My third day of ATX season 11 started off with a quick trip to the 800 Congress venue to grab a free bagel and drink. This year the festial has been rewarding camp badge holders with daily Mayawell Mornings, where they can grab a free bagel and prebiotic soda before they head out to their panels. With food in hand I got into the fast pass line for the Walker: Independence panel/screening at the Stateside theater. The ATX TV Festival always contains a mix of old, current and upcoming TV shows, and usually includes a new fall pilot or two. This season, attendees got an early look at the first episode of the upcoming Walker spinoff that will premiere on The CW this fall! Walker: Independence is a prequel, jumping back to the 1800s to follow the story of the first generation of Walkers. Abby Walker and her husband are heading from Boston to the small town of Independence to start a new life. Tired of the corruption in Boston, Abby’s husband saw an opportunity to make sure this doesn’t happen elsewhere, taking on the role of the new sheriff of Independence. However, during their journey, their wagon is attacked and Abby’s husband is mortally wounded. Now the killer has assumed his identity and serving as the town’s new sheriff. Abby wants vengeance and justice, and enlists the help of a charming, rogue criminal named Hoyt (Matt Barr, Walker, Blood & Treasure), an Apache named Calian (Justin Johnson Cortez) who is torn between two worlds, a deputy who appears to be honest and true, and a prostitute (Katie Findlay, Nancy Drew, How to Get Away with Murder) with secrets, other talents, and a heart of gold. I hadn’t seen the trailer, so I had no idea this was going to be a period piece, but I quite enjoyed it. Plus, the series wastes no time making sure you know it’s a CW show, with beautiful people taking their clothes off within the first 5 minutes. But it’s also filled with action, adventure, and lots of twists and turns.
The panel that followed the pilot screening was moderated by EP Jared Padalecki, and featured stars Kat McNamara, Matt Barr and Justin Johnson-Cortez. Padalecki read some statements from showrunner Seamus Fahey (who couldn’t be there), and led the cast on a discussion of their characters, the filming location/sets, their horse riding/archery skills, the diversity in front of and behind the camera, and so much more. The chemistry between the actors was quickly evident. The series is still being written and hasn’t really filmed beyond the pilot. I look forward to seeing more of the series, which I enjoyed even more than the current reboot.
After the Walker panel, I had originally planned to attend the Great News script reading—these script readings are usually a highlight of the festival for me—however, the panel had been canceled the day before. So instead I walked across the street to 800 Congress to attend the Station Eleven: How To Make an Episode panel. Folks from nearly every off-camera department were present to discuss the arduous task of bringing this series to light—from shooting episodes out of order, to pandemic delays and more. It was an interesting discussion hearing about all of the various people it takes to create an episode of TV from start to finish. The panelists included creator/showrunner/EP Patrick Somerville, production designer Ruth Ammon, casting director Jeanie Bacharach, music supervisor Liza Richardson, costume designer Helen Huang, cinematographer Steve Cosens, and editor David Eisenberg. This was the first completely packed panel I had been to all weekend (though it wouldn’t be the last), perhaps due to the smaller venue rather than the Paramount or Stateside theaters. As we walked out of the panel they were handing out these cool hats—I don’t think even they were expecting to fill the room as they ran out shortly after I got one.
After the panel, some friends and I stopped by Velvet Taco to get some lunch, and then I hit the Westworld coffee truck for the third time, before getting in line for Somebody Feed Phil at the Stateside theater. I enjoy Phil Roselthal’s panel every year&mdsh;his series is so much fun, and he is always hilarious. After screening the Madrid episode of his Netflix series, Phil took the stage along with his podcasting partner David Wild, to record a live episode of their Naked Lunch podcast. They discussed the series, guests they’ve had on the podcast, and food in general. They also took lots of audience questions and answered requests for restaurant recommendations. Phil also strongly hinted that folks can look forward to a long-awaited Austin episode of the series this fall. Unfortunately there was no food given out at the panel this year, but there was a Badgeholder Happy Hour across the street at 800 Congress following the panel, where Phil made an appearance. At the event they were handing out beer, wine, and some delicious tacos. (I went from having no tacos in weeks to twice in the same day!)
After this quick bite I headed back to get in line for the Westworld Closing Night event at the Paramount theater. My regular ATX crew and I had all assumed we’d be seeing an early screening of the fourth season premiere, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. After a trailer, the panelists came out—co-creator/
At the panel, they also revealed the animated key art for season 4:
*Freeze all motor functions*
Just revealed at #ATXTVS11 it’s the #Westworld Season 4 poster.#WestworldATX pic.twitter.com/0BPwAv1Uwz— Westworld (@WestworldHBO) June 5, 2022
At the opening of the panel we were told that all Q&A questions were to be submitted via Twitter, so when the moderator announced that there was a live audience question from a superfan, it was clear that was it was going to be a setup/bit. From the back of the theater, the “superfan” asked if his favorite character Teddy was going to return for season 4—it was James Marsden! He then then joined the others on stage, and Lisa Joy revealed that nerdy writer Christina grew up obsessed with rom-coms and gets to write her date, so why not make him look like James Marsden?! Lisa Joy said that her mom always wanted her to write rom-coms, and this is as close as she got. It was an entertaining panel that went by way too quickly—the June 26 season 4 premiere can’t come soon enough!
After the panel my atx crew headed back to the SFA bar to just chat and hangout on our last night of season 11.
