Austin, TX – ATX Television Festival and Entertainment Weekly announced an unprecedented partnership for this year’s festival, which will take place June 4-7, 2015, in Austin, TX. The highly anticipated “Gilmore Girls” reunion will be presented in association with Entertainment Weekly (EW) as the Closing Night panel of the festival, and as previously announced, will feature creator Amy Sherman Palladino along with cast members Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Kelly Bishop, Jared Padalecki, Scott Patterson, Keiko Agena, Liza Weil, Liz Torres, Sean Gunn, Yanic Truesdale and John Cabrera. Newly added to the panel are cast members Danny Strong, Todd Lowe, Jackson Douglas and Matt Czuchry.
In addition, EW will present and moderate the first-ever panel at 35,000 feet in the air to kick off the festival on ATX’s legendary Southwest Airlines TV Party Plane. EW will also host additional panels throughout the weekend, and has coverage planned across platforms on EW Radio on SiriusXM, EW.com and in the magazine, reaching their audience of nearly 25 million passionate and engaged fans.
“I’ve admired the ATX Television Festival since it started,” said Henry Goldblatt, Editor-in-Chief, Entertainment Weekly. “I couldn’t be happier for us to partner in the festival’s fourth year. It’s quickly become the premiere destination for the actors, writers, directors, creators, and showrunners who are responsible for so many of the shows that EW’s TV obsessed audience loves.”
“Entertainment Weekly readers and ATX Television Festival attendees are one in the same – a savvy blend of both television fans and those who follow the entertainment industry – so a partnership with EW was the perfect fit for us,” said Caitlin McFarland and Emily Gipson, Co-Executive Directors and Founders, ATX Television Festival. “We’re thrilled to have EW present ‘Gilmore Girls’ as Closing Night, as it will allow us to host it in a larger venue for more fans to enjoy, and those who can’t attend will still have the chance to watch it on EW.com. We couldn’t be more excited to be working alongside EW, and look forward to more opportunities in the future.”
Previously announced panels for this year’s festival include “Boomtown;” “Boy Meets Girl Meets World;” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine;” “Bunheads;” the world premiere of USA’s “Complications” on Opening Night; a “Dawson’s Creek” writers room reunion, along with a first-ever “Dawson’s Creek” pilot script reading presented by creator Kevin Williamson; “Dream On;” “Drunk History’s History;” “The Fosters;” “Gilmore Girls;” “Hannibal;” “Journeyman;” “Justified;” “Playing House;” “Power;” “Queer as Folk;” “The Simpsons; “Suits;” and “Wayward Pines.” In addition, television icon James L. Brooks will receive the second annual Achievement in Television Excellence Award. Confirmed panelists include Beau Willimon (“House of Cards”), Phil Rosenthal (“Everybody Loves Raymond”), Noah Hawley (“Fargo”) and Marta Kauffman (“Friends”).
Additional programming, panels and panelists will be announced at a later date.
For the latest developments, tickets and badges visit the ATX Television Festival official site www.atxfestival.com and follow us on Facebook & Twitter.
For co-promotion, please link to @ATXFestival #ATXTV4 on Twitter.
ABOUT ATX TELEVISION FESTIVAL
Our focus is on 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 where attendees can interact with actors, writers, directors, creators, showrunners, music supervisors, casting directors and studio executives involved in all stages of bringing their favorite series 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 focus on episode screenings with Q&A’s from the cast and creators; panels focused on industry related topics like streaming and innovative outlets to continue production outside of the network/studio system; and will include parties, live music, meet-ups, social media events, and “super secret happy hours.” Ultimately, ATX has the goal of serving both the community and industry professionals equally by giving them the opportunity to discuss and celebrate all aspects of TV.
ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Entertainment Weekly is your all-access pass to Hollywood’s most creative minds and most fascinating stars. The magazine was launched by Time Inc. in 1990 and is America’s leading consumer publication in the entertainment category, with a guaranteed circulation rate base of nearly 1.8 million and a combined audience of almost 25 million loyal, engaged fans. Each day, EW.com publishes a myriad of featured stories, blog posts, TV-recaps, original videos, film reviews and photo galleries. In 2014, EW.com’s desktop, tablet and mobile growth hit an all-time high of 13.7 million combined unique visitors. Entertainment Weekly is the first to know about the best in entertainment. With sharp insight, unparalleled access and a trusted voice, EW keeps readers plugged into pop culture. This is where the buzz begins.
Entertainment Weekly is also available on the iPhone®, iPad®, NOOK Color™, HP Touchpad, Kindle Fire, and select Android™ devices. On social media, join the Entertainment Weekly community on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and Google +.