Can Drama Change the World? Creators of Series on Far-Right Politics, Climate Crisis and More Weigh in

“Series to Change the World” was the title of a Wednesday morning panel at the sixth edition of Iberseries & Platino Industria in Madrid, Spain’s capital. And it asked a big question: Can great drama drive real-world change?

After all, “scripted series are unmatched in their power to shape public perception and spark societal shifts,” according to a preview note about the panel. “This session explores narratives tackling today’s pressing issues: environmental urgency, consent, human rights, gender-based violence, and systemic discrimination. Join visionary creators for a behind-the-scenes look at how diverse European voices are championing pluralism, shifting global conversations, and proving that compelling storytelling is the first step toward a better world.”

The panelists were Danish Borgen and Follow the Money writer Jeppe Gjervig Gram, Belgian writer Cristina Poppe (The Best Immigrant), Norwegian writer and Scanbox Production development producer Jan Trygve Røyneland, French creator Louis Aubert (After Us), and Spanish director, screenwriter and actress Leticia Dolera (Pubertat – Secrets, Lies, and Human Castles).

Gram lauded Danish public broadcaster DR for being up for pushing the envelope with Borgen. After the financial crisis, Follow the Money made sense to him, and again, DR came through for him. “Nobody had done a show about Big Finance, and DR was brave enough,” he said.

And he emphasized that while his shows may be dark, “I always want audiences to leave on a hopeful note.”

When it comes to climate change, it may have been in the headlines for years, but is that enough? “The change the world needs is definitely not happening fast enough,” eco-thriller After Us creator Aubert told Iberseries. “We wanted to use the tools we have as storytellers to do what we can” to address audiences’ emotions. “But you need a good story, a thriller that is entertaining,” he highlighted. The goal was to “change minds, at least some of them,” he shared.

After Us is about powerful European corporate leaders who meet for an environmental forum in the Alps, while a clandestine group of six young activists called “Phoenix” launches a coordinated operation across the continent. They kidnap the corporate executives’ children to expose corporate greenwashing and force the leaders to act against climate change.

Meanwhile, he idea behind The Best Immigrant was to bring serious political trends, particularly the rise of far-right politics, to a “public mainstream conversation,” Poppe explained, calling Black Mirror “a huge inspiration.” At first, folks thought the idea was “crazy,” but since then, the themes explored in the series have become “uncomfortably close to reality. … This is not so dystopian anymore.”

The Best Immigrant is set in an independent Flanders in a near future. “A far-right government decrees the expulsion of all foreign-born residents,” reads a synopsis. “For Muna and Jamal, arrest means forced separation. Desperate, the couple risks everything by joining The Best Immigrant, a ruthless reality show where contestants must compete against each other for the ultimate prize: a residence permit.”

Poppe shared: “I don’t think that movies or series can change the world, but I hope they can influence [things] a little bit … and create debate.”

Røyneland said his focus in terms of the impact of Henki, which explores the story of the first man in Norway who was diagnosed with HIV, has been closer to home. “If my daughter is proud of the series, I have changed her world,” he offered. The show starts in the year 1985, when Henki Hauge Karlsen, a 28-year-old gay bartender, is fired after disclosing that he is infected with HIV. Furious and humiliated, he decides to take legal action.

Does the creative feel the need to offer audiences hope? “It doesn’t necessarily need hope, but something to get your ass off the couch,” Røyneland argued.

And Dolera said about Pubertat, which focuses on a woman dealing with accusations of sexual aggression targeted at her son, his cousin and the cousin’s friend. “It really connected with people,” with some schools screening the show and having debates around it. “It makes me really happy, because the show wants to open a conversation,” she shared.

“Culture has the power to make us think,” Dolera concluded. “We don’t make shows to tell people what to think … but to make people think with us” about uncomfortable issues. And she said that can happen at the same time as entertaining audiences.

On Monday, Iberseries saw Amazon MGM Studios executives discuss the success of the Mercedes Ron young adult novel adaptations and Spanish zombie horror film Apocalypse Z, while Parrot Analytics shared data trends and estimates for the subscriber impact of Netflix’s Argentina hit series The Eternaut. And a YouTube top executive predicted more Obsession– and Backrooms-style film hits from online creators. The industry gathering runs through Friday.