The 61^st Monte-Carlo Television Festival returned in style on Friday, not only welcoming a star-studded list of shows in competition and actors in town to support them but also welcoming back past jury chairs including Jane Seymour, Eric Close, Danny Glover and Jason Priestley. They were all in attendance at the opening night premiere of the MGM-produced limited series, Last Light, starring Matthew Fox (Lost) and Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey).

The event kicked off a highly anticipated five-day in-person program now in its seventh decade in the principality of Monaco, and also featured the festival’s Honorary President, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, declaring the festival open and announcing the recipient of a newly created award, the International Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent, which he gave to 25-year-old French actor Théo Christine right before the screening.

“I am beyond thrilled and at the same time, I will be enjoying Monaco for the first time so I’m excited to discover the festival, meet new people and have exchange with other guests,” said the young actor whose credits include the global hit War of the Worlds, the French version of SKAM and the upcoming English feature film, Summit Fever, with Ryan Phillippe.

Laurent Puons, CEO of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival added, “In the Golden Age of content, there is no doubt that our Festival has become a leading force in the celebration of all aspects of the global television business and we’re looking forward to delivering an exciting edition over the coming five days.”

H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco also told the opening night crowd they were continuing to witness great changes in the TV landscape post-Covid. “Content evolves constantly to integrate the technological developments which have changed the way we consume images, particularly with the development of digital platforms.”

Based on the highly successful novel by Alex Scarrow, Last Light is a five-part series set in the near future when one family is separated and will do anything to reunite during a global terrorism attack that threatens chaos by attacking access to electricity and oil.

The show marks a welcome return to television for Fox, best known for starring in the Golden Globe-winning series, Party of Five (1994-2000), and Golden Globe-winning drama series, Lost (2004-10).

Director Dennie Gordon told a packed press conference in Monte-Carlo, “I will just say that it was no easy feat to lure Matthew out of retirement and it took a project of this caliber with this cast and this important story to lure him. He was living his beautiful life with his wife and children, so we felt privileged that we got him off the sofa!”

Fox admits he had no plans to return to TV after Lost ended in 2010. “The break from television was really a break from the business,” he explains. “I kind of had a bucket list in my mind of things that I wanted to accomplish in the business and after I did the film, Bone Tomahawk, in 2014, I completed the bucket list because I’d wanted to do a Western. At that time in my life, our kids were at an age where I felt like I needed to really reengage.

“I really felt like I was retiring from the business and working on other creative elements, like music and writing,” he continues, “but then I got to a point where I thought that maybe the bucket list included executive producing, which I’d never done before, and then the opportunity to be involved in Last Light came along.”

Other festival guests include French legend Jean Reno (with two shows), Camryn Manheim (Law & Order), Hill Harper (The Good Doctor), Taylor Kinney (Chicago Fire), and David Hasselhoff, who is previewing his new German comedy-drama Ze Network. Television shows in competition come from Hungary, Germany, Norway, Spain Italy, Faroe Islands, Australia, and the U.S., with English language entries including Last Light, The Terminal List, starring Chris Pratt and Taylor Kitsch, and the Aussie drama The Tourist, with Jamie Dornan and Danielle MacDonald