Badges for Season 4 of The ATX Television Festival in Austin next month have officially sold out! Many of us are in final countdown mode (4 weeks from today!!!), and may be wondering if the increased interest in the event and unbelievably amazing slate of reunions, panels and screenings means that it may lose its intimacy and charm. After speaking with founders Emily Gipson and Caitlin McFarland, there’s not a doubt in my mind that more high-profile programming doesn’t mean that they’ll be dialing back on what made ATX such a standout festival. Here’s
- For the most part, room sizes will be the same this year, with the exception of the Gilmore Girls reunion. That will be in a larger venue so they can accommodate as many people as possible. There may be more things happening at once this year, but that means that everyone will have something to go to during each time slot. Having the intimate, accessible room sizes remains a priority for ATX.
- The Gilmore Girls reunion, which was more than a year in the making, will be at the Paramount Theater. That’s next to The State, which previous attendees will be familiar with. It is a larger theater, but capacity is still in the 1200 range. This nearly triples the size of their largest venue from 2014, but it is still a more intimate setting than moving to a convention center. Also, it’s a beautiful, historic theater.
- They don’t take a break between festivals … it’s a year-round operation! There are a lot of elements that play into programming, and in addition to their wish list, the team is constantly checking Twitter and Facebook to see what attendees want to see.
- Future fan favorites that they’d like to see represented at the festival include The West Wing, Felicity, and Battlestar Galactica, but they want those bigger shows to be balanced out by underserved shows.
- Gilmore Girls is getting a lot of attention, and there are a lot of new people coming to ATX for the first time, but keep in mind what has become a bit of a festival motto, “Don’t come for one show or one person, come because you love TV.” The ladies mentioned that they have been so lucky and humbled by the badge holders that trust them year after year to have a nice balance of something that they’ll love, and maybe something new that they’ll discover.
Season 4 of the ATX Television Festival kicks off Thursday, June 4, 2015 with the opening night screening of USA Network’s new series, Complications. And be sure to check out the list of all the wonderful panels, screenings and events that 2015 has in store!
