Date: Saturday, 6/6
Time: 3:00 PM
Venue: SFA Assembly Room
Traditional seasons are a thing of the past. With new content available to viewers at all times, and the distance between seasons being anywhere from 6 weeks to 22 months, there is a new reality that TV is a year-round industry. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that audiences may forget about a return of a show until it magically appears on their DVRs. In this ultra-competitive landscape, and with the number of people that forgo the traditional cable package for an array of streaming devices skyrocketing, series are forced to connect with fans between “seasons” to keep an audience. Hear how creators, networks, and studios are engaging with social media, casting news, and supplementary content to keep their viewers’ attention.
Panelists: Noah Hawley, Beau Willimon, Mickey Fisher, Graeme Manson
Moderator: Tim Goodman
Date: Saturday, 6/6
Time: 10:00 AM
Venue: Google Fiber Space
Adaptions are hard enough — honoring an original vision, satisfying a fan base, and translating characters from one medium (written word and film) to another (episodic television). What if in addition to that, you also had to balance tone, voices, and rhythm? Join a conversation between three unique, powerhouse creators, who have managed to do something beyond adaptation….they have respected the original distinctive worlds and characters, while managing to create something of their own.
Panelists: Noah Hawley, Graham Yost, Bryan Fuller
Moderator: James Hibberd
Date: Saturday, 6/6
Time: 10:00 AM
Venue: Alamo Drafthouse Ritz – Theater 2
Three disparate families are brought into each others’ orbits when their kids play on the same little league baseball team — starring: Kevin Hart, Rob Corddry, Gabrielle Union, Heather Graham.
Panelists: Rob Thomas (Creator)
Moderator: Dan Fienberg
Date: Saturday, 6/6
Time: 10:00 AM
Venue: SFA Ballroom
Fifteen years ago shows like Dawson’s Creek (which aired TV’s first primetime gay kiss), and Queer as Folk and The L Word (which for the first time focused on groups of queer friends while making no concession to the straight viewer) proved that gay characters could be seen as more than just caricatures and side-kicks. Join the writers, creators, and actors of these series, along with those behind the current hit series Empire and The Fosters, as they discuss what it meant to them to pave the way for an honest and equal representation and the increasingly diverse future of queer characters on the small screen.
Panelists: Ron Cowen, Daniel Lipman, Peter Paige, Gina Fattore, Ilene Chaiken
Moderator: Wilson Cruz
Date: Saturday, 6/6
Time: 1:30 PM
Venue: Google Fiber Space
Diversity in television isn’t a new issue. It’s a problem whether it applies to gender, race, or other minorities that hasn’t been solved, and won’t be unless we take significant action. Join a conversation on the current state of affairs in the TV writing industry. Hear from those that are dealing with it from season to season — the showrunners, creators, writers, executive producers, who can talk about ways it should be tackled, the challenges and solutions, as well as some of the WGA initiatives that are already in place. They’re inviting you to not just listen, but to participate in the discussion by gaining perspective and sharing your ideas on how to create a new reality.
Panelists: Jenny Bicks, Courtney Kemp Agboh, Wendy Calhoun, Beau Willimon
Date: Sunday 6/7
Time: 10:00 AM
Venue: SFA Ballroom
Panelists: Betty Thomas, Mimi Leder, Tamra Davis, Daisy Von Scherler Mayer
Moderator: Emily Moss Wilson
Television has always been called a writer’s medium, but it is the director who commands the words from the page to the screen with that writer. Hear from these prolific television directors as they discuss how the director’s role has changed in this new more competitive era of television, the difference between shooting for network, cable, and streaming, and how the quality of the small screen must compete with that of the movies, while budgets and production schedules have remained the same.
Date: Saturday 6/6
Time: 1:30 PM
Venue: SFA Assembly Room
Panelists: Julie Plec; Kevin Williamson
Moderator: Carina MacKenzie
Over the past fifteen years Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec’s careers have intertwined over and over and over again. Join them in a conversation as they look back over their working relationship, where it started and what they’ve learned from each other when it comes to navigating their way through Hollywood, co-creating a hit TV show, and running multiple shows at once.
Date: Sunday 6/7
Time: 12 PM
Venue: SFA Ballroom
Panelists: Russell Mulcahy (EP/Director); Cast: Tyler Posey, Holland Roden, Shelley Hennig
Moderator: Sandra Gonzalez
Join “Teen Wolf” cast members and the creative team behind the show as they take ATX by storm. The pack will dish secrets, answer fan questions and give the audience a peek at the upcoming fifth season of MTV’s hit drama series which premieres Monday, June 29th at 10:00 pm ET.
Date: Sunday 6/7
Time: 2 PM
Venue: SFA Ballroom
Panelists: Damon Lindelof (Writer/Creator/EP), Mimi Leder (Director/EP); Cast: Ann Dowd, Chris Eccleston, Carrie Coon
Moderator: Ben Blacker
Date: Friday 6/5
Time: 3:30 PM
Venue: SFA Ballroom
Hear from the writers, creators, and guys behind CBS’ summer slate of event programming: Extant (Season 2), Under the Dome (Season 3), and the premiere of Zoo.
Panelists: Josh Appelbaum (Zoo), Adam Stein (Under The Dome) and Mickey Fisher (Extant)
Moderator: Ben Blacker