ATX Television Festival Announces Its Lineup!

Every year I love covering the ATX Television Festival in Austin. In June, I'll be attending the third year of the festival, and the lineups increase in quality each year. This is just a small, passionate festival run by people who are crazy about TV, and it's a weekend filled with solid programming and lots of fun. If you're a TV buff, I can't recommend attending more enthusiastically. June is a very lovely time to visit Austin, might I add.

This year, I'm especially thrilled because the brilliant brain behind Gilmore Girls and Bunheads, Amy Sherman-Palladino, is attending! She doesn't do many of these types of festivals or conventions, and it's a huge deal to me, an avowed and lifelong Gilmore Girls and Bunheads fanatic. (You can find my Gilmore Girls weekly rewatch posts over at FYA.)

Other exciting announcements: Orphan Black will be repped by its creators, and I'm super stoked about that. Henry Winkler's going to be there, as is Graham Yost. In fact, there's a huge list of confirmed attendees, so read below for the press release and get excited!

You can get weekend badges to ATX Television Festival here. They're currently $175 but will soon bump up to $225, so hurry! Follow ATX on Facebook and Twitter, and check out their website here.

Austin, TX— Friday, March 28, 2014--- ATX Television Festival celebrates and honors television's past, present, and future.  This year the festival will expand to recognize an individual’s contributions by presenting the first Achievement in Television Excellence award to Henry Winkler. 

Henry Winkler began his career on iconic series including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show and Rhoda, before creating an iconic character himself with Arther "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on Happy Days. Winkler has continued to reinvent himself as unforgettable characters on the small screen, guest starring in shows including The Practice, Childrens Hospital, Parks & Recreation, Arrested Development and Royal Pains. He has also worn the hat of Executive Producer on various series, including MacGyver, and currently has a series in development, The Winklers, with his son Max Winkler and Everybody Loves Raymond creator, Phil Rosenthal.

Henry Winkler’s body of work encompasses all the standards that make up ATX Television Festival: genuine, thoughtful, expansive, and entertaining.  He will receive the first Achievement in Television Excellence award this June 5-8, 2014 in a ceremony and conversation with the icon himself.
2014’s festival programming has taken content for fans to the next level by adding a variety of culturally appetizing programming for a wide appeal.

“Each year we strive to surpass previous year’s expectations in terms of showcasing programming from fan-favorite and premiere series.  This year we are excited to add new networks like SundanceTV and BBC America, as well as continuing our partnership with Netflix, to appeal to a wide variety of audiences.” – ATX Festival Co-Founders, Emily Gipson and Caitlin McFarland.

BBC America’s ORPHAN BLACK Co-Creators Graeme Manson and John Fawcett will attend with a new episode from Season 2. MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE’s Creator Mike Royce and star/co-creator Ray Romano will showcase their cancelled-too-soon series. And Comedy Central will bring their hit REVIEW to this year’s Festival along with Director/Writer/Producer Jeffrey Blitz and star Andy Daly.

To round out the incredible line-up, ABC’S Revenge with TBA cast members, CBS’ Reckless with creator Dana Stevens and actors Cam Gigandet and Anna Wood, TBS’ Sullivan & Son, Friday Night Lights stars Derek Phillips, Stacey Oristano and Louanne Stephens, and Austin favorite MY GENERATION with Producer/Writer Noah Hawley and TBA cast members. In addition, previously announced SundanceTV series, RECTIFY will now include Executive Producer Mark Johnson and star Abigail Spencer.

ATX Television Festival continually sets the standard while reuniting your beloved television show casts in never seen before reunions. Last year, the popular show Boy Meets World reunited on the red carpet for the first time in years. It was announced that EVERWOOD and HEY DUDE would make history by bringing the cast back together for a special night together reunited here in Austin. Joining cast members and writers will be HEY DUDE’s own Melody, better known as, Christine Taylor. 

Please see below for the current list and stay tuned for additional programming announcements.

Confirmed Guests:
Amy Sherman Palladino, Creator/Writer: Gilmore Girls, Bunheads
Graham Yost, Creator/Executive Producer/Writer: Raines, Boomtown, Justified, Hey Dude
Carlton Cuse, Executive Producer/Writer: Bates Motel, Lost
Kerry Ehrin, Executive Producer/Writer: Bates Motel, Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, The Wonder Years, Moonlighting
Ben Blacker, Nerdist Writers Panel
Kyle Killen, Creator/Writer: Lone Star, Awake, Mind Games
Liz Tigelaar, Creator/Writer: Bates Motel, Life Unexpected, Nashville
Julie Plec, Creator/Writer: The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, The Tomorrow People
Richard Hatem, Writer: Grimm, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
Andrew Miller, Creator/Writer: The Secret Circle
David Hudgins, Executive Producer/Writer: Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, Everwood
Bryan Seabury, VP of Drama Development at CBS
Paul Scheer, Creator/Writer/Actor: The League, NTSF:SD:SUV
Tim Doyle, Executive Producer/Writer: Last Man Standing, Roseanne, Ellen
Arielle Kebbel, Actor: The Vampire Diaries, Gilmore Girls
Scott Porter, Actor: Hart of Dixie, Friday Night Lights
David Semel, Director/Producer: Hemlock Grove, Homeland, Intelligence, American Dreams, Dawson’s Creek

Just Added:

Graeme Manson, Creator: Orphan Black
John Fawcett, Creator: Orphan Black
Ray Romano, Actor: Parenthood, Men of Certain Age
Mike Royce, Creator: Men of Certain Age
Derek Phillips, Actor: Friday Night Lights
Stacey Oristano, Actor: Friday Night Lights, Bunheads
Louanne Stephens, Actor: Friday Night Lights
Dana Wheeler Nicholson, Actor: Friday Night Lights
Abigail Spencer, Actor: Rectify
Mark Johnson, Executive Producer: Rectify
Noah Hawley, Writer/Producer: Fargo, My Generation
Christine Taylor, Actor: Hey Dude
Andy Daly, Actor: Review
Jeffrey Blitz, Director/Writer/Producer: Review
Dana Stevens, Creator/Executive Producer/Writer: Reckless
Anna Wood, Actor: Reckless
Cam Gigandet, Actor: Reckless

Confirmed Series:
Orphan Black from BBC America – Recently added
Reckless from CBS – Recently added
Review from Comedy Central – Recently added
Sullivan & Son from TBS – Recently added
Men of A Certain Age from TNT – Recently added
My Generation from ABC – Recently added
Revenge from ABC – Recently Added

Bates Motel from A&E
Rectify from SundanceTV
Everwood
Hey Dude
Justified

Including Programming from participating Network/Studios:
ABC
A&E
Adult Swim
AMC
BBC America
CBS
Comedy Central
FOX
FX
Hasbro Studios
Netflix
SundanceTV
TBS
TNT