The Good Mothers, Disney+’s hard-hitting mafia drama series, has won the first ever Berlinale Series Award.
Revealed as winner at the Berlin Zoo Palast in the past few minutes, the drama from Baghdad Central scribe Stephen Butchard tells the true story of how three courageous women inside the notorious Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta mafia worked with female prosecutor, Alessandra Cerreti, to bring down down a criminal empire. It is directed by Julian Jarrold and Elisa Amoruso and stars Gaia Girace, Valentina Bellè, Barbara Chichiarelli, Simona Distefano and Micaela Ramazzotti. Producers are House Productions and Wildside.
The first ever Berlinale Series Award Jury, comprised of former Yes Studios boss Danna Stern, Moonlight star André Holland and Danish screenwriter Mette Heeno, said Good Mothers “captured us with its multi-layered characters that have been treated with care and allowed to evolve before our very eyes.”
“The series creators have been meticulous in recreating an authentic and detailed world, presented by a stellar cast, with performance that made our hearts skip a beat,” they said. “The beautiful cinematography, production design and locations contributed to the ultra realistic feel of the show, which is only right considering it is based on true events.”
Viaplay series Arkitekten (The Architect) was given a special mention and The Good Mothers also beat off competition from HBO Max Cold War thriller Spy/Master, Chinese drama Why Try to Change Me Now, Stan’s Bad Behaviour, Prime Video India’s Dahaad (Roar) and Agent from Denmark’s TV2.
Frank Doelger’s big-budget eco-thriller The Swarm has been airing out of competition at Berlinale.
Forged in co-operation with Deadline, the award is the first of its kind for TV at a major film festival. Speaking to Deadline earlier this week, the jury predicted the award will improve prominence for TV series at A-list film festivals.