Thursday at 11 a.m. CT, the 2023 ATX TV Festival commenced with hundreds of attendees filling downtown Austin sidewalks, bars, and hotel rooms. Season 12 of “TV Camp for Grownups” kicked off its four-day event with the women of Starz’s critically-acclaimed time-traveling historic drama, Outlander. View the trailer for Outlander below.
Star and executive producer Catriona Balfe (Belfast, Escape Plan) and executive producer Maril Davis (Star Trek: Insurrection, For All Mankind) joined moderator Reshma Gopaldas (SheKnows) to discuss the upcoming seventh season. After nearly a decade of the series, Davis and Balfe discussed how their relationship has transformed since 2014’s first season, and how their lives have impacted their work.
Both discussed how they’ve grown to “become really good friends,” with Balfe stating Davis is her “go-to sounding board.” The duo’s partnership has also aided Balfe in advancing her duties as she and co-star Sam Heughan (Love Again, A Princess for Christmas) have become executive producers. And for the final eighth season, Balfe will direct an episode.
“[It’s] Interesting how the cake is made,” Balfe said about producing compared to acting. To prepare for her role as director, she even helped shape some scenes this season.
The conversation shifted to women in the industry and a work-life balance. Davis championed always having women in the writer’s room and added the first six episodes of season seven feature female directors. However, both Davis and Balfe spoke on the need for more women in technical roles.
Balfe said women pursue these opportunities but are forced to choose between a career and family. As a new mother, she talked about how the early start times and long hours limited her time with her son. She was able to work with producers to form a four-day week schedule, allowing her more time with her family.
“I don’t think you ever think you’re doing it well,” Davis said candidly on being a working mother. She also said she and Balfe are lucky as many crew members aren’t as fortunate to rearrange their hours for a better work-home balance. She hopes the industry embraces changes to better accommodate women and crew members in this way.
Before ending the panel conversation, attendees were rewarded with a sneak peek at the new season. Two exclusive clips were shown and featured some more familiar characters. One of the clips featured Sophie Skelton’s (211, Day of the Dead: Bloodline) Brianna. Skelton was scheduled to appear alongside Balfe and Davis, but flight issues kept her from traveling to Austin. The second clip spotlighted a quiet, human moment between Balfe’s Claire and Heughan’s Jamie. As far as their relationship this season, Balfe said they’re “in a very good place.”
The day’s final event followed the opening nights of the festival’s past with a world premiere screening. Attendees settled into the Paramount Theatre to witness the first episode of FX’s upcoming Justified revival, Justified: City Primeval. The series sees the return of Timothy Olyphant’s (Deadwood, The Mandalorian) Raylan Givens as he wrestles to track down a sociopathic criminal in Detroit. View the trailer below.
After the screening, The Hollywood Reporter’s Chief TV Critic Daniel Feinberg moderated a panel with the cast including Olyphant, Boyd Holbrook (The Sandman, Logan), Adelaide Clemens (Under the Banner of Heaven, Rectify), Olyphant’s daughter, Vivian, and executive producer, Sarah Timberman (Unbelievable, Elementary).
The majority of the conversation centered on the wonderful writing from absent contributors Dave Andron (Snowfall) and Michael Dinner (Outlaw Country). Due to the WGA Strike, many writers and showrunners refrained from attending the festival. Some programming was even canceled.
“None of it exists without a writer,” Olyphant stated about Justified. In their absence, Timberman delivered a statement from showrunners Andron and Dinner as the cast showed their solidarity with the writers.
The second half of the conversation focused on the casting of Vivian to play her father’s on-screen daughter. In comic fashion, Vivian explained how she was never interested in her dad’s work. That all changed when this role became available.
“He’s getting paid to be a child,” Vivian stated to boisterous laughter. Timothy slyly agreed. Timberman reassured the audience that out of 40 auditions, Vivian was the best. And the rest is history.
The seventh season of Outlander arrives on Starz on Friday, June 16. FX’s Justified: City Primeval debuts on July 16.
Photo credit: Jack Plunkett, Teodora Pogonat, and Jeff Cohen.