DQ100 2025/26 – Part three

DQ100 2025/26 – Part three


By DQ
October 23, 2025

DQ100

In the third part of the DQ100 2025/26, we pick out a range of shows to tune in for and the actors, directors and writers making them, as well as some of the trends and trailblazers worth catching up with.

ACTORS

Engin Akyürek
One of the most recognisable faces in Turkish television, Akyürek will star opposite Gülsim Ali in his latest series, which tells a story of forbidden love amid a family feud. Titled Bereketli Topraklar (Terra Rossa), it is set in Adana, where hostility between the Bereketoğulları and Karahanlıs families reignites. As Ömer Bereketoğul (Akyürek) struggles to protect his family and land, newly appointed prosecutor Nevin (Ali) arrives, seeking justice for her fiancé’s death. Their collision sparks a dangerous bond, where duty and desire clash and love becomes the most unpredictable weapon of all. Eccho Rights is distributing the Surec Film-produced show, which will premiere this autumn on Turkey’s Show TV. Akyürek has previously been seen in Fatmagül and Black Money Love, for which he won an International Emmy for Best Actor.

Alex Lawther
The British actor’s breakout moment came in Black Mirror’s S3 episode Shut Up & Dance, before he took the lead in The End of the F***ing World and featured in Star Wars series Andor. Then this summer, he has been hunting – and hunted by – aliens in FX, Hulu and Disney+ sci-fi horror Alien: Earth. He will next be seen as one of the title characters in BBC Northern Ireland series Leonard & Hungry Paul, a six-part series based on the novel by Rónán Hession. Set to air this autumn, it follows two board-gaming friends in their 30s – Leonard (Lawther), a ghost writer of children’s encyclopaedias, and Hungry Paul (Laurie Kynaston), a part-time postal worker who still lives at home – who meander through leafy suburban life finding solace in their quiet routines. However, the unexpected death of Leonard’s mother, the approaching wedding of Hungry Paul’s sister and a tentative new romance for Leonard leads both men to meet a world that is suddenly wider and full of unfamiliar possibilities. Lawther will also be seen in The Altruists, Netflix’s fact-based crypto series about Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison..

Bérénice Bejo
Winning a César Award and nominated for an Oscar for her role in 2011 mostly silent film The Artist, Bejo is set to star as the world’s first female director in HBO Max and France Télévisions drama Alice. The six-part series tells for the first time the story of Alice Guy Blaché (Bejo), a visionary artist who defied conventions and expectations as a filmmaker, entrepreneur, wife and mother. Her loves, her battles and her relentless pursuit of recognition unfold against the birth of modern cinema, taking her from Paris’s Belle Époque to New York and early Hollywood. The cast also includes Thibaut Evrard, Oscar Lesage, Irène Jacob and Yannick Choirat, in a series created by Tim Loane and Claire Lemaréchal. Alice is coproduced by HBO Max and France Télévisions, with Wild Bunch, Palermo Production, Panache Productions & La Compagnie Cinématographique (Belgium) and Sphere Media (Canada). Filming began in September and continues until December 2025 across France, Belgium and Canada, ahead of a 2026 release.

Harriet Herbig-Matten
Herbig-Matten is one half of the couple at the centre of Prime Video’s breakout German drama Maxton Hall – The World Between Us, which returns for a second season this November, revisiting the relationship between scholarship student Ruby and arrogant millionaire heir James (Damian Hardung). The German actor is also set to find herself in another impossible romance in upcoming period drama Black Gold. Produced by Kinescope and Film Nation for Germany’s NDR and ARD, it is set at the turn of the 20th century when, in a quiet village on the edge of the Lüneburg Heath, the lives of the Lambert family of farmers are transformed by the discovery of oil beneath their fields. But their newfound hope draws the attention of the wealthy Pape family, the region’s untouchable landowners. As an oil rush threatens to tear the farming community apart, love ignites between Richard Pape, the privileged heir, and Joanna Lambert, the determined daughter of the farmers. Fifth Season is distributing the series.

Lila McGuire
Rising Australian star McGuire (The Twelve) is set for her breakthrough role in three-part miniseries Goolagong, based on the true story of world champion tennis player Evonne Goolagong. The ABC series centres on one of Australia’s best-loved female sporting heroes, in a story that travels from the tiny New South Wales regional town of Barellan, where an eager eight-year-old Aboriginal kid first peered through the cyclone wire fence of a tennis court, to the centre courts of the world, where Evonne would reach the world number one ranking and endear herself to millions around the globe. The series is produced by Werner Film Productions, with a supporting cast including Marton Csokas, Felix Mallard and Luke Carroll. Goolagong will air on ABC TV and ABC iview in 2026, with BBC Studios handling distribution.

DIRECTORS

Daisy Haggard
Actor and writer Haggard (Back to Life, Boat Story) will make her directorial debut with Maya, a six-part Channel 4 drama that she has also written and will star in alongside Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us). Forced into a witness-protection programme, Anna (Haggard) and her teenage daughter Maya (Ramsey) leave their London lives behind, taking on new identities and relocating to a small rural town in Scotland. As they try to adjust to their new reality, the trauma of their past continues to haunt them in the form of two hitmen intent on tracking them down. And with the walls closing in, it becomes clear that a dangerous figure from their previous lives remains a looming threat. Haggard directs the Two Brothers Pictures production with Jamie Donoughue. All3Media International is distributing the series, which films on location in Scotland later in 2025.

Felix Herngren
Swedish star Herngren is known on screen for his long-running role in comedy Solsidan, which he co-created. But he’s also a writer and a director with credits including Jana – Marked for Life and Bonus Family. His next project behind the camera is six-part dramedy Where the Sun Always Shines, which debuts on SkyShowtime on November 10. Set against sweeping Spanish landscapes, it’s a simmering family drama that explores the complexities of expat life abroad. Tom (Per Lasson) and Petra (Lisa Linnertorp) are a successful Swedish couple who sell their hypermarket in Sweden for a record sum to live the life of luxury on the Spanish island. But during Tom’s 50th birthday party, events take an unexpected turn – pulling Tom’s brother Timmy (Erik Johansson) and his wife Maja (Rakel Wärmländer) into the mix, setting off a chain of family drama. Created by Herngren, the series is produced by his production company FLX for SkyShowtime and Sweden’s SVT.

Susanna Lira
The Brazilian documentary maker is helming fact-based drama Crimes no Trianon (Crimes in Trianon) for HBO Max. Developed by Elo Studios, it’s inspired by the crimes that marked the late 1980s in São Paulo, telling the story of Fortunato Botton Neto, a male prostitute who would later become known as the Maníaco do Trianon (Maniac of Trianon). Created by Michel Carvalho, it dramatises a period when the LGBTQIA+ community faced a dual threat: the AIDS epidemic and systemic prejudice. A series of brutal crimes then begins to shake up São Paulo’s nightlife. The story follows Fortunato, known as Pilo, and Antonio Margutti, a conservative detective on the verge of retirement, who teams up with Detective Violeta to solve murders. The Trianon Maniac was a Brazilian serial killer who committed his crimes near Trianon Park, then known as a male prostitution hotspot, near Avenida Paulista. Targeting men aged from 30 to 60, he killed 13 people between 1986 and 1989. Taking on directing duties is Lira (Mataram Nossos Filhos, Legítima Defesa), a prolific, award-winning filmmaker known for work covering human rights, politics and violence.

Jason Momoa
Best known for on-screen roles in Game of Thrones, A Minecraft Movie and the Aquaman films, Momoa has furthered his fledgling directorial career with the finale of his Apple TV+ series Chief of War. Created, written and executive produced by Momoa and based on true events, the nine-episode series is set against the scenic backdrop of the islands of Hawaii and follows warrior Ka’iana (Momoa) as he tries to unify the islands before Western colonisation in the late 18th century. Told from an indigenous perspective, it has been a passion project for creators Momoa and Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, who share native Hawaiian heritage, while the series features a predominantly Polynesian cast led by Momoa. His directing credits also include episodes of HBO Max travel doc series On the Roam and feature film Road to Paloma.

Enrico Maria Artale
The Italian director (El Paraiso, Django, Romulus) helms all eight episodes of Un Prophète (A Prophet), a small-screen reimagining of the 2009 film that had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival this summer. The drama is a visceral, raw and high-stakes portrayal of life in a brutal French prison where Malik, a young African immigrant, must try to survive after being incarcerated for drug smuggling. Alone and vulnerable, he meets Massoud, a powerful and shady businessman who offers him protection in exchange for Malik’s obedience. But Malik soon realises he is just a pawn in Massoud’s game, and that the only way to survive will be to take power for himself. The Canal+ series is produced by CPB Films and Media Musketeers Studio, and coproduced by UGC Images, Entourage Series, Savon Noir, Staging, MMBV and Camera Lucida. StudioCanal is the distributor.

WRITERS

Ragnar Bragason
The screenwriter is billed as Iceland’s most successful drama and comedy creator, with credits including The Shift trilogy (The Night Shift, The Day Shift and The Prison Shift) and Prisoners. On his latest project, he is creator and co-writer of Icelandic-Romanian coproduction Hot Stuff, a comedy drama set in 1979 and following a group of Icelanders  holidaying in Spain. Blending humour, romance and social commentary, the series aims to explore themes of gender inequality, consumerism and xenophobia, as well as the pitfalls of insular thinking, toxic masculinity and performative activism. Bragason writes alongside Snjolaug Ludviksdottir (Stella Blomquist), and the show is produced by Iceland’s Glassriver and Romania’s Idea Film for Icelandic broadcaster Channel 2. Oble has global distribution rights.

Alex Haridi
Swedish screenwriter Haridi’s credits include crime drama Sanningen, comedy Kärlek & anarki (Love & Anarchy), mystery Quicksand, political series Blå ögon (Blue Eyes) and sci-fi drama Äkta människor (Real Humans). He’s also the writer behind Stenbeck (Vanguard), a drama charting the rise of real-life media mogul Jan Stenbeck’s journey from Wall Street to become a Nordic power player. When tragedy strikes his family, he is thrown into a leadership role at Kinnevik, the family’s industry group. What follows is a high-stakes battle between tradition and innovation as Jan battles with his siblings to take the company forward, ultimately reshaping the Nordic media landscape. The five-parter, produced by FLX for SVT, was recently named best series at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival, where star Jakob Oftebro was named best actor. Viaplay Content Distribution is handling sales.

Diego San José
Spanish writer José is reuniting with his Celeste co-creator and director Elena Trapé for six-part Movistar Plus+ series Yakarta (Jakarta). Fellow Celeste alum Javier Cámara plays José Ramón Garrido, a former Olympic badminton player who makes a living teaching physical education at a public high school in Vallecas. Joserra believes star teenage player Mar (Carla Quílez) could be the ticket to fulfilling his ambition of competing in Jakarta, the city where former players like him are respected as stars. But to do so, they’ll have to learn to tolerate each other as they embark on a journey filled with shabby guesthouses, run-down sports centres and gas stations as they pass through Totana, Ponferrada, Torrelavega and Tardajos before reaching the Indonesian capital – if they arrive at all. José heads up the script team on the series, which also includes Daniel Castro and Fernando Delgado-Hierro. It is produced by 100 Balas and Buendia Estudios Canarias, and will debut on Spain’s Movistar Plus+ this November. The Mediapro Studio Distribution is handling global sales.

Maja Jul Larsen
As her series Ulven Kommer (Cry Wolf) gets a US adaptation starring Olivia Colman and Brie Larson, Danish writer Larsen will soon begin filming her latest drama for local pubcaster DR. De Bedste Familier (The Best Families) is a story of ambition, responsibility and the human costs of progress, based on real events surrounding a chemical factory and one of the biggest environmental scandals in Danish history. Adapted from the novel by Kim Blæsbjerg, it follows three families from different walks of life: working couple Niels and Margrethe see the factory as a path to a better life; operations manager Jørn and his wife Karin find it becomes a moral minefield; and factory owner Gunnar demands results at any cost. Produced by Apple Tree Productions, The Best Families is expected to premiere in 2027.

Stefanie Preissner
Irish actor and writer Preissner (Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope) is adapting Marian Keyes novels including Rachel’s Holiday and Anybody Out There, which centre on the fictional Walsh sisters, for Ireland’s RTÉ and the BBC. The result is a series titled The Walsh Sisters, which follows the lives of Anna, Rachel, Maggie, Claire and Helen as they navigate the peaks and troughs of their late 20s and 30s and strive to stick together in the face of heartbreak, grief, addiction and parenthood. Preissner also stars as Maggie, with Louisa Harland as Anna, Caroline Menton as Rachel, Danielle Galligan as oldest sister Claire and Máiréad Tyers as Helen. It is produced by Cuba Pictures and Metropolitan Pictures, with Cineflix Rights distributing.

SERIES

Death of a Horse
Broadcasters RÚV in Iceland and ZDF in Germany have partnered for this crime series set in the world of competitive Icelandic horsemanship. It follows Auður (Ásthildur Úa Sigurðardóttir), a fiercely dedicated rider competing in the national horse championships with her prized stallion, Blesi. When the horse is found dead under suspicious circumstances on the morning of the final, Auður is devastated – and even more shocked when the local authorities refuse to investigate. Taking matters into her own hands, she begins a dark journey into the secretive and powerful world of elite horse breeders in Iceland. Iceland’s Act4 and Germany’s Windlight Pictures are producing, with Wild Sheep Content handling distribution..

Etty
This six-part series from director Hagai Levi stars Julia Windischbauer and Sebastian Koch in the poignant story of Dutch actress Etty Hillesum. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, 27-year-old Etty embarks on a spiritual and emotional journey that she records in her diaries, describing her turbulent love affair with the psycho-chirologist Julius Spier, which becomes the trigger for a radical inner transformation – one accelerated by the growing threat she faces as a Jew, ultimately leading her to an enormous act of solidarity. The French, German and Dutch coproduction is produced by Les Films du Poisson, Komplizen Serien, Topkapi Series and Quiddity for Germany’s SWR and Arte France. TF1 Studio is the distributor of the show, which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Tip Toe
Alan Cumming and David Morrissey are set to star in this Channel 4 drama from Russell T Davies (It’s a Sin, Years & Years). The five-parter follows Leo (Cumming) and Clive (Morrissey) who have lived next door to each other in Manchester for almost 15 years. But just as life should be settling down, the world around them is growing more tense. Words become weapons, opinions become radicalised and, gradually, two neighbours become deadly enemies in a tense suburban thriller described as an urgent tale that puts a spotlight on the prejudices creeping back into our lives. The drama is produced by Quay Street Productions, with ITV Studios distributing.

The Seduction
A six-part French series commissioned by HBO Max, The Seduction is a new adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. Described as a thrilling exploration of the price of emotional and sexual freedom in a world where women had little, it centres on Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil who, betrayed by Vicomte de Valmont, embarks on a daring journey to become Paris’s leading courtesan. Anamaria Vartolomei stars as Isabelle, with Diane Kruger as Madame de Rosemonde, Vincent Lacoste as Valmont and Lucas Bravo as Comte de Gercourt. It is directed by Jessica Palud, created by Jean-Baptiste Delafon and written by Delafon in collaboration with Palud (episodes one, two and six) and Gaëlle Bellan (episode one). NABI Productions and Felicita Films produce.

Twenty Twenty Six
Hugh Bonneville reprises his role as Ian Fletcher in this BBC mockumentary from the team behind series W1A and Twenty Twelve. Next year’s FIFA World Cup will be hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, with 48 nations competing in 16 venues thousands of miles apart. What could go wrong? Ian is about to find out as he becomes the director of integrity for the event’s oversight team in Miami. Other returning cast members include Hugh Skinner as Will Humphries, Ian’s former PA, and David Tennant as the show’s narrator, alongside an ensemble including Alexis Michalik, Chelsey Crisp, Paulo Costanzo, Marli Siu, Nicole Sadie Sawyer, Joe Hewetson and Erin Kellyman. Produced by Expectation for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, the show is written and directed by John Morton. BBC Studios is handling global sales.

TRENDS & TRAILBLAZERS

Biblical series
The announcement of Fox event series The Faithful marks the latest entry in the ever-growing – and lucrative – market for television dramas based on the Bible. It’s a trend led by Dallas Jenkins’ religious drama The Chosen (pictured), the independently financed and produced series about the life of Jesus that has demonstrated not only audience interest in but also the commercial viability of faith-based content. The show has racked up hundreds of millions of views across platforms and has seen increased international distribution – including cinemas – proving such content is no longer a niche proposition.
Prime Video has spotted this demand and become the market leader, picking up the series, which is set to run to at least seven seasons, while Amazon MGM Studios has partnered with Jenkins’ The Wonder Project to develop new faith-based series and films. Prime Video subsequently ordered Joseph of Egypt, starring Adam Hasmi as Joseph who, after being betrayed by his brother, defies all expectations and rises to incredible power in Egypt, second only to the pharaoh. The streamer has also ordered faith-based animated adventure comedy The Chosen Adventures, which follows a nine-year-old girl and her best friend as they navigate life in the ancient city of Capernaum. When the children encounter a wise craftsman and teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, he helps them see the world differently, and they help spread his influence far and wide.
While faith-based commissions remain dominated by entertainment series and documentaries, there are plenty of reasons to believe more dramas are surely in the development pipeline.

Hollyoaks
Channel 4’s youth-skewing soap celebrates its landmark 30th birthday this autumn. It first launched on October 23, 1995, following the lives of the residents of ‘the Chester village where it all happens,’ and viewers have since followed numerous issue-based storylines, drama and larger-than-life characters. Groundbreaking plots have included male rape, incest, far-right extremism, a serial killer, anorexia and self-harm.
Filmed with a single camera on set in Liverpool, it also often centres on underrepresented groups and stories, and has proven to be the training ground for actors such as Ricky Whittle (American Gods), Rachel Shenton (All Creatures Great & Small), Emmett J Scanlan (Kin) and Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones).
In September 2024, it moved from five nights a week to three in order to future-proof its survival beyond the 30th anniversary, while also landing a streaming first – broadcasting online on the day of transmission. Episodes of the show, which is produced by Lime Pictures and distributed by All3Media International, are also shared on YouTube.

Star Trek
The Show that boldly went where no TV series had gone before celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2026, with the franchise still continuing to operate at warp speed. Six decades ago, legendary creator Gene Roddenberry first introduced the world to Star Trek: The Original Series when it premiered on Canada’s CTV on September 6, 1966, and then in the US two days later on NBC on September 8. Today, the Star Trek franchise numbers 11 TV series, 14 films and more than 900 episodes. Series include The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise, as well as Discovery and Picard. The 60th anniversary will be officially commemorated on Star Trek Day, September 8, 2026. But before then, Trekkies will get to see the latest original series, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, earlier next year. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (pictured) will also return for fourth and fifth seasons after S3 wrapped in September, while YouTube will be the home of animated series Star Trek: Scouts, the first preschool extension of the franchise. If that’s not enough, fans can join a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of all things Star Trek with Star Trek: The Cruise, which sets sail in February 2026.

Theatre to TV
The decision of award-winning theatre company Thomas Hopkins Productions (THP) to launch a screen division, named End Card, highlights the growing number of stage producers moving into television and film. End Card seeks to build on THP’s reputation for bold theatrical storytelling by developing and producing original projects alongside adaptations of existing stage IP, with a focus on work of cinematic scale and international reach, with Paul McKenzie (pictured) named head of television. The London company joins a list of stage and screen producers including Portobello Productions (Four Mothers), Trademark Films (Parade’s End), Bill Kenwright Limited (The Kill Room), Empire Street Productions (Prima Facie), Sister (Chernobyl) and Neal Street Productions (Call the Midwife).
On the flip side, BBC Studios Drama Productions (Silent Witness, Father Brown) has announced investment in the Welsh National Theatre, in a bid to identify new Welsh talent and build a partnership to increase Welsh representation on shows such as Casualty, Pobol Y Cwm and Anfamol – all shows made out of Roath Lock, the BBC’s production base in Cardiff. Actor and director Michael Sheen (Good Omens) founded the Welsh National Theatre at the start of 2025.

Vertical microdramas
While shortform programming platform Quibi might still be a recent memory, microdramas represent the latest booming sector in international television. The microdrama phenomenon first took the Asian market by storm, rapidly growing over the past few years to become a multibillion-dollar industry and pioneering a new way to consume scripted storytelling via apps including ReelShort, DramaBox, Shortmax and Micro Drama. Some estimates suggest microdramas have become a US$7bn industry in China alone, while outside of China it is projected to become a US$10bn industry by 2027, according to LA-based startup MicroCo. Now numerous companies are racing to tap into the market and launch series produced on a fraction of the budget of even a modestly priced broadcast programme. Even Chile’s TVN and Welsh pubcaster S4C are getting in on the act, with the latter commissioning the first ever Welsh-language microdrama, Yr Alwad (The Call, pictured).

RELATED CONTENT
DQ100

DQ100 2025/26 – Part one

In the first part of the DQ100 2025/26, we pick out a range of shows to tune in for and the actors, directors and writers making them, as well as some of the trends and trailblazers worth catching up with.

 

DQ100

DQ100 2025/26 – Part two

In the second part of the DQ100 2025/26, we pick out a range of shows to tune in for and the actors, directors and writers making them, as well as some of the trends and trailblazers worth catching up with.

 

tagged in: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,