Caitlin McFarland ’05 (on the left) is preparing for the seventh annual ATX Television Festival, held in Austin, Texas. The festival, which attracts industry sponsors like Hulu, HBO, Showtime, FX, and NBC, just to name a few, was co-founded by McFarland and Emily Gipson in 2012. The pair have steadily grown ATX – more than tripling attendance in the last seven years.
The four-day event has become well known for bringing together fans and TV executives, showrunners, and others in the industry. According to organizers, ATX’s goal is to serve both the fan community and industry professionals equally, by giving them the opportunity to discuss and celebrate all aspects of TV.
ATX has also garnered fame for making TV reunions happen, notably Gilmore Girls in 2015. This year’s festival will feature a reunion of the TV show, Felicity, celebrating 20 years since the series premiere. Cast members Keri Russell, Scott Speedman, Tangi Miller, Amanda Foreman, Amy Jo Johnson, and Ian Gomez are confirmed to participate, along with director/producer Lawrence Trilling.
The festival will also host the world premiere sneak peek of an exclusive clip from FX’s highly anticipated Mayans, a farewell discussion with the cast and crew of The Americans, and a first-look at season three of Syfy’s Wynonna Earp, among other offerings.
McFarland has spent the better part of a decade in a variety of areas of the entertainment industry, as well as being on of both the festival and filmmaker sides of the Tribeca and Doha Tribeca Film Festivals.