ATX Television Festival is an annual event based in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, that celebrates and showcases the past, present, and future of the

television industry Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. Screenings, Q&As, cast reunions, and industry panel discussions take place over four days and are open to members of the public. The organizers describe it as having "the functionality of a traditional

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

", and as a blending of industry and fan events. The first was held in June 2012, founded by Caitlin McFarland and Emily Gipson. Attendance numbers have risen from 700 at the first festival to 2,500 in 2017. They now work "hand-in-hand with networks and studios that want to bring their talent to promote their programming".

Festival history

"Season 1" (2012)

The first festival took place from June 1–3, 2012. Special panels included discussions with showrunners Bill Lawrence and

Jason Katims Jason Katims (born November 30, 1960) is an American television writer, producer, and playwright. He is best known as the creator of several television series, including '' Relativity'' (1996), '' Roswell'' (1999–2002), '' Friday Night Lights' ...

, and reunions with cast and crew members of '' Friday Night Lights'', ''

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

'', '' One Tree Hill'', and ''

Love Monkey ''Love Monkey'' is an American comedy-drama television series starring Tom Cavanagh. The series was created by Michael Rauch, based on the book of the same name, by Kyle Smith. It was a co-production of Paramount Television and Sony Pictures Te ...

''. Notable screenings with Q&As included ''

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'', '' Parenthood'', ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 10, ...

'', ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is chang ...

'', and ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

''. Industry panels included "TV Fantasy Goes Mainstream", "Women on Television", "Book to TV Series", "Stages of a Television Writing Career" and more.

"Season 2" (2013)

The second festival took place from June 6–9, 2013. There were panels for the cast and crew of ''Friday Night Lights'', ''Parenthood'', and '' Husbands'', and conversations with showrunners Michael Jacobs, Rob Thomas and

Dan Harmon Daniel James Harmon (born January 3, 1973) is an American writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator and producer of the NBC/Yahoo! Screen sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), creator and host of the comedy podcast '' Harmontow ...

. Notable screenings with Q&As included '' Boy Meets World'', ''

American Dreams ''American Dreams'' is an American drama television series that ran on NBC for three seasons & 61 episodes, from September 29, 2002, to March 30, 2005. The show tells the story of the Pryor family of Philadelphia during the mid-1960s, with many ...

'', '' My So Called Life'', '' Once Upon a Time'', and ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

''. Among the specialist panels were "Creating the Sound of a Show", "Directing in a Writer’s World", "Face Off: Movies vs. TV presented by

Austin Film Festival Austin Film Festival (AFF), founded in 1994, is an organization in Austin, Texas, that focuses on writers’ creative contributions to film. Initially, AFF was called the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and functioned to launch the ...

", "Pitch…Pilot…Pick-Up", and "Structure of a Sitcom…and the Rise of the Anti-Sitcom".

"Season 3" (2014)

The third festival ran from June 5–8, 2014. It included conversations with actor

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series '' Happy Days'', Winkler has ...

and showrunner Carlton Cuse, a panel with the people behind ''Adult Swim'', and a special "15 Year '' Roswell'' Reunion" screening with Q&A. Other Q&As included the cast and crew members from ''

Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

'', '' Fargo'', ''

Everwood ''Everwood'' (known as ''Our New Life in Everwood'' in the United Kingdom) is an American drama television series created by Greg Berlanti. Berlanti, Mickey Liddell, Rina Mimoun, Andrew A. Ackerman and Michael Green served as executive produce ...

'', '' Justified'', ''

Orange is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a ...

'', '' The Goldbergs'' and more. Some of the specialist panels were "Are You Listening?: Fine-tuning the Television Soundtrack", "It’s All So Dramatic: evolution of the tv drama", "Pairing Off: a look at co-creating & writing partners", "Reboot, Remake, Reimagine, or Adapt" and "The Casting Director’s Production".

"Season 4" (2015)

The fourth festival was held from June 4–7, 2015. Special panels included "''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel ( Rory Gilmore). The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flag ...

'': 15-year reunion", "''

Queer as Folk ''Queer as Folk'' may refer to: * ''Queer as Folk'' (British TV series), 1999–2000 * ''Queer as Folk'' (American TV series), a 2000–2005 American and Canadian version of the UK series ** ''Queer as Folk'' soundtracks, soundtrack albums from ...

'': 15 Year Reunion", "'' Dream On'': 25-year reunion", and "The Evolution of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

''". Additional panels were held with cast and/or crew from '' The Leftovers'', ''

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural comedy television series that aired on Fox, and later on NBC. The show aired from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for a total of eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Da ...

'', ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no le ...

'', '' Suits'', ''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...

'', ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'', and others. There were conversations with showrunners

Marta Kauffman Marta Fran Kauffman (born September 21, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the co-creator of the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' with her longtime friend, David Crane. Both Kauffman and Crane were also executive pr ...

Amy Sherman-Palladino Amy Sherman-Palladino (born January 17, 1966) is an American television writer, director, and producer. She is the creator of the comedy-drama series ''Gilmore Girls'', ''Bunheads'', and ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel''. Sherman-Palladino has rece ...

, and

James L. Brooks James Lawrence Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. His television and film work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Taxi'', ''The Simpsons'', '' Broadcast News'', ''As G ...

. Industry discussions included " CBS Summer Writers Forum", "Defining Docuseries", "Diversity in Progress", "The Buyers", "The Directors", and "The Devoted Niche vs. The Casual Mass: Is It Really All In the Numbers?" among others.

"Season 5" (2016)

The fifth festival was held from June 9–12, 2016. Special reunion panels occurred for ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'', ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombi ...

'', '' Rescue Me'' and the writers of ''

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt pol ...

'' and '' The OC''. Other series with cast and/or crew panels included '' Younger'', ''

Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

'', '' The Night Shift'', '' Unreal'' and others. Showrunners who attended for talks included

David Simon David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on '' The Wire'' (2002–08). He worked for '' The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' H ...

, Tom Fontana,

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning '' All in the Fami ...

, Noah Hawley and

Beau Willimon Pack Beauregard Willimon (born October 26, 1977) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He helped develop the American version of the series '' House of Cards'' and served as showrunner for the first four seasons. In 2018, Willimon created t ...

. Industry discussions included "Breaking Story: Inside the Room Where It Happens", "Crisis of Faith: Religion & Spirituality on TV", "Development Executives: Business Meets Creative", "Fandom Rising: The Impact of Fan Culture in the Age of Social Media", "The (New) American TV Family" and more.

"Season 6" (2017)

The sixth festival ran from June 8–11, 2017. The headline event was "''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series (''Galactica 1980''), a line of ...

'' Reunion". Other series that had a cast and/or crew panel included ''

This is Us ''This Is Us'' is an American family drama television series that aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents, and their three children, in several different time frames. It s ...

'', '' The Comeback'', ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American period spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg that aired on the FX television network for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also serve as showrunners a ...

'', ''

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

'', ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ...

'', '' Grace & Frankie'', '' GLOW'', ''

Northern Exposure ''Northern Exposure'' is an American Northern comedy-drama television series about the eccentric residents of a fictional small town in Alaska that ran on CBS from July 12, 1990, to July 26, 1995, with a total of 110 episodes. It received 57 ...

'', ''

Sneaky Pete ''Sneaky Pete'' is an American Crime film, crime drama series created by David Shore and Bryan Cranston. The series follows Marius Josipović (Giovanni Ribisi), a released convict who adopts the identity of his cellmate, Pete Murphy, to avoid hi ...

'', ''

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

'' and more. Industry discussions included "A Network’s Identity: Brave New World or Business As Usual?", "Complex, Not Complicated: A Look at a Woman’s Character", "Directors & Showrunners: A Collaboration", "MTV’s Evolution of Reality presented by

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

" and "Television in a Trumped Up America".

"Season 7" (2018)

The seventh season was held June 7–10, 2018.

"Season 8" (2019)

The eighth season was held June 6–9, 2019.

"Season 9" (2020)

The ninth festival was tagged "...from the couch!" and ran from June 5–7, 2020. Due to a mass national quarantine, the festival was held virtually for the first time. It consisted of a single-track schedule with pre-recorded content that was streamed live on their ATX YouTube channel.

ATX Television Excellence Award winners

(2014) *

(2015) *

(2016) * Marcy Carsey (2018) *

Phylicia Rashad Phylicia Rashad ( ) (née Ayers-Allen; born June 19, 1948) is an American actress, singer and director who is dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom '' The Cosby ...

(2019) * Michael J. Fox (2021)

References

{{reflist

External links

Official websiteATX Television Festival
collected news from ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

''
ATX Television Festival
collected news from ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

'' Television festivals Festivals in Austin, Texas Festivals established in 2012 2012 establishments in Texas