by Jon Partridge
Now entering its fifth year, the Austin Television Festival has quickly established itself as one of the go-to celebrations of shows that grace the small screen. From June 9th-12th venues across downtown Austin, including the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel, and Google Fiber Space, will host a plethora of panels, screenings, parties, and reunions, with cast, crew, and fans alike from shows both old and new.
Last year we brought you highlights including a discussion of Hannibal Season 3 with showrunner Bryan Fuller, insights into Orphan Black with creator Graeme Manson, a conversation with cast and crew about the relocation of The Leftovers to central Texas, and direction of the new season and a fascinating panel where the showrunners of Fargo, Hannibal, and Justified discussed how to adapt the work of others.
Read on for information on this year’s lineup as well as how to get tickets!
ATX TV FEST 2016 Press Release
ATX ANNOUNCES MARQUEE EVENTS ALONG WITH NEW PANELS AND PROGRAMMING FOR THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL
ATX ANNOUNCES MARQUEE EVENTS
ALONG WITH NEW PANELS AND PROGRAMMING FOR THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL
USA’s New Series “Queen of the South” Will Kick Things Off on Opening Night
With a Premiere Screening and Panel
ATX Will Host a Special “The West Wing Administration” Panel,
Featuring Creator Aaron Sorkin and Members of the Cast
Entertainment Weekly Will Present an “Ugly Betty” 10 Year Reunion on Closing Night,
Featuring America Ferrera and the Cast
Denis Leary Will Be Part of a Panel for FX’s “Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll,”
Along with a Reunion for “Rescue Me”
April 7, 2016 — Austin, TX — ATX Television Festival announces marquee events — including Opening and Closing Night — along with new panels and programming for this year’s festival, which returns for a fifth year June 9–12, in Austin, Texas.
USA Network’s upcoming new series “Queen of the South” will kick things off on Opening Night with a premiere screening and panel featuring the cast and creators. The reimagined drama, based on the global bestseller “La Reina Del Sur” by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, follows Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga), a woman who is forced to go on the run and seek refuge in America after her cartel boyfriend is murdered.
The festival will host “The West Wing Administration” panel, featuring creator/executive producer Aaron Sorkin and director/executive producer Thomas Schlamme, along with the following cast members who have committed so far — Bradley Whitford, Dule Hill, Joshua Malina, Richard Schiff and Janel Moloney. The panel marks the 10th anniversary of the “The West Wing” finale, and will delve into the series storylines, characters and fandom. More details and panelists to come.
As previously announced, Entertainment Weekly will present a 10 year reunion celebration of “Ugly Betty” on Closing Night of the festival, with cast members America Ferrera, Eric Mabius, Becki Newton, Michael Urie, Ashley Jensen, Ana Ortiz, Tony Plana, Mark Indelicato, Vanessa Williams and Rebecca Romijn confirmed to attend.
In addition, ATX will also host a screening and panel of America Ferrera’s newly renewed NBC comedy “Superstore,” featuring Ferrera, who stars in the series along with serving as a producer, together with fellow cast members Ben Feldman, Lauren Ash, Colton Dunn, Nico Santos and Nichole Bloom, and creator/executive producer Justin Spitzer.
Denis Leary will return to ATX this year with a panel both for his FX comedy “Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll,” featuring fellow cast members Elizabeth Gillies, Elaine Hendrix, John Ales and Bobby Kelly, and also will be part of a special “Rescue Me” reunion, with fellow creator Peter Tolan, along with cast members Callie Thorne, Andrea Roth, Michael Lombardi, James McCaffrey, Lenny Clarke and Larenz Tate. Additional panelists will be announced at a later date.
Starz will host the season three premiere of its comedy “Survivor’s Remorse,” featuring creator Mike O’Malley and director Ali LeRoi, along with cast members RonReaco Lee, Jessie Usher and Teyonah Parris.
WGN’s new series “Outsiders” will host a panel with executive producers Peter Tolan and Peter Mattei, discussing season one and where the show is headed in season two, and will screen never-before-seen footage. Participating cast members will be announced at a later date.
AT&T AUDIENCE Network will be part of ATX for the first time, with a panel for their original series “Kingdom,” produced by Endemol Shine Studios, featuring creator/executive producer Byron Balasco and cast members Jonathan Tucker, Joanna Going and Matt Lauria. Additional panelists will be announced at a later date.
ATX will screen the upcoming TBS series “Search Party,” followed by a conversation with Alia Shawkat, who was previously announced as part of the “State of Grace” reunion, along with creators Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers.
Hulu will exclusively present the Badgeholder Lounge at this year’s festival, which will be held at ATX’s headquarters, the Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental Hotel. All badgeholders will be able to relax and recharge between panels and screenings all weekend long, while engaging with Hulu original series and library programming, including “Fargo,” “The Shield,” “Ugly Betty” and “UnREAL,” to name a few, which will all have a presence at ATX. Additional activations and events will be announced at a later time.
These panels join “The O.C.” Writers Room Reunion with creator Josh Schwartz and the show’s writers, along with a script reading of the pilot episode, presented by CW Seed; a “Friday Night Lights” High School Reunion on Panther Field, with surprise guests and events; a special “Everybody Loves Raymond” 20-year Reunion with cast and producers; “The Shield” Writers Room Reunion with creator Shawn Ryan and the show’s writers; a panel of First Time Showrunners and Creators; a panel featuring TV Stunt Performers; a panel discussion of the (New) American Family with Nahnatchka Kahn, Casey Johnson & David Windsor; a Conversation with David Simon and Tom Fontana moderated by Beau Willimon; a Conversation with Norman Lear moderated by Jerrod Carmichael; a Conversation with Noah Hawley moderated by Beau Willimon; series panels and screenings for Hulu’s “Casual,” Lifetime’s “UnREAL,” TV Land’s “Younger,” FX’s “Tyrant,” AMC’s “Preacher,” TV Land’s “The Jim Gaffigan Show,” and Freeform’s “Dead of Summer;” a script reading of the never-picked-up pilot “Big” with creators Kevin Biegel and Mike Royce, along with surprise cast; a “State of Grace” Reunion with cast Mae Whitman and Alia Shawkat, along with creators Brenda Lilly and Hollis Rich; and panelists Betsy Beers, Kurt Sutter, Jennie Snyder Urman, Hart Hanson and Krista Vernoff. Norman Lear will also receive this year’s ATX Award for Achievement in Television Excellence.
For the latest developments, tickets and badges visit the ATX Television Festival official site www.atxfestival.com and follow us on Facebook & Twitter. For co-promotion, please link to @ATXFestival #ATXTVs5 on Twitter.
A really diverse array of shows will be covered, with plenty of notable talent visiting Austin to share insights and tales with attendees. I’m a HUGE West Wing fan, so expect much excitement from me on that. For information and badge sales, visit the ATX Television Festival official site www.atxfestival.com and follow them on Twitter at @ATXFestival. Can’t make it? We’ll be covering the festival here on Cinapse so check back for insights during and after the fest’s conclusion.
About ATX Television Festival
ATX’s focus is the celebration of the television medium — looking back at its history, where it is now, and where it is headed. Our weekend consists of events in which attendees can interact with actors, writers, directors, creators, showrunners, music supervisors, casting directors and studio executives involved in all stages of bringing their favorite shows to the small screen. We have all the functionality of a traditional film festival — spotlighting classic shows, never-aired pilots, cancelled too soon series, cult favorites, current hits and premieres of new series. In addition, we feature episode screenings with Q&A’s with the cast and creators, panels focused on industry related topics, and parties, live music, meet-ups, social media events and “super secret happy hours.” ATX’s goal is to serve both the community and industry professionals equally, by giving them the opportunity to discuss and celebrate all aspects of TV.
