The TV Campfire

Creatives Linda Yvette Chávez ( Gentefied ), Miranda Kwok ( The Cleaning Lady ), Melvin Mar ( Fresh Off the Boat ), and Mike Gauyo ( Send Help ) discuss their respective journeys to bringing nuanced immigrant characters to life on screen, and the need for authentic storytelling spanning a range of immigrant experiences. Presented in partnership with Define American, and Hollywood, Health & Soc...

The funniest f*cking showrunners in TV join us to discuss the state of comedy, the art of running (and sometimes starring in) the show, and what it takes to break through the noise of too-much-TV. This conversation was originally recorded at ATX TV Festival Season 11 (June 2-5, 2022). PANELISTS: Phil Augusta Jackson (Creator/Showrunner/EP/Writer, Grand Crew ) Robin Thede (Creator/Showrunner/Writer...

A look at straight-forward adaptations and the pressure to please a fanbase, vs. using the IP as a launching place to tell a new story. When are you allowed to diverge, and what from the original text is sacred? This conversation was originally recorded at ATX TV Festival Season 11 (June 2-5, 2022) in Austin, TX.  PANELISTS: Patrick Somerville (Creator/Showrunner/EP, Station Eleven ) Graham R...

While male characters have long been afforded opportunities to push the boundaries of TV storytelling, it feels like women are finally getting the opportunity to do the same. Tune in to hear the creators, directors, producers, and actors responsible for shaping some of our favorite “dangerous” women explore the complicated villains, unconventional heroes, rule-breakers (and everything in between)...

Creator, showrunner, executive producer, writer, and actor Robin Thede ( A Black Lady Sketch Show ) answers all the questions about writing, pitching, staffing, and more that you’ve been dying to know, but were too afraid to ask. This conversation was originally recorded at ATX TV Festival Season 11 (June 2-5, 2022) in Austin, TX.  PANELISTS: Robin Thede (Creator/Showrunner/Writer/EP/Actor, A...

An episode ends, credits roll, and one final music cue hits. What song is playing? Does it break the tension, or hold you in it as you transition out of one world and back into real life? Credit sequences tend to get short shrift in a time where we're constantly being shuffled along to the next episode, but a great song can give us time (and reason) to pause and appreciate what we've just seen, or...

All at once, or week to week? Sundays, Thursdays, or somewhere in between? The way we watch and discover new TV shows almost feels like a personality test at this point (“Which Binge Model Are You?”) – but what effect do these various release models have on the long term success of a show, and how audiences engage with it? With more ways and places to watch TV than ever before, the answers to thes...

The TV Campfire Podcast is back with brand new releases from ATX TV Festival Season 11! Get caught up with festival co-founders and TV Campfire co-hosts Caitlin McFarland & Emily Gipson on all things ATX TV (including this year's festival), and then join Scrubs and Ted Lasso collaborators Bill Lawrence and Zach Braff for a one-on-one to chat about their decades-long creative partnership and fr...

When it comes to TV soundtracks, finding and securing the perfect song out of millions of options is hard enough. But creating the perfect song and turning it into a legitimate earworm? Even harder. Join us for an inside look at the unique process of constructing TV’s catchiest, funniest, and most moving original songs, with the geniuses behind them. This panel originally aired on June 14, 2021, a...

Abortion storylines are becoming more commonplace, but many still aren’t reflective of the real-life circumstances of most abortion patients in the U.S. - from representation of race and class, to access and parental status. This panel will explore how TV can further improve depictions of abortion onscreen, and how by creating awareness and lowering the disparities between fictional representation...

Heading in to 2020, the TV business was already facing seismic shifts brought on by multiple factors such as new direct-to-consumer streaming services entering the marketplace, declining ratings for ad-driven outlets, a changing international market, and a reckoning on agency packaging fees, to name a few. Add in an unprecedented global pandemic that halted production on 200 shows overnight, and y...

An in-depth conversation with creators, writers and directors about producing authentically Queer stories, pushing TV beyond the lens of heteronormativity, and the urgency of creating a more inclusive Queer canon for modern LGBTQ+ audiences. This panel originally aired June 13, 2021 as part of ATX Television Festival Season 10. PANELISTS: Josh Feldman (Showrunner/EP/Actor, This Close ) Silas Howar...

From ELLEN to WILL & GRACE to MODERN FAMILY, some of the most culturally significant shows have featured queer characters stealing scenes in sitcoms, and hearts as they do. Trans characters, however, have more often than not been the target of punchlines, or made into the joke altogether. The tide is turning thanks to a new wave of trans creators, writers, and performers who are bringing their...

An industry-forward conversation with top network, studio, and streamer executives about the state of the industry, the personal and professional philosophies they bring to their individual brands, and why inclusivity at all levels remains imperative to producing bigger and better storytelling. This panel originally aired on June 20, 2021, as part of ATX TV Festival Season 10. PANELISTS: Sarah Aub...

We were honored to present our very first “Breakthrough Award” to actor, writer, producer, and human rights advocate Angelica Ross (#Pose). This inaugural award seeks to recognize a creative voice who has made a unique and substantial imprint on TV, and exemplifies not only the current moment in television, but the possibilities of its future. Ross was joined by special guest moderator Sheryl Lee...

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, expansi...

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, sexual...

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 convers...

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 pro...

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 stor...

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. Bu...

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 origin...

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, wri...

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...

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 pa...