After a fantastic return in 2025 with a new home in Rimini, the Italian Global Series is getting even bigger for its 2026 edition. Today, organizers revealed a lineup with notable world premieres and tributes. Top of the list is a 60th Anniversary tribute to “Star Trek,” featuring a conversation with franchise producer David W. Zucker, “Star Trek” film director Nicholas Meyer, and franchise star Jeri Ryan.
READ MORE: Italian Global Series Fest Has Its Coming Out Party
Other events include a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Franco Zeffirelli’s “Jesus of Nazareth,” a celebration of the 30th Anniversary of “Un posto al sole,” Italy’s longest-running soap opera, and Carlton Cuse will host a panel entitled “Lost in Fellini,” for which he will be joined by Oscar-winning writer and showrunner John Ridley (“American Crime,” “12 Years a Slave”).
As previously announced, seven honorary Maximo Excellence Awards will be handed out. Honorees include Emmy Award-winning showrunner and creator Carlton Cuse (“Lost”), Strega Prize winner Francesco Piccolo (“Il desiderio di essere come tutti”) and producer Roberto Sessa (“Nostalgia”). Celebrated actors Robert Powell (“Jesus of Nazareth”) Lino Banfi (“Un medico in famiglia”), Sabrina Ferilli (“A testa alta”), and Marco Giallini (“Rocco Schiavone”). Today’s announcement includes the last recipient, Rita Pavone (“The Newspaper”)
Notable other talent attending this year include John Hannah, Judith Light, Nicholas Meyer, Lisa Mulcahy, Marti Noxon, CCH Pounder, Robert Powell, Camille Razat, John Ridley, Jeri Ryan, Sally Wainwright, Tom Wlaschiha, and David W. Zucker.
In a statement, Chiara Sbarigia, President of APA (the Association of Audiovisual Producers), commented, “The Italian Global Series is dedicated to audiences of all ages, series enthusiasts, and the curious. This year, it also inaugurates an educational space for young people with its “Summer School.” The young people will work alongside professional juries and will award their own prize: the Maximino Award. Another new feature this year is Pitch Crime, dedicated to crime series, with a €20,000 prize for the winner. APA created the festival in 2003, and has evolved its format to introduce a space for international promotion and discussion. Even now, when some festivals and awards have opened the door to the series genre, there remains a need for a comprehensive vision of the world of series and the ongoing creative, technological, and consumer innovations.”
Artistic Director Marco Spagnoli adds, “The extraordinary number of titles received from around the world—so high that it required us to make truly complex selection choices—is the clearest proof of this Festival’s value and its role in today’s industrial, production, and distribution landscape. Ours is an event designed to engage not only series enthusiasts, but everyone seeking great stories told firsthand by the protagonists of the international audiovisual industry. This is the direction that guides us and confirms the Festival’s central role in the global dialogue on contemporary narratives”.
More information on the festival can be found here.
The 2026 Italian Global Series Festival runs from July 3-July 11.
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