Tokyo Crush, a French-Japanese culture clash rom-com took home the top prize at Series Mania Forum’s annual Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, organizers announced Tuesday night.
The eight-episode, 30-minute series follows Mona, a bold Parisian chef tasked with reinventing a struggling Tokyo izakaya who clashes with Toshiro, the talented and stubborn grandson of the restaurant’s founder.
Clémence Dargent wrote Tokyo Crush, with Jonas Ben Haiem and Jean-Félix Dealberto producing for Salle Commune (France) and Hiroko Oda for Flag Inc. (Japan). The project’s producing team was awarded the co-pro €50,000 ($54,000) development prize.
M-K Kennedy, executive managing director of TV series for Studiocanal, headed up the co-production jury, together with André Béraud (ICI Radio-Canada Télé, Canada), Henriette Marienlund (DR Drama, Denmark), José Pastor (RTVE, Spain) and Frank Seyberth (ZDF, Germany).
The series was picked from 15 projects presented on the opening day of Series Forum, the industry arm of the Series Mania television festival.
“After a good amount of debate, we chose Tokyo Crush because we loved the potential we saw for the story in and out of the kitchen,” Kennedy said in a statement. “It felt fresh, with multiple points of entry for audiences, featuring an ensemble of characters and conflicts that are ripe for great comedy — clash of cultures, tradition versus modernity, competition and a will-they/won’t-they romance.”
The Series Mania Forum’s Co-Pro Pitching Sessions have served as a key launchpad for high-profile international series, with past winners including The Twelve (Flemish Belgium) and Blackport (Iceland). The event continues to be a major draw for industry professionals seeking new collaborations and standout scripted content.