The powerful US television industry dominates what's seen on many small screens around Europe. But the Roma Fiction Fest wants to prove there's a world of sitcoms and dramas beyond "Beverly Hills 90210." 

Innovative television shows, mini-series and documentaries are being produced all across Europe, from Italy to France to Denmark and points far flung. But still, the small screens in living rooms across the continent need diversifying.

Luca Milano of Rai Fiction, the Italian state network's production arm, says most stations broadcast international shows from the US and then a series of national fiction.

"This means that in Germany, they see German fiction, in Spain the Spanish, in France the French," Milano said. "It is still difficult to have a true European network of programs that are able to be seen by audiences elsewhere in Europe."

The Roma Fiction Fest taking place in the Italian capital this week wants to change this. Its aim is television without borders. International network executives and Romans alike are getting to take a TV trip to Germany, watching the mini-series "Buddenbrooks," based on the Thomas Mann novel about an aristocratic family's decline.

Then, they journey to Manchester to spend time with the dysfunctional Gallagher family from the British series "Shameless." Programmers are also checking out what's on TV in Spain, France, Iceland, Russia and other countries.