2024’s ATX TV Festival premiered this week with TV lovers from all walks of life flooding downtown Austin. Fans, creatives, industry executives, and media partners congregated in the Texas heat over their shared love, appreciation, and respect for the art that is television. The annual event, co-founded by co-presidents Emily Gipson and Caitlin McFarland, turned 13th this year, making ATX TV an official teenager. The two spoke briefly about what they’re most proud of and hope to see as the festival transitions into young adulthood and beyond.

“We were saying earlier that the thing I’m most proud about is how much hasn’t changed in our festival since the beginning,” McFarland said at the week’s red carpet event Thursday evening. “Our audience and the magic and the community and things like that. I hope that the adult festival – TV camp for grownups, not adults – still has that same part. And it’s still the same thing that it was at year one, but just with more people and more programming and on the cutting edge.”

“There’s certain things that we want to grow,” Gipson added, “but the heart of what the festival is – which has been since day one about the community; about the fans and industry coming together; about it being in intimate rooms where people can really have conversations; where we are representing as many walks of life as possible on the stages, on the screens – that has to hold true. But, there’s always new TV shows coming and we want to be able to keep growing as the television industry grows.

The festivities kicked off Thursday with an assortment of programming and events from 9 a.m. into the late evening. Fans of Fox’s hit comedy Animal Control welcomed series stars Vella Lovell and Grace Palmer to discuss their experience thus far and what fans can expect in the third season. Later at the evening’s Red Carpet event, the ladies detailed what makes comedy work so well in a time when the art of comedy seems to be an endangered species.

“As much as it [Animal Control] has humor, it has heart. And I think that’s important,” Palmer said. “For people to buy into the humor, there also has to be this heart, right? Like you wanna root for people and get to know people and have like a genuine connection to the characters and then be made to laugh because you know them so well. I think a good story is the backbone of comedy.”

“I feel like a lot of people who watch our show are so proud. They’re like, it’s sweeter than I thought it was going to be,” Lovell added. “Because I think a lot of shows don’t have that part our show has. Like they can be really funny, quicky jokes, but our show, there’s a lot of sweetness in it.”

Later Thursday afternoon, attendees gathered in Stateside Theatre for the festival’s first screening: AMC’s critically acclaimed Interview With The Vampire. The early showing of today’s episode was followed by a Q&A session with series creator Rolin Jones, executive producer Mark Johnson, and season two regular Assad Zaman, who plays the mysterious vampire, Armand. Episode four arrives on television today, Sunday, June 2 on AMC and AMC+.

The day concluded with two special screenings provided by festival sponsors HBO and Max. The first was a screening of the Hacks season finale. The comedy about comedy earned a fourth season renewal amid the event, which also welcomed series star Mark Indelicato providing commentary on the series. The second was the world premiere of Julio Torres’ Fantasmas. The creator’s follow-up to Los Espookys is an imaginative series melding fantasy and reality that only Torres’ artful mind can envision. Fantasmas arrives to the public Friday, June 7, at 11 p.m. ET on HBO.

Despite the threat of inclement weather, TV campers prevailed throughout day two and its variety of programming. Panels included TV’s portrayal of mental health, a discussion of TV and the industry’s future from network presidents, and the niche success of independently produced TV.

On the cusp of Pride Month, GLAAD’s Dino-Ray Ramos led a panel discussing the current state of queer storytelling. Ramos was joined by Hacks’ Indelicato, Chicago Fire’s Daniel Kyri, and The Irrational’s Travina Springer. The trio discussed their experiences as queer artists portraying queer characters, and how to healthily maneuver through the industry to open doors for more inclusion and belonging in front and behind the screen.

Later, Ramos, Springer, and Kyri reunited for a panel entitled “Break the Mold,” which examined the work for inclusivity within the industry as a whole. They were joined by Expats actor Brian Tee, Law and Order SVU’s Octavio Pisano, and Lopez vs. Lopez showrunner, Debby Wolfe. The panel explored the current struggles within the industry in the wake of last year’s strikes and how that negatively impacted the progress many BIPOC creatives experienced before the pandemic. Despite the current woes, many felt hopeful citing the very discussion as an example of progress made.

Another panel dissecting an inclusive blindspot in the industry was “Bodies of Work.” Led by TVLine’s Kimberly Roots, the panel discussed the constant fight for size inclusion and representation for all body types throughout the industry. Panelists included actor/writer Ashley Nicole Black, Ghosts star Danielle Pinnock, Busy This Week executive producer Caissie St. Onge, casting director Felicia Fasano, and The Good Doctor’s Bria Samoné Henderson. The conversation tackled the conversation of body image through the panelists’ personal experiences, struggles, and triumphs.

The afternoon welcomed another exclusive screening with HBO’s Industry. TV campers were treated to the season three premiere episode and a Q&A with co-creators, writers, and EPs Konrad Kay and Mickey Down. The two discussed their process for the third season and what to expect from the new season regular, Kit Harington. Industry officially returns to Max on August 11.

Campers closed the evening with two festive late-night events. Campers broke out in song for an evening of karaoke in celebration of the musical comedy Girls5Eva. Led by series creator Meredith Scardino, attendees partied in unison singing series originals and popular classics. For a more chill experience, MGM+ hosted a happy hour event with producers and cast of their original series Billy the Kid and Hotel Cocaine. The former is set to debut its second season while Hotel Cocaine arrives to the streamer later this month.

Photo credit: Jack Plunkett, Ursula Rogers, Maggie Boyd, & Maura Horlacher