief

Hartley said he admires the mysterious element of Colter.Popular on Variety

“One of the things I love about our show is it seems like every time we answer a question, there are five more questions,” he said. “It’s almost like he’s getting deeper and deeper. I really enjoy that about our show.”

The new season of“Tracker”is set to start shooting in July.

In “Bride Hard,” Hartley stars opposite Rebel Wilson — they previously worked alongside each other in 2022’s “Senior Year” — as the groom’s best man (Chris) who assists a group of mercenaries that crash the wedding. Wilson plays a secret agent (Sam) whose cover is blown when she has to take on the mercenaries. Rounding out the cast are Anna Camp, Anna Chlumsky, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Gigi Zumbado and Stephen Dorff.

For Hartley, portraying one of the bad guys who sets out to help the mercenaries is what interested him about the role. “I thought it was so interesting because he’s such a worm and a buffoon,” he said. “To play something that I’ve never intentionally done before was fun for me.”

Hartley praised Wilson for her stunt work throughout the film, particularly for the fight scene the two co-stars shared in the movie. “You don’t get a lot of time to rehearse that,” he said. “She did a lot of that choreography. She did all of the hard work. I was trying to get out of the way or not quite get out of the way. She did a good job of not cracking me, but she never did.”

For the other cast members, watching Wilson play an action hero was also a highlight for them.

“I love it,”Sherry Cola, who played Wilson’s handler, said. “Women can do it all. We can save the day. We can prove people wrong and break stereotypes. With Rebel, she’s built such an exceptional career. I’m so excited for people to see her in this way.”

The film’s director, Simon West, also complimented Wilson’s fight and stunt performances: “She threw herself into it. She’s a tough girl, and she wanted to do the action as much as she could herself. But she has her own style. It’s kind of John Wick on steroids. She is not a quiet fighter. She’s a crazy fighter, and she seemed to love it.”

SPOILER ALERT:This story contains spoilers for “Elio,” now playing in theaters.

DisneyPixar’s latest animated feature, “Elio” centers on a young orphan boy who is desperate to be abducted by aliens.

The premise of the film igave the creatives a perfect opportunity to pay homage to great sci-fi classics, including “Alien” and John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” But the one film directorsDomee Shi(“Turning Red”) and Madeline Sharafian (“Burrow”) referenced a lot was “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Shi explains, “We reference that movie a lot because it’s also about a guy who’s in love with space.” She adds, “We loved how that film gave the aliens a big drum roll and with the tone, you didn’t quite know were they friendly? What are their intentions? And we liked that aura of mystery for the Communiverse.”Related StoriesPrabhas' 'The Raja Saab' Locks Release Date – Global BulletinBBC Blasts David Walliams for Making Nazi Salutes During Comedy Show Recording

Disney Pixar’s 28th feature was also co-written and directed by Adrian Molina (“Coco”) with Shi and Sharafian stepping in to take over directing. The two spoke withVarietyfrom Annecy, where the film screened for audiences, about Easter eggs and how its theme of loneliness resonates in today’s world.Popular on Variety

Madeline Sharafian:What helped us a lot was that, as Adrian was making “Elio” and his original pass, he screened it many times as we do at Pixar. Over the years, we have watched the story grow, and we were familiar with the characters and with the world, which I think made it a lot easier for us to jump in. We were aligned with his taste. I’d worked with him on “Coco” and Domee worked with him on “Turning Red.” Once we had the film in our hands, we were given a lot of freedom, and we were allowed to make big shifts. One of the things we did was we changed Elio’s drive. We added the idea that he wants to be abducted by aliens, which was a really fun thing to play with, and that made him this weird, compelling character. Like, why do you want to be abducted?

Domee Shi:We were inspired by our past and our childhoods. Being these lone, nerdy kids in our hometown who like drawing every single day, hoping and praying that we could go to animation school one day and find our people. That was the inspiration for the character of Elio. We always loved Adrian’s concept of the world’s weirdest kid being mistaken for the leader of Earth and getting abducted. But in giving him this kooky drive at the beginning of the movie, it endeared us to him because we were fellow nerds who eventually found our people, not in space, but at Pixar.

Sharafian:Olga, voiced by Zoe Saldaña, is an amazing character because she is representative of Earth for Elio. She’s part of the reason why he’s writing Earth off entirely, because he doesn’t realize at the beginning of the film that she’s just as lonely as he is. She’s right there next to him, but we always talked about how he’s too busy looking at the stars, and he never looks at her. We told the animators to focus on that and the scenes that they have together. He never directs his attention at her until the end of the film, when he finally returns to Earth. We made that scene where they reunite, all about seeing each other and their similarities.

Shi:It was always the core relationship of the story: Olga and Elio. That was another shift in the story that we brought on when we joined. Writer Julia Cho (“Turning Red”) pitched to us the idea of turning Olga from Elio’s mom to Elio’s aunt. It’s a family dynamic that isn’t as commonly seen in a lot of movies. But there are all kinds of families in real life, and it clicked for us. It made Elio feel like his life on earth was more unstable. It made Olga feel unprepared, put her under pressure, and more prone to making mistakes. It gave them more conflict. Also, it was another way that we were able to relate personally to the character of Olga, too, of this career woman overwhelmed with a sudden and unexpected present that lands on their lap.

Shi:We talked to a lot of child psychologists for this film. We even consulted with the U.S Surgeon General at the time, Dr. Vivek Murthy, who talked about the epidemic of loneliness in our current day society, and how a lot of people are finding it harder to connect with others and to make friends. One of the things we discovered with the experts this idea that one of the steps to curing loneliness is to admit that you are lonely and that you need help. But a lot of people don’t do that, because it’s also a feeling that brings about a lot of guilt and shame. The first thing that Elio does, when he really does cement his bond with Glordon in the movie, is that he lets his walls down and reveals that deep, vulnerable part of himself that he’s been burying inside. When he admits to Glordon, “I’m afraid that there’s something wrong with me, that it’s not earth.” That’s a really big step for him. He’s never admitted that to anybody.

Shi:Both of us are huge fans of horror, and it was fun to pitch ways that we could include it in the movie.

Sharafian: The musicality and the way the Communiverse first contacts Elio is totally an homage to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” We reference that movie a lot because it’s also about a guy who’s in love with space. But we loved how that film gave the aliens a big drum roll, and with the tone. You didn’t quite know, are they friendly? What are their intentions? And we liked that aura of mystery for the Communiverse before we reveal it.

Shi:John Carpenter’s “The Thing” with the clone. And definitely “Alien” (in an exchange between Elio and Glordon).

Sharafian: We were inspired by “Contact” as a movie that uses space as healing for the main character.

Shi: All the classic Pixar Easter eggs are in there, too. We got the Pizza Planet Truck, the Luxo Ball. We even have an Easter egg that hints at our next movie, “Hopper.” It’s hidden in plain sight, and there’s an Easter egg for Maddie’s short film “Burrow” (on the sunscreen bottle).

Shi: In our post-COVID, current world of craziness, I feel like a lot of people are probably feeling how Elio is feeling. They’re struggling with a lot of their issues, silently. But when they watch “Elio,” our hope is that they feel inspired to share their struggle and make a connection with someone.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

“Borat” directorLarry Charleshas lost touch with his once-frequent collaborator,Sacha Baron Cohen.

In a recent interview with theDaily Beast, Charles said he once considered Cohen a “comic genius,” comparing him to the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Peter Sellers. However, when they began production on their 2012 film “The Dictator,” their relationship deteriorated as Cohen started “pulling away” from the subversive character humor that made him famous. Charles suspected it was because “he wanted to be more of a traditional movie star.”Related StoriesPan-European Media Group Cordoba Launches With Ex-BBC Chief Tony Hall, Apple Siri Co-Creator Luc Julia as Senior Advisors (EXCLUSIVE)ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus Reveals He’s Writing a New Musical With AI: ‘It’s Fantastic’ and ‘Such a Great Tool’

“He was surrounding himself with more traditional show business people and getting advice from them, which I don’t think was good advice for the kind of rebel sensibility that Sacha had had up until that time,” Charles explained. “And so, for a variety of reasons, it started to kind of fragment and fracture and fall apart. And the movie’s not bad. It’s good. It’s funny. There’s actually a lot of funny stuff in it, but it just didn’t reach the potential that it had.”Popular on Variety

According to Charles, “The Dictator” was a “very problematic project from the beginning.” At first, he imagined the film as a “classic political satire” more akin to “Dr. Strangelove” than “Borat” or “Brüno.” However, the movie fell apart because of too much “input from outside people” as well as a lack of “focus” from Cohen.

“I would try to get [Cohen] to trust himself, trust his instincts, which I’ve learned is the only thing you have,” Charles said. “And instead, he was trusting so many different people with so many different contradictory thoughts that it started to just unravel and issues arose that should never have been issues.”

Jack Betts, an actor who appeared in Sam Raimi’s 2002 “Spider-Man,” “Sugar Colt” and several spaghetti Western films, died on June 19. He was 96.

Betts’ nephew, Dean Sullivan, reported that the actor died in his sleep at home in Los Osos, Calif.

The actor was close friends with “Everybody Loves Raymond” star Doris Roberts, and the pair often attended events together in Hollywood from the late 1980s until her death in 2016.Related Stories'Doctor Who' Showrunner Says 'We Don't Know What's Happening Yet' Amid Uncertain Future, but Insists Series 'Will Never End'Rekha, Muzaffar Ali's Indian Classic 'Umrao Jaan' Returns in 4K Restoration – Global Bulletin

Betts was born and raised in Jersey City, N.J. When he was 10 years old, he and his family moved to Miami. After graduating from Miami Senior High School, he pursued a degree in theater at the University of Miami. He then moved to New York to begin his acting career with his first supporting role on Broadway in the 1953 adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Richard III.”Popular on Variety

He further developed his acting skills as a member of The Actors Studio, an organization for performers, theatre directors and playwrights to refine their skills. By 1959, he made his film debut in the Canadian thriller “The Bloody Brood,” where he played an ordinary man investigating the murder of his younger brother.

As Betts’ film career started to kick off, he also began making multiple TV appearances. From 1960 to 1962, he portrayed Chris Devlin in the CBS mystery series “Checkmate.” He played Dr. Ken Martin in “General Hospital” from 1963 to 1965. His acting portfolio included several soap opera appearances in “The Edge of Night,” “The Doctors,” “Another World,” “All My Children,” “Search for Tomorrow,” “Guiding Light,” “Loving,” “One Life to Live” and “Generations.”

Although Betts’ film and TV career was growing, he returned to Broadway in a 1959 production of Tennessee Williams’ “Sweet Bird of Youth.” He also starred in “Dracula” on Broadway from 1977 to 1980, where he portrayed Dr. Seward.

Betts made his spaghetti Western debut in the 1966 Franco Giraldi film “Sugar Colt,” where he was credited as Hunt Powers. In the movie, he portrayed a government special agent named Dr. Tom Copper. From there, he led a series of spaghetti Western films through 1973. Other films he starred in include “Gods and Monsters” (1998), “The Assassination of Trotsky” (1972), “Falling Down” (1993), “Batman Forever” (1995), “Batman & Robin” (1997), “8MM” (1999) and “Office Space” (1999).

In Sam Raimi’s film adaptation of  “Spider-Man,” Betts played Henry Balkan, the Oscorp board chair who fired Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe). Osborn soon turned into the Green Goblin and eliminated Balkan and his fellow board members during an attack at Times Square.

His other TV credits include “Gunsmoke,” “The F.B.I.,” “It Takes a Thief,” “Kojak,” “Remington Steele,” “Frasier,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Friends,” “My Name Is Earl,” “The Mentalist” and “Monk.” Betts was also the author of “Screen Test: Take One,” a play about a soap opera.

In addition to his nephew, he is survived by his nieces, Lynee and Gail, and his sister, Joan.

Patrick Walden, the guitarist for British groupBabyshambles, has died at the age of 46.

Babyshambles, fronted by Pete Doherty, announced Walden’s death on social media in a joint statement. “It is with deep regret and sadness that we share the news of Patrick Walden’s death,” reads the post. “We feel very fortunate to have known/loved and worked with him and we kindly ask for respect and privacy during these difficult times.” No cause of death was given.Related StoriesPan-European Media Group Cordoba Launches With Ex-BBC Chief Tony Hall, Apple Siri Co-Creator Luc Julia as Senior Advisors (EXCLUSIVE)Sony Music India Teams With the Hello Group for Artist Management Venture – Global Bulletin

Walden, a London native, had a short-lived stint with Babyshambles, which Doherty formed in 2004 after he was kicked out of the Libertines for drug abuse. He joined the group as lead guitarist alongside Doherty on vocals, Drew McConnell on bass and Gemma Clarke on drums, and co-wrote six songs on the band’s 2005 debut “Down in Albion” including “Fuck Forever,” “Pipedown” and “Loyalty Song.”Popular on Variety

“Down in Albion” was a moderate success in the U.K., peaking at No. 10 on the charts. “Fuck Forever” became the group’s biggest single, reaching No. 4 on the U.K. singles chart.

Walden, who had previously played in bands including Fluid and White Sport, left the group in 2005 after dealing with drug abuse and accusations of assaulting his girlfriend, which led to a brief incarceration. The charges were inevitably dropped.

Over the years, he would pop in for performances with Babyshambles, though he never officially rejoined the band. He was not present for a Babyshambles reunion that took place last year, and it was unclear if he would be joining the group for future performances.

A post shared by Babyshambles (@babyshamblesuk)

TheNickelodeonKids’ Choice Awards return Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, with Tyla set to host the ceremony at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

Viewers can tune into the show on Nickelodeon, as well as on Nicktoons, the Nick Jr. channel, TeenNick, MTV2 and CMT. The show can also be streamed onHulu + Live TV,Philo,DirecTVandSling TV.

The ceremony will include the famous slimings, performances (such as KATSEYE’s “Gnarly”) and skateboarding stunts. Awards will be given for achievements in film, music, sports and more. Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande are the most-nominated stars, earning four nominations each. Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black and Jelly Roll each received three nods. Several of the year’s biggest stars received their first KCA nominations, including Cynthia Erivo, Doechii, Shohei Ohtani, Gracie Abrams, Chappell Roan and Florence Pugh.Popular on VarietyRelated StoriesSony Music India Teams With the Hello Group for Artist Management Venture – Global BulletinRekha, Muzaffar Ali's Indian Classic 'Umrao Jaan' Returns in 4K Restoration – Global Bulletin

Other nominees include: Bad Bunny and Bruno Mars for favorite male artist, Addison Rae for favorite female breakout artist, Benson Boone for favorite male breakout artist, Tyla for favorite global music star, Coco Gauff and Simone Biles for favorite female sports star, “The Masked Singer” for favorite reality TV show, “Monster high” for favorite cartoon and “Paddington in Peru” for favorite movie. Fans can vote online for the awards.

Jack Black, a former Kids’ Choice Awards host and previous winner, will receive theKing of Comedy Awardduring the ceremony. Adam Sandler was the first to win the award in 2023.

Nickelodeon Productions is the producer for the Kids’ Choice Awards.

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.

There’s a big bare-knuckle event in “The Lone Star State!” American Tony Soto (6-1-0) goes head-to-head against British fighter Ben Bonner (3-1-0) in a lightweightboxingbout on Saturday, June 21.

BKFC 76 Texas: Soto vs. Bonnertakes place at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas with a start time of 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The bare-knuckle boxing event isavailable to watch for free for DAZN subscribers only.Related Stories'Doctor Who' Showrunner Says 'We Don't Know What's Happening Yet' Amid Uncertain Future, but Insists Series 'Will Never End'BBC Blasts David Walliams for Making Nazi Salutes During Comedy Show Recording

Not aDAZN subscriber? Right now, youcan get DAZN’s annual subscription planstarting at $19.99/month for 12 months. However, if you’d like to go monthly instead,DAZN offers a 7-day free trialwith a monthly payment of $29.99/month after the trial is over.

The last plan goes for $224.99/year (pay upfront). You can cancel the service, if you’re not into it, with a 30 day notice. As aDAZN subscriber, you’ll also have access to more than 100 live fights all year long, as well as fight replays, highlights and documentaries.

Fan of worldsports?DAZN is the home to global sports, including FIFA,BKFC, National League, UEFA Women’s Championship League, ERC and WRC racing, Riyadh Season boxing, NFL Game Pass International and other American and international sports leagues.Learn more about DAZN and its programming here.

On Saturday, June 21,BKFC 76 Texas: Tony Soto vs. Ben Bonneris available tostream on DAZNwith a start time of 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Will ForteadmitsWill Ferrellis a tough act to follow.

While chatting with fellow “Saturday Night Live” alum Amy Poehler on her “Good Hang” podcast, Forte, who joined the show in 2002 after Ferrell’s final season, discussed the burden of playing George W. Bush on “SNL.”

“It was a huge cast,” Forte said. “It was, like, 17 people, you’re trying to get you’re stuff on, you’re trying to get noticed. And then I got, somehow, the George Bush role.”Related StoriesBBC Blasts David Walliams for Making Nazi Salutes During Comedy Show Recording'Doctor Who' Showrunner Says 'We Don't Know What's Happening Yet' Amid Uncertain Future, but Insists Series 'Will Never End'

Although it was a great opportunity to prove himself, Forte explained that impressions were not his strong suit, and that his placement in the role of Bush was “a match not made in heaven.” On top of that, Ferrell’s take on Bush is one of the most iconic impersonations in “SNL” history, setting Forte’s bar impossibly high.Popular on Variety

“Will Ferrell was George Bush! He was George W. Bush. He was so good at it. Anybody replacing…it’s like trying to replace the Church Lady,” he said in reference to Dana Carvey’s immortal “SNL” character. “Trying to have somebody else do that…he made it such his own thing. They should have just retired it.”

“But of course, you can’t retire the sitting president on ‘SNL,'” Forte added. He went on to say that he felt his take on the 43rd president was ultimately a “letdown.”

Forte was on “SNL” for eight seasons, leaving the show in 2010. Most recently, Forte has appeared in shows such as “The Four Seasons,” “The Great North,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Sweet Tooth” and “Clone High.”

Lynn Hamilton, a retired actress who had a recurring role as Donna Harris in “Sanford and Son,” died on June 19. She was 95.

Hamilton died in her home in Chicago of natural causes, according to aFacebookpost from her former manager and publicist, Rev. Calvin Carson.

“Her illustrious career, spanning over five decades, has left an indelible mark on the world of entertainment, motivating audiences across the globe through her work as a model, stage, film and television actress,” he wrote.Related StoriesABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus Reveals He’s Writing a New Musical With AI: ‘It’s Fantastic’ and ‘Such a Great Tool’Rekha, Muzaffar Ali's Indian Classic 'Umrao Jaan' Returns in 4K Restoration – Global Bulletin

In addition to “Sanford and Son,” the actress held a recurring role on “The Waltons” as Verdie Grant Foster. She also made several TV appearances in sitcoms, soap operas and miniseries including, “Roots: The Next Generations” (1979), “The Golden Girls” (1985), “227” (1985), “Generations” (1989),  “Dangerous Women” (1991) and “Port Charles” (1997).Popular on Variety

Born in Yazoo City, Miss., Hamilton moved with her parents to Chicago Heights, Ill., at 12 years old. She attended Bloom High School but gained acting experience at Goodman Theatre, beginning her career in Chicago’s community theater scene. Once she moved to New York in 1956, she made her Broadway debut with the 1959 play “Only in America.” She continued to act on stage, appearing in the following plays: “The Cool World,” “Face of a Hero” and “Tambourines to Glory.”

She also spent three years with the New York Shakespeare Festival and was a member of President Kennedy’s cultural exchange program, where she toured and performed in “The Miracle Worker” and “The Skin of Our Teeth.” In 1966, she joined the Seattle Repertory Theatre.

Once she took her talents on-screen, the first project Hamilton appeared in was John Cassavetes’ 1958 drama “Shadows,” where she held a background role during a party scene.

She then went on to appear in NBC’s “Sanford and Son” in the seventh episode of the series as a landlady before being cast in a recurring role as Fred Sanford’s girlfriend and fiancée on the TV sitcom. Her character, Donna, was a nurse who frequently cared for Fred (played by Redd Foxx). She worked on the sitcom from 1972 to 1977.

While on “Sanford and Son,” Hamilton made her debut as Verdie on the drama series “The Waltons.” Her recurring role lasted from 1973 to 1981. In between working on both shows, she also appeared in the 1974 films “Hangup” and “Leadbelly” (1976). Her other film credits include “The Jesse Owens Story” (1984), “Legal Eagles” (1986), “The Vanishing” (1993) and “Beah: A Black Woman Speaks” (2003).

Hamilton was married to poet and playwright Frank Jenkins from 1964 until he died in 2014.

Mahdi Fleifel’s “To a Land Unknown” won the Transilvania Trophy at theTransilvania Film Festival, Romania’s most prominent film fest. Noaz Deshe took the best directing award for “Xoftex,” while the Special Jury Award went to Julian Castronovo’s “Debut, or, Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued.” Other award winners at the 2025 edition, which wraps this Sunday, June 22, include Bogdan Mureșanu’s “The New Year That Never Came,” Daniel Tornero’s “Saturn,” and Arjun Talwar’s “Letters From Wolf Street.”Related StoriesBBC Blasts David Walliams for Making Nazi Salutes During Comedy Show RecordingPrabhas' 'The Raja Saab' Locks Release Date – Global Bulletin

This year’s festival, which saw over 200 features across the ten-day event, opened with Brendan Canty’s Berlinale entry “Christy” and wraps Sunday with a buzzy Cannes title in Oliver Laxe’s award-winning “Sirât.” 16 national features played within Romanian Days, from veterans such as Andrei Ujică (“TWST – Things We Said Today”) and Radu Jude (“Kontinental ‘25” and “Sleep #2”) to up-and-coming talent such as Mihai Dragolea and Radu Mocanu (“Tooth and Nail”) and Lina Vdovii and Radu Ciorniciuc (“Tata”). Conversations around the future of the country’s film industry took a timely turn when a new prime minister was announced during the festival, leading local filmmakers to wonder about pressing issues such as the continuity of Romania’s recently revamped cash rebate.Popular on Variety

Those who attended the two intense days of pitching across several initiatives at the festival’s industry arm, the RO Days, could gather not only the general temperature of the region’s audiovisual industry but also key trends within film and television. Within these trends, nothing became clearer during the pitches than the gender divide between the two formats: while the vast majority of directors at the Transilvania Pitch Stop were women, all directors pitching at Drama Room, the television arm, were men, with the issues broached at both programmes reflecting that divide.

An overarching theme within the film projects at Pitch Stop was generational trauma in Romania and neighboring countries, especially experienced by women who have witnessed male violence for decades. Projects like Romania’s “At King’s Gate” and Hungary’s “Magda” follow women returning to their villages and being confronted with violence from both family and villagers, and modern-time offerings such as Romania’s “Horseshoe” and Turkey’s “Desire” and “Piatramare” chronicle contemporary issues faced by women, which include not only violence itself, but sexism, reproductive questions, and a search for independence.

Going from Pitch Stop to Drama Room meant a brusque shift, with all four projects grappling with questions either directly tied to or adjacent to modern masculinity. Elias Ferchin Musuret’s “Brothers” sets out to explore the undercurrent of sex-related human trafficking; Bogdan Drumea’s “The Accountant” and Viorel Ursu’s “The Fragrance of the Linden Trees” both grapple with widespread fraud schemes in post-communist Romania in the ’90s; and Alex Pintică and Alberto Niculae’s “ReGYM” tries to find the great Romanian sitcom by examining the modern young man through several stereotypes in a gym.

Romania’s desire to step firmly into the series market was a constant theme throughout the industry days, with several talks dedicated to the subject. A team from Romanian free-to-air television network PRO TV presented an interesting breakdown of the country’s TV consuming habits, as well as highlighting the kinds of projects they are currently looking for, all to an eager room of young writers, directors, and producers more and more inclined to go into serialized content. As it stands, major local players such as PRO TV and its streaming arm VOYO, are looking for “series based on popular IP or real-life local events and personalities,” with the key element being local appeal.

Programming Director Antonii Mangov emphasized they are “not walking away from formats entirely, but want to focus on more local, original Romanian ideas,” especially those tapping into their most popular genres: crime, action, drama, comedy. PRO TV is also honing in on procedurals, biographies and medical dramas, tapping into a more Americanized thematic landscape. To experts, what doesn’t yet work on Romanian TV is genre, especially horror, sci-fi and dystopia, since the programming largely responds to the needs and constraints of primetime television.

With Romania being the country in Europe with the most hours spent in front of the television, a medium of 7 hours per day of linear TV consumption according to research presented by the PRO TV team, there is great growth potential in the region. Over the last decade, film directors have begun crossing the threshold into TV, with names like Igor Cobileanski briefly taking a step back from cinema to direct series such as HBO’s “Shadows” and “Hackerville.”

Asked about this tide, the director toldVarietythat the concept of series is “a very modern one in Romania,” but that he sees more and more of his colleagues focusing on serialized content. “Series are very big, much, much bigger than the arthouse films we are used to making in Romania. The visibility [series] bring is incomparable, we had no idea of its dimension before.” Other filmmakers like TIFF’s very own head of the festival Tudor Giurgiu, however, have reservations when it comes to this heavy focus on television over film, saying that the country’s cash rebate “should target more film projects” and “the primary focus should be on film,” particularly given the competitiveness of similar initiatives in the region.

Considering the recent success of the country’s cash rebate, which was revamped last year after being suspended in 2021 for unresolved payments, Romanian cinema and television seem to be in an optimistic, hopeful moment despite the country’s political and financial crisis.