2020 ATX Television Festival Announces First Wave Of Programming

ATX Television Festival announces first wave of programming for year nine of the festival, which will take place June 4-7, 2020, in Austin, Texas.

Season 9 will revisit beloved family drama "Parenthood," from creator/executive producer Jason Katims, with a live script reading and panel conversation celebrating 10 years since the series premiere. Katims and writer/executive producer David Hudgins are confirmed to participate, along with cast members Peter Krause, Lauren Graham, Monica Potter, Erika Christensen, Mae Whitman, and Craig T. Nelson. Additional participants will be announced at a later date.

The festival will also reunite the prolific writers room behind modern western "Justified" for the 10th anniversary of the series' premiere. Creator/executive producer and ATX Advisory Board member Graham Yost will be joined by writer/producers Fred Golan ("Sneaky Pete"), Dave Andron ("Snowfall"), Benjamin Cavell ("The Stand"), Chris Provenzano ("Silicon Valley"), Taylor Elmore ("Blood & Treasure"), VJ Boyd ("S.W.A.T."), Ingrid Escajeda ("Sneaky Pete"), Gary Lennon ("Power"), and Wendy Calhoun ("Empire") for a conversation about the room's collaborative process, the enduring creative partnerships that resulted, and their careers following the series.

Season 9 will also feature a look back at the groundbreaking series "Oz," which debuted in 1997 as HBO's first original one-hour drama. The retrospective will dive into the series' unique narrative structure and feature a conversation with series creator/executive producer Tom Fontana, and cast members Lee Tergesen and Dean Winters. Additional participants will be announced at a later date.

NBC will host a panel conversation spotlighting their pioneering Female Forward directing initiative. As the first program in the industry to guarantee an episodic directing credit to its participants, Female Forward seeks to expand opportunities for female directors in scripted television by pairing them with advisors and mentors across the network's programming slate. The panel will feature NBC Entertainment Co-Presidents of Scripted Programming, Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta, along with participating showrunners and directors from the program's inaugural and 2019 classes, who will be announced at a later date.

ATX will feature a rare screening of the unaired pilot episode for "L.A. Confidential" based on the neo-noir novel by James Ellroy, which was previously adapted as a feature film in 1997. The pilot, produced by New Regency, Lionsgate and CBS TV Studios for CBS during the 2018 season, follows the paths of three homicide detectives, a female reporter, and a Hollywood actress as they cross paths in 1950s Los Angeles. The screening will be followed by a Q&A conversation with series creator/executive producer Jordan Harper ("Gotham"), executive producer Anna Fricke ("Valor"), and executive producer/director Michael Dinner ("Unbelievable").

ATX is also thrilled to announce three new additions to the festival's Advisory Board: showrunner/executive producer/director/actor Gloria Calderon Kellett ("One Day at a Time"), creator/executive producer/director Tanya Saracho ("Vida") and Lauren Whitney (President, Television, Spyglass Media Group). "'Excited' is not a strong enough word to describe our feelings on the addition of our new Advisory Board members, Gloria, Tanya, and Lauren," said festival co-founders and co-executive directors, Caitlin McFarland and Emily Gipson. "Each of them has brought and continues to bring a distinct, unique voice and value to ATX, and we cannot wait to work with them on building programming and growing the festival together."

Calderon Kellett, Saracho, and Whitney are confirmed to attend Season 9 as panelists, along with co-showrunner/executive producer Meredith Averill ("The Haunting of Hill House").

The festival has also opened submissions for their eighth annual "The Pitch Competition," which provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity for undiscovered writers to showcase their talent, along with providing access to TV's top creatives and executives. "The Pitch Competition is often the highlight of the festival for us," said McFarland and Gipson. "Over the last seven years, our winners have received mentorship, gained representation, pitched to top networks, and even sold their pitch to a major studio! It's been thrilling to see what these up-and-coming creators can do when given the opportunity to pitch their ideas in the room, and the community that they have built together through their experience in the Competition."

Writers have until January 17 to submit their best 90-second video pitch and writing sample for an original scripted series, which will be evaluated by several rounds of industry judges for a chance to pitch live at the festival in June. The winner will receive script-writing software from Final Draft, access to additional opportunities with The Black List and Sundance Episodic Program, a mentorship with an ATX judge or panelist, and the opportunity to pitch their series to one of the festival's studio/network partners. Full details on how and where to submit can be found at atxfestival.com/pitch.

Badges and Day Wristbands for the Season 9 are available now. For the latest developments and information on how to attend, visit the ATX Television Festival official site atxfestival.com and follow us on Facebook & Twitter.

To post a comment, you must register and login.