The 2023 ATX TV Festival taking place June 1 -4 in Austin, Texas, has shifted its lineup to include a special WGA On Strike! panel. The just-announced addition to the festival’s schedule will feature panelists Zoanne Clack (WGA West), Greg Iwinski (WGA East, Negotiating Committee), Damon Lindelof (WGA West), and Julie Plec (WGA West). Beau Willimon (WGA East) is confirmed as the panel’s moderator.
“ATX TV Festival has always been a place of celebration and community. It is where important conversations are had about the history and future of television in a safe and inclusive environment. We will maintain these tenets as we believe education and conversation between both Industry and Consumers are needed now more than ever,” stated ATX TV Co-Presidents and Founders Caitlin McFarland & Emily Gipson.
McFarland and Gipson continued: “There wouldn’t be television without writers. They have always been the rock stars of our festival, and though this year will look a little different, it will continue to be a place to showcase their talents and importance. The stories and characters we care so deeply about would not exist without them, and neither would this festival.”
Co-founders McFarland and Gipson have been working with the Writers Guild of America to ensure the ATX TV Festival adheres to the strike compliance rules. Certain panels have been canceled as a result, and the focus of other panels has shifted.
In addition to WGA On Strike!, the festival will now include Beyond the Page, Why Do You Write?, Queer Stories We Want To See, and …The End panels. The panels for Late Night with Seth Meyers, Andor: A Conversation with Tony Gilroy, Tiny Beautiful Things with Liz Tigelaar and Cheryl Strayed, and Dawson’s Creek 25th Anniversary Screening & Conversation have been canceled.
Details on the WGA On Strike! Panel, Courtesy of ATX TV Festival:
“With fair pay, streaming residuals, artificial intelligence, the size of writers rooms, and on-set experience all on the table, the writers of the WGA have gone pencils down for the first time in 15 years.
During this panel writers discuss first-hand the issues at stake, the changes they’re fighting for; and why the strike is necessary to safeguard the future of not just writers, but all entertainment unions and creatives.”
