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Two half-hour gems, Finland’s “Mister 8” and Germany’s “The Allegation,” took top-honors on Wednesday night at this year’s Canneseries, now fully consolidated as one of Europe’s major TV festivals.

The prizes are obvious recognition for the two series creators, Finland’s Teemu Nikki and Jani Pösö and Germany’s Ferdinand von Schirach, and underscore the spirit of innovation at major TV companies across Europe.

“Mister 8” is backed by Finnish SVOD operator Elisa Viihde, “The Allegation” by Germany’s Rtl Group, which is currently in the throes of a high-end scripted drama revolution as it preps its lineup for its relaunched SVOD service, now called Rtl Plus, which goes live on Nov. 4.

Sold by France’s Federation Entertainment and co-written by director Nikki and producer Pösö, Canneseries best series winner “Mister 8” was described to Variety by Nikki as “a thriller with a comedy plot.”

Shot in black and white,...

Banijay has boarded “Countrymen,” a new drama series produced by its Norwegian label, Rubicon, with a cast of Scandinavian stars, including Nader Khademi (“Ninjababy”), Ayaz Hussain (“Kasim Bæder”), Jonas Strand Gravli (“Ragnarok”) Arben Bala (“Lilyhammer”) and Erika Strand Mamelund.

The show will world premiere at Cannes Series and has been commissioned by the public broadcaster Nrk, in co-production with Arte France. Banijay Rights will handle world sales on the eight-part series.

“Countrymen” follows four men who move to a farm in the rural Norwegian countryside and end up founding Norway’s first halal cheesemaking business more or less against their will.

Award-winning director and screenwriter Izer Aliu (“Hunting Files”), created and penned the series along with Rubicon’s Anne Bjørnstad.

“This metaphoric concept will get people talking here in Norway, and also resonate with global audiences,” said Anne Bjørnstad, Rubicon’s creative director (with Eilif Skodvin). “This high-quality series has...