Monaco is hosting one of the television world's most celebrated annual gatherings this week, as the Monte-Carlo Television Festival marks its 65th edition at the Grimaldi Forum with a programme that spans zombie apocalypses, soap opera royalty and some rather serious conversations about the future of the medium.
The festival opened on Friday, June 12 with the international premiere of the first two episodes of Season 3 of The Walking Dead: Dead City, with actors Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan attending alongside showrunner Seth Hoffman. For fans of the long-running franchise, the chance to see Negan and Maggie in Monaco rather than post-apocalyptic Manhattan is presumably a welcome change of scenery.
Dame Kristin Scott Thomas will receive the prestigious Crystal Nymph Award, which recognises a prominent figure in the television industry for their outstanding career and lasting impact. French television icon Michel Drucker will receive an Honorary Nymph, celebrating his exceptional career, while Spanish actress Ester Exposito will be present to receive the Golden Nymph for Most Promising International Talent.
Hollywood star Kurt Russell is also among those being honoured during the festival.
The fiction competition is led by Emilia Clarke, who stars alongside Haley Lu Richardson in Ponies, an American espionage thriller produced by Universal Television. The United Kingdom also contributes two strong entries to the competition. Juries are chaired by actress Lesley Manville for fiction, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joshua Seftel for feature reports and news, and media executive Susanne Daniels for a new digital category making its competitive debut this year.
The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless are also well represented, with cast members from both long-running American soaps making the trip to Monaco for fan events and signings.
Behind the red carpet, the festival's Business Forum will focus on artificial intelligence, changing audience habits and the growing convergence between traditional broadcasters and digital creators. A special documentary marking the festival's history, Monte-Carlo, a Festival and 65 Years of Television, will also premiere during the event.
The Golden Nymph Awards ceremony takes place on Tuesday, June 16 at the Grimaldi Forum, hosted by Louise Ekland and Ricky Whittle.