Interview:
Emily Gipson,
Caitlin McFarland,
founders/co-presidents,
ATX Television Festival Season 12
Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot. Wouldn't you like to get away? If so, the ATX TV Festival is the place to be June 1-4. Austin’s annual celebration of television new and old hosts one of the biggest show get-togethers in its 12-year history when it hosts the Cheers Reunion on June 2 at ACL Live with cast members Ted Danson, George Wendt, and John Ratzenberger and co-creators James Burrows, Les Charles, and Glen Charles in attendance. On June 3, Danson will join his wife Mary Steenburgen for a conversation about their contributions to the small screen while eXcellence Awardee James Burrows will discuss his career as the most influential and prolific sitcom director before, during, and after the era of Must-See TV. The ATX TV Festival opens June 1 with the premiere of Justified: City Primeval and continues June 2 with the Cruel Summer Season 2 premiere and June 3 with the Season 3 premiere of The Righteous Gemstones. Other shows screening during the ATX TV Festival include Everyone is Doing Great, Manifest, The Ride, and new comedy series Primo from San Antonio native Shea Serrano. Dawson’s Creek will enjoy a 25th anniversary screening with creatives in attendance. Panels will be devoted to Accused, Austin City Limits, From, The Good Doctor, Grown-ish, Housebroken, Jury Duty, Mayans MC, Outlander, and Shark Tank. This year’s ATX TV Festival marks the first since Penske Media—which not only owns Variety and Deadline but also the SXSW Film & TV Festival—acquired the festival’s parent company ATX TV in November 2022. In addition, the festival unfolds against the backdrop of the current Writers Guild of America strike, which has already shut production on some of the series currently scheduled to be highlighted during the festival, most notably Andor and Late Night with Seth Meyers. The ATX TV Festival plans to make an announcement this week about programming impacted by the strike. But the chances remain high that the strike will be addressed during June 2’s State of the Union: A Conversation with TV's Leaders and the Artificial Intelligence & Us panel among other festival events. The Season 2 premiere screening of the Jake Johnson series Minx, which was cancelled midway through its production by HBO only to be rescued by Starz, will also draw attention to the recent and troubling trend of financially struggling streaming services cutting films and shows from its library.
Note: The ATX TV Festival announced on May 17 the addition of the WGA ON STRIKE! panel on June 3 as well as the strike-related cancellations of the Dawson’s Creek 25th Anniversary Screening & Conversation, Andor: A Conversation with Tony Gilroy, Seth Meyers' inside look at Late Night with Seth Meyers, and the Tiny Beautiful Things conversation with Liz Tigelaar and Cheryl Strayed. Aired: May 16, 2022. Web sites: https://atxfestival.com https://www.facebook.com/ATXFestival |
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