ATX TELEVISION FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING FOR YEAR EIGHT, TAKING PLACE JUNE 6-9, 2019, IN AUSTIN, TX

ATX TELEVISION FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING FOR YEAR EIGHT, TAKING PLACE JUNE 6-9, 2019, IN AUSTIN, TX

Season 8 Will Feature Screenings of OWN’s Summer Drama “David Makes Man,”And HBO’s Spanish-Language Comedy “Los Espookys”

New Panels Include A Conversation with ATX Awardee Phylicia Rashad, 
An Inside Look at the Making of AMC’s “The Terror: Infamy,”
A Lifetime 35th Anniversary Conversation with Executives and Creatives,
And a Conversation About “The Female Gaze”

ATX Television Festival announces additional programming for year eight of the festival, which will take place June 6-9, 2019, in Austin, Texas.  

This year’s festival will feature a pilot screening of OWN’s new original series “David Makes Man,” followed by a Q&A conversation with showrunner/executive producer Dee Harris-Lawrence, and cast members Phylicia Rashad and Akili McDowell.  “David Makes Man” is a one-hour lyrical drama from creator/executive producer Tarell Alvin McCraney (“Moonlight”), which centers on a 14-year-old prodigy from the projects who is haunted by the death of his closest friend, and relied on by his hardworking mother to find a way out of poverty.  The series premieres on OWN this summer.

ATX is honored to present Emmy-nominated and Tony award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad with this year’s “Award in Television eXcellence.”  The award was first given in 2014, to honor individuals whose body of work encompasses the standards that define ATX: thought-provoking, lasting, genuine, expansive, and ultimately, entertaining.  Ms. Rashad’s television career has embodied these traits and more, including her iconic roles on “The Cosby Show,” “Empire,” “This is Us,” and OWN’s upcoming drama “David Makes Man.” She will participate in an intimate conversation covering the expanse of her career and what lies ahead.  Previous recipients of the ATX Award are Henry Winkler, James L. Brooks, Norman Lear, and last year’s honoree, Marcy Carsey.

ATX will also feature a premiere screening for HBO’s upcoming primarily Spanish-language comedy “Los Espookys,” from the minds of fresh, exciting talents Julio Torres and Ana Fabrega, alongside Fred Armisen and Lorne Michaels.  The half-hour series follows a group of friends who turn their love for horror into a peculiar business, providing horror to those who need it, in a dreamy Latin American country where the strange and eerie are just part of daily life.  The screening will be followed by a Q&A with creators Armisen, Fabrega and Torres, who also star in the series.

AMC’s original series, “The Terror: Infamy” will also host a panel conversation with the creative team behind the anthology, taking viewers inside the production of the upcoming second season.  Set during World War II, the haunting and suspenseful 10-episode season centers on a series of bizarre deaths that haunt a Japanese-American community, and a young man’s journey to understand and combat the malevolent entity responsible.  The panel will feature co-creator/showrunner/executive producer Alexander Woo (“True Blood”) and consultant/star George Takei (“Star Trek”). Additional panelists will be announced at a later date.

Lifetime will also present “A League of Their Own: 35 Years of Culture Defining Television on Lifetime,” a panel conversation with the executives & creatives behind the network’s latest scripted & unscripted content. Tanya Lopez (EVP, Limited Series & Original Movie Acquisitions), Gena McCarthy (EVP, Head of Unscripted Programming), actor/director/EP Kim Raver (“Tempting Fate”), executive producer Tamra Simmons (“Surviving R. Kelly”), and creator/executive producer Jamie Denbo (“American Princess”) will discuss the use of TV to move the cultural needle, what it means to evolve with the medium, and the importance of narratives shaped for and by women.

In addition, creator/showrunner Tanya Saracho (“Vida”) and actor/director/EP Kim Raver (“Tempting Fate”) will be part of “The Female Gaze,” a conversation with writers and directors who are reclaiming female agency by (figuratively and literally) shifting viewers’ perspectives from the “male” default, and telling stories that unapologetically place women and their world view at the center. Additional panelists will be announced at a later date.

These panels join the previously announced “Presidents of the Guilds” panel, featuring Gabrielle Carteris, president, SAG-AFTRA, David A. Goodman, president, WGAW, and Thomas Schlamme, president, DGA; a reunion of the ABC Family series “Greek;” “The House that Horror Built: Inside Blumhouse Television;” an “Inside the Writers Room” panel with Starz’s critically-acclaimed series “Vida;” the Closing Night Screening of Showtime’s “City on a Hill;” a panel exploring the “Power of Female Partnerships;” a “Cancelled Too Soon” panel with “Men In Trees;” Freeform’s “Good Trouble;” “Let’s Talk about Sex (Scenes),” an honest discussion about empowering both writers and actors, and improving safe “sex” practices behind the camera; a panel presented by the Casting Society of America, featuring some of TV’s top casting directors; a one-on-one conversation titled “Scene Partners & Roommates,” with actors Margo Martindale and Shane McRae; an “Everyone Is Doing Great” screening and Q&A; a panel with Netflix’s series “Atypical;” a panel with EPIX’s new series “Perpetual Grace, LTD;” an inside look at the “Tremors” pilot; USA’s summer drama “Dare Me;” IFC’s musical variety comedy “Sherman’s Showcase;” Comedy Central’s new sketch series “Alternatino with Arturo Castro;” and individual panelists Beatrice Springborn, Vice President, Content Development, Hulu; Jessica Rhoades, EP, “Sharp Objects,” “The Affair,” and Principal, Pacesetter; ATX Advisory Board member Kyle Killen, EP/showrunner of Showtime’s upcoming “Halo” series; and Mauricio Mota and Katie Elmore Mota, EPs, “East Los High,” and Co-Presidents of Wise Entertainment.  

For the latest developments and information on how to attend, visit the ATX Television Festival official site www.atxfestival.com and follow us on Facebook & Twitter.

For co-promotion, please link to @ATXFestival #ATXTVs8 on Twitter.

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.

ATX’s podcast The TV Campfire features one-on-one conversations with some of TV’s top creatives, and panel conversations recorded live at the festival.  All episodes can be found on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and atvxp.com/podcasts.

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PRESS CONTACTS:
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ATX@sunshinesachs.com