The two TV drama awards were handed out on Wednesday evening in Cannes by the president of the main competition, US best-selling author and creator Harlan Coben.

State of Happiness (Lykkeland) was competing against nine high-end international TV shows.

Norwegian composer Ginge Anvik and writer Mette M. Bølstad had both received prestigious accolades in the past. Anvik won Best Music at Les Arcs in France for Sons of Norway and a local industry Kanon award for Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder, while Mette M. Bølstad shared with Stephen Uhlander in 2017 the Best Nordic Screenplay award - Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize for the series Nobel.

“It’s an amazing start for State of Happiness which has not yet been show to TV audiences in Norway,"  said Bølstad who walked the red carpet in Cannes with the key cast and crew including concept director Petter Næss (Elling), actors Per Kjerstad (Monster), Bart Edwards (unREAL), Pia Tjelta (Beck), and newcomers Malene Wadel, Anne Regine Ellingsæter, and Amund Harboe.

The character-driven drama set in the early 70s, about how the discovery of oil in the North Sea suddenly changed the lives of four young people in Stavanger, was received by a standing ovation on Tuesday during the world premiere of two first episodes in Cannes.

Read our exclusive interview with writer Mette M. Bølstad and producer Synnøve Hørsdal - CLICK HERE.

French teenage girls interviewed after the screening said they loved the thrilling storyline with unexpected twists, the realism of the young female character’s conditions and fascinating drama about the discovery of oil.

At the parallel MIPTV market, State of Happiness was also extremely well received by broadcasters-linear and digital players alike, including the US according to DR Sales Director & Marketing Helen Aurø. “The story of the oil boom in Norway and US presence in Norway at the time through Shell and Phillips Petroleum is very appealing and the first episode is predominantly in English”, noted Aurø.

State of Happiness will premiere on NRK in the early fall.

Other Canneseries major awards were:

  • Best Series - When heroes Fly, created by Omri Givon (Isreal) 
  • Best performance, Francesco Montanari for Cacciatore - The Hunter (Italy) In the Digital competition, 
  • Best Digital Series, the Canadian show Dominos.

Canneseries initiated by the Mayor of Cannes in collaboration with Reed Midem and Canal Plus was held April 04-11, parallel to the MIPTV.