The TV Campfire

ATX TV Festival is honored to present its annual “Award in Television eXcellence” to five-time Emmy award winning and four-time Golden Globe winning actor, producer, activist, and New York Times best-selling author Michael J. Fox. First given in 2014, the award seeks to recognize individuals whose career reflects the very best of television, through work that is thought-provoking, genuine, expansive, and ultimately, entertaining. As Season 10’s honoree, Fox joins the festival for an intimate, retrospective conversation spanning his iconic performances on Family Ties and Spin City, critically acclaimed guest turns on The Good Wife and Rescue Me, his recent memoir, “No Time Like the Future,” and more.

This panel originally aired on June 16, 2021, as part of ATX TV Festival Season 10.

PANELISTS:

• Michael J. Fox (Actor, Producer, Activist, Author)
• Denis Leary (Actor, Producer, Writer, Director)

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For more information on ATX TV Festival, visit: atxfestival.com

Being a teenager has always been hard, but the issues they are facing in 2021 are beyond most adults’ comprehension. How these issues are portrayed on TV is as widely varied as the matters themselves and differs greatly depending on the perspective of the protagonist. These YA creators and actors discuss how they approach these stories based on who their character(s) is: their race, gender, sexuality, socio-economic level, religion, etc. And how do each of these elements change how these complex stories are told?

This panel originally aired on June 12, 2021, as part of ATX TV Festival Season 10.

PANELISTS:

Gina Fattore (Showrunner/EP, Dare Me)

Tracey Wigfield (Showrunner/Writer/EP, Saved by the Bell)

Michael Cimino (Actor, Love, Victor)

Kaylee Bryant (Actor, Legacies)

MODERATOR: Philiana Ng (Entertainment Tonight)

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For more information on ATX TV Festival, visit: atxfestival.com

Amazon Studios & Prime Video present an in-depth look at SMALL AXE, the critically acclaimed anthology series based on the real-life experiences of London's West Indian community set between the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. Series creator, co-writer, co-editor, director and executive producer, Steve McQueen is joined by writer/director/producer Channing Godfrey Peoples for a one-on-one conversation and exploration of the five films that comprise the series.

SMALL AXE is available on Amazon Prime Video.

This panel originally aired on June 13, 2021, as part of ATX TV Festival Season 10.

PANELISTS:

Steve McQueen (Creator/Co-Writer/Co-Editor/Director/EP)

MODERATOR: Channing Godfrey Peoples (Writer/Director/Producer, Miss Juneteenth)

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Follow  @Amazon Prime Video :

@PrimeVideo on Twitter

@AmazonPrimeVideo on Instagram and Facebook

For more information on ATX TV Festival, visit: atxfestival.com

Just as television creatives in the last year were faced with a choice to engage (or not engage) with the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the industry faced a similar choice in the 1980s with the arrival of HIV & AIDS.

As the virus progressed in real time, so did lack of information, fear, and ignorance -- which was often reflected on screen through early portrayals of HIV and AIDS that were problematic to the very communities most devastated by the virus. The ‘90s brought a rise in more educated and empathetic portrayals with ER and LIFE GOES ON, opening the door to even more nuanced storylines on BROTHERS & SISTERS, HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER, and LOOKING.

All of these series allowed TV to explore HIV not as a death sentence, but as a medical condition to be managed and treated like any other, without stigmatization. This conversation explores TV’s complicated history in regards to HIV & AIDS storylines, and the ways in which it has dismantled stereotypes by showing those living with HIV and AIDS as capable of not just surviving, but thriving.

This panel originally aired as part of ATX TV Festival Season 10.

For more information and resources, please visit hollywoodhealthandsociety.org.

PANELISTS:

• Neal Baer, M.D. (Writer/EP, ER)
• Steven Canals (Showrunner/EP, Pose)
• Michael Lannan (Creator/EP, Looking)
• Daniel Franzese (Actor, Looking)

MODERATOR: Manuel Betancourt

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@ATXFestival on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Follow  @USC Annenberg ’s Hollywood Health and Society:

@HollywdHealth on Twitter and Instagram

@HollywoodHealth on Facebook

For more information on ATX TV Festival, visit: atxfestival.com

ATX TV Festival’s Season 10 Opening Night included a 20th Anniversary panel for the groundbreaking Canadian series DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION presented by Tubi. Marking 20 years since the series premiere, the panel features creatives and cast from across the show’s 14-season run as they revisit iconic storylines and moments from the series, the show’s groundbreaking approach to young adult storytelling, behind-the-scenes stories, and more.

All episodes of DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION are available to stream free on Tubi!

This panel originally aired on June 11, 2021, as part of ATX TV Festival Season 10.

PANELISTS:

Linda Schuyler (Co-Creator/EP)

Stephen Stohn (Executive Producer)

Stefan Brogren (Producer/Director/Cast)

Aaron Martin (EP/Writer)

Aislinn Paul (Cast)

Shane Kippel (Cast)

Luke Bilyk (Cast)

Lauren Collins (Cast)

Munro Chambers (Cast)

Jake Epstein (Cast)

Daniel Clark (Cast)

Andrea Lewis (Cast)

Christina Schmidt (Cast)

MODERATOR: Louis Peitzman

SUBSCRIBE to our official ATX TV YouTube Channel for more panels, conversations & events with your favorite TV creatives and casts.

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Follow Tubi:

@Tubi on Twitter and Instagram

@tubitv on Facebook

For more information on ATX TV Festival, visit: atxfestival.com

The past year has seen the fault lines of our country exposed and exploited, and we've seen loss to an unmatched degree. Through all the grief and introspection, the divisions of our country have been made crystal-clear. At this critical inflection point, the ACLU has launched "Systemic Equality", a bold platform which reimagines the broken systems that are woven into the fabric of our society. But imagining an anti-racist, healed America means not just bold policies, but bold storytelling.

In this conversation, ACLU Texas Communications Director Darryl Ewing sits down with writers, producers, and showrunners to discuss how to repair inequitable systems and build a future through storytelling, both on and off the screen in TV today.

Learn more about the ACLU's Systemic Equality platform HERE.

This panel originally aired June 14, 2021, as part of ATX Television Festival Season 10.

PANELISTS:

• Monica Macer (Producer/Writer, Queen Sugar, MacGyver)
• Little Marvin (Producer/Writer, Them)
• Ashley Nicole Black (Producer/Writer/Actor, A Black Lady Sketch Show, Ted Lasso)
• Kay Oyegun (Producer/Director/Writer, Queen Sugar, This Is Us)

MODERATOR: Darryl Ewing (Communications Director, ACLU of Texas)

SUBSCRIBE to our ATX TV YouTube Channel for more panels, conversations & events with your favorite TV creatives and casts.

Follow ATX TV: @ATXFestival on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Follow ACLU: @ACLU on Twitter and Facebook; @ALCU_nationwide on Instagram

For more information on ATX TV Festival, visit: atxfestival.com

A look back at the groundbreaking series OZ, which debuted in 1997 as HBO’s first original one-hour drama. In this special ATX retrospective, creator Tom Fontana and cast members Terry Kinney, Lee Tergesen, Dean Winters, Harold Perrineau, and Kirk Acevedo reflect on the show's creative and cultural impact, their favorite on-set memories, and the enduring friendship that resulted.

This panel originally aired on June 14, 2021, as part of ATX TV Festival Season 10.

PANELISTS:

• Tom Fontana (Creator/EP)
• Terry Kinney (Director/Cast)
• Lee Tergesen (Cast)
• Dean Winters (Cast)
• Harold Perrineau (Cast)
• Kirk Acevedo (Cast)

MODERATOR: Eric Deggans (NPR)

SUBSCRIBE to our ATX TV YouTube Channel for more panels, conversations & events with your favorite TV creatives and casts.

Follow ATX TV: @ATXFestival on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

For more information on ATX TV Festival, visit: atxfestival.com

Native American and Indigenous storytellers long preceded the days of television, but have largely been excluded from the industry, stereotyped by inauthentic storytelling, or erased from the picture altogether. However, these creatives are changing TV for the better, and reclaiming their long-overdue seat at the table. Join us for a conversation with the Native American and Indigenous actors, writers, directors, and producers that are re-centering Indigenous storytelling and producing dynamic TV in the process.

This panel originally aired June 14, 2021, as part of ATX TV Festival Season 10.

PANELISTS:

• Sierra Teller Ornelas (Showrunner/EP/Co-Creator, Rutherford Falls)
• Sydney Freeland (Director, Rutherford Falls, The Wilds)
• Michael Greyeyes (Actor, Rutherford Falls)
• Kimberly Guerrero (Actor, Rutherford Falls, The Wilds)

MODERATOR: Vincent Schilling (Indian Country Today)

SUBSCRIBE to our ATX TV YouTube Channel for more panels, conversations & events with your favorite TV creatives and casts.

Follow ATX TV: @ATXFestival on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

For more information on ATX TV Festival, visit: atxfestival.com

While overall representation of disabilities on TV is slowly but surely improving, many series still tend to depict characters with visible disabilities as the Tragic Victim or the Heroic Martyr -- but rarely are they depicted as people, with all the complexities that entails. We sat down with the writers and actors who are exploring the uncharted territory of the "messy middle," where characters with disabilities are just as flawed, funny, and despicable as anyone else. They also discuss how creatives can push beyond the fear of getting it “wrong” when it comes to disability representation, and what getting it “right” actually means. Co-presented by DREDF's Disability Media Alliance Project (DMAP) and The Syndication Project.

This panel originally aired on June 12, 2021, as part of ATX TV Festival Season 10.

PANELISTS:

• Steve Way (Actor, RAMY)
• Sofiya Cheyenne (Actor, LOUDERMILK)
• Ryan J. Haddad (Actor, THE POLITICIAN)
• Katherine Beattie (Writer/Producer, NCIS: NEW ORLEANS)
• Kayla Cromer (Actor, EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE OK)

MODERATOR: Kristen Lopez (IndieWire)

SUBSCRIBE to our ATX TV YouTube Channel for more panels, conversations & events with your favorite TV creatives and casts.

Follow ATX TV: @ATXFestival on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Follow DREDF & DMAP: @DisabilityMap on Twitter, @DREDF.org on Facebook.

For more information on ATX TV Festival, visit: atxfestival.com

AMC presents a conversation with the creator and stars of KEVIN CAN F**K HIMSELF, exploring the inspiration behind the new dark comedy, the cultural evolution of the sitcom wife, and the unique use of both multi-cam & single-cam formats to examine its character’s inner lives.

Kevin Can F**k Himself Season 1 is available to stream now on AMC+.

This panel originally aired on June 20, 2021, as part of ATX TV Festival Season 10.

PANELISTS:

• Valerie Armstrong (Creator/EP)
• Annie Murphy (Cast)
• Mary Hollis Inboden (Cast)

MODERATOR: Danielle Turchiano (Variety)

SUBSCRIBE to our ATX TV YouTube Channel for more panels, conversations & events with your favorite TV creatives and casts.

Follow ATX TV at @ATXFestival on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Follow AMC at @AMC_TV on Twitter and Instagram, @AMC on Facebook.

Follow KEVIN CAN F*** HIMSELF at @KevCanFHimself on Twitter and Instagram.

For more information on ATX TV Festival, visit: atxfestival.com