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With just over six weeks until SeriesFest 2026 commences, the Denver-based festival has announced its official competition lineup, spotlight screening selections, and jury members.
“We’re so excited to unveil this season’s lineup to our festival audiences and esteemed panel of jurors,” Claire Taylor-Smith, chief programming officer of SeriesFest, said. “This year’s selections really capture the heart of what we do — spotlighting bold, original voices in independent episodic storytelling from across the globe. At the same time, we’re seeing a meaningful shift with a growing demand for indie TV, and that momentum is reflected in what is truly an exceptional lineup.”
Highlights from the competition lineup include talent in front of and behind the camera, like Jillian Bell, Corbin Bernsen, Cate Blanchett, Arturo Castro, Dakota Johnson, Riley Keough, Mandy Patinkin, Joe Pera, Edgar Ramírez, Chris Renfro, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Lilly Wachowski, and Steve Zahn.
SeriesFest is an annual international television festival that “celebrates bold voices, unique storytelling and promising newcomers in the television industry.” Founded in 2015 by Randi Kleiner and Kaily Smith, the festival was created “to champion and discover innovative projects in the television industry.”
From May 6-10 this year, the non-profit organization will host a wide array of programs, including scripted, unscripted, and late-night pilot competitions, exclusive screenings, series premieres, panels, and workshops. Additional programming details and jurors will be announced soon.
Find the full competition lineup, as well as spotlight screening selections and initial jury members below.
Independent Pilot: Drama (Competition)
APTITUDE (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Natasha Mynhier and Alexa Polivka
FIXATION (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Alexander Jeffery and Paul Petersen
IN MY BLOOD (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Alex Bendo
KINGS COUNTY (USA) – World Premiere
Created by K.M. Murphy
NEITHER DONKEY NOR HORSE (USA, China) – Denver Premiere
Created by Robin Wang
OCTARINE (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Dustie Carter and Kiley Enno
RARE (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Lauren Holdt
REENTRY (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Keenan O’Reilly and James Duke
WOODSTOCKERS (USA) – North America Premiere
Created by Corbin Bernsen
Independent Pilot: Comedy (Competition)
BATSHIT (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Brice Beckham and David Fickas
COBB COUNTY COUNTRY CLUB (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Christian Noël
DEATH IS NORMAL (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Brendan Fitzgibbons
DRAGGED (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Chuck Norment
FREELANCE (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by The Turner Brothers (Julien and Justen Turner)
SEASONED (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Ewen Wright and Gideon Grody-Patinkin
SOFT BOIL (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Alex Goldberg
SON OF A BIKRAM (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Ash T and Johnny Rey Diaz
WHO ALMOST KILLED MELODY? (Canada) – United States Premiere
Created by Marc Auger Gosselin and Simon Larouche
@LOVE (Puerto Rico) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Annabelle Mullen Pacheco
Independent PIlot; Unscripted (Competition)
BREAK, FREE (China, USA) – World Premiere
Created by Reggie Zhao and Simeon Hu
CHOIR GAMES (New Zealand, Canada) – United States Premiere
Created by Leanne Pooley and Andrew Akman
GET HOOKED (Canada) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Heidi Lynch and Leah Vlemmiks
NEVER GET BUSTED! (Australia, USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by David Anthony Ngo and Erin Williams-Weir
POETIC JUSTICE (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Amy Janes and Nicol Ragland
SEEKERS (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Gio Israel
THE WELL (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Rachel Witte and Michael Bott
YOU BELONG HERE (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Ouita Michel, Rick Gomez and Steve Zahn
Digital Short Series (Competition)
ARE WE STILL MARRIED? (USA) – Denver Premiere
Created by Kit Steinkellner
BANANA (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Crystal Kim and Kieran Barry
BIRTH IS FOR P*SSIES (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Hannah Shealy
DENIS DANGER (Canada) – United States Premiere
Created by Marie-Hélène Racine Lacroix
FUTURE MANIFEST (Spain) – World Premiere
Created by Marc Martinez Jordan
GIVING MOM THE TALK (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Vidhya Iyer
HALCYON DAYS (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Grace Hanna and Derek Manansala
HOMEBODIES (USA) – Denver Premiere
Created by Jorja Hudson and Ethan David
THE HUMAN, WILL (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Edward Bursch and Dave Niedoba
MY GIRLFRIEND TURNED INTO A WORM (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Alex Herz
RONITA RAMBO (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Michael Doshier
STEP-FRIEND (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Selyna Warren and Marissa Read
SKRRRT! (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Gabriela Garcia Medina
J24 (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Justine Marino
Late Night (Competition)
CHIHUAHUA (Australia) – World Premiere
Created by Andrew Shaw
HAINT (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Jahmil Eady
PUKE BITCH (USA) – Colorado Premiere
Created by Sam Tricomo
SHAPE OF YOUR HEART (Georgia) – World Premiere
Created by Leo Shmelkov and Anna Kadykova
Independent Pilot Competition Juries
Comedy
Marco Calvani (Filmmaker; Actor, “The Four Seasons”); Jack Dolgen (Writer/Producer/Director/Songwriter); and Teri Weinberg (President, Yellow Brick Road / Executive Producer, “The Office”)
Drama
Sean Charles (Development & Production Manager, ALLBLK); Adam Goldworm (Producer/Literary Manager, Aperture Entertainment); and Katey Rich (Awards Editor, The Ankler)
Unscripted
Havva Eisenbaum (Unscripted Television Development Executive, Reality of Change) and John Horn (Entertainment Correspondent, NPR’s 1A)
Digital Shorts & Late-Night
Dana Jackson (Manager/Producer, Echo Lake Entertainment); Nelson Moses Lassiter (Creative Executive, DramaBox); Ben Travers (Head TV Critic, IndieWire); and Ryann Werner (Writer, “Nobody Wants This”)
Pitch-A-Thon (Spotlight Selections)
GOLDEN GROVES
Written by Marteene Gabrielle Diaz and Eric Todd Patton
LITTLE HOPE
Written by Walter Strafford and Jeff Bernier
OAKDALE FFA
Written by Hope Kindred
REBEL’S HOPE
Written by Naomi Wantwadi
SAINT ‘LISS
Written by Tara Malenfant and Melanie Johnson
WALK & ROLL
Written by Lesley Hennen
Pilots in Progress (Spotlight Selections)
BORN AGAIN (USA) – World Premiere
Created by Daniel Talbott and Stephen Laughton
SeriesFest is scheduled to run from May 6-10 in Denver, CO. Festival badges and information on attending can be found at the festival website.
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