Day Three

Saturday started with back-to-back panels inside the Stephan F. Austin Hotel’s bar. Co-founder Emily Gipson sat down for a chat with The Office’s Oscar Nunez. The improv comedian and actor shared how his early inspiration — witnessing the antics on The Carol Burnett Show as a child — took him to Los Angeles. While waiting tables and babysitting, he auditioned for small-bit roles and joined the illustrious improv group, The Groundlings. Then, he scored the role of a lifetime in NBC’s workplace mockumentary. Nunez is now returning to the role to star in the Peacock series, The Paper that exists in the same universe.

Following Nunez was Carrie Preston to talk about her role in CBS’ Elsbeth. The throwback mystery procedural feels akin to Columbo and the recent Poker Face. From the minds of Robert King and Michelle King, Preston embodied this character for the first time on CBS’ The Good Wife. A guest appearance eventually led to more cameos across its spinoff The Good Fight. Then, Preston received the news that her quirky lawyer would be getting her show set in New York City.

Preston glowed with gratitude for the opportunity to lead this series at this stage of her career. After stints on True Blood and TNT’s Claws, she feels each experience prepared her for a role that is rare for women of a certain age. Elsbeth recently finished its second season and will pick up production for the third later this year.

The day’s next event highlighted the creatives behind Apple TV+’s hit series, Shrinking. Created by TV legend Bill Lawrence, a packed room listened to members of the seven-member writers room. The show which deals heavily with themes associated with mental health takes its authenticity seriously, and its comedy even more so. Writer Sofia Selig shared how her OCD diagnosis informed her to write a medically accurate scene for one of Jason Segel’s character’s clients. While the scene portrayed the disorder honestly, it also coupled it with life’s natural medicine, humor.

They all comically shared how “fucked up” their lives are, and how that vulnerability created a safe space to jeer and dry each other tears. In one humorously fond moment, Ashley Nicole Black shared how she lost her father while writing season two. Even amidst her grief, crying in the writer’s room, she was able to find solace with her colleagues and use that experience to inform the emotions of the characters: from pain to joy. As the audience applauded this sentiment, other writers added that they too, have a dead father, which received equal applause and laughter.

Season three of Shrinking is currently in production.

Saturday evening wrapped with a monumental conversation with the stars of Mad Men. Celebrating the series finale’s 10th anniversary, Jon Hamm and John Slattery sat down with Fargo creator Noah Hawley to discuss the Emmy-winning series that broke the mold for AMC.

Hamm and Slattery reflected on the near decade they spent in a 1960s NYC office building replica staged on a lot in Los Angeles. From the clothes to the excessive fake cigarette usage, they spent nearly 7 hours a day in this time capsule; a place where white men’s flagrant behavior was accepted in the home and the office. Hawley commented on how existentially lonely these two men were, out of touch with their feelings that they masked with material things.

They also praised when they knew they had something special on their hands. Slattery commented with each table read, the scripts just got better and better. And the proof was in the pudding as the series coveted the Best Drama Series Emmy in 2008.

A Q&A segment followed, delivering a surreal reunion for Hamm. A gentleman carrying a large book introduced himself and then walked toward the stage handing Hamm the souvenir. The book happened to be a high school yearbook that included the two of them photographed as part of the boys’ swim team. He thanked Hamm for giving back to their hometown in Missouri.

Day Four

We prepared our final farewells as the 2025 ATX TV Festival came to a close Sunday afternoon. But not before fans of television’s golden foursome gathered to celebrate 40 years of being a friend.

Following a festive finale brunch at Hyatt’s Heydey Social Club downtown, the Paramount Theatre was filled for a final time as a star-studded cast led a table read for the iconic sitcom The Golden Girls. Mid-Century Modern’s Nathan Lee Graham served as the script manager for Constance Zimmer, Carrie Preston, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Pam Adlon, as Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Sophia respectively. The four ladies were accompanied by Dan Bucatinksy and Jeffery Bowyer-Chapman and performed the legendary “Pilot” episode. Immediately following, they performed season two, episode five, “Isn’t It Romantic”, in which Dorothy’s friend Jean, portrayed by Vella Lovell, falls in love with Rose.

Following the table read, the actors discussed the show’s impact. Brown stated she loved multicam sitcoms because they immersed you in the world, where the characters became your friends. And they all raved about how the series has become a beacon for the LGBTQ+ community with its emphasis on chosen family. Adlon beseeched how trailblazing it was for a show to feature four women leads of a certain age. She commented on how TV still lacks this representation within a highly male-dominated industry. The four added women in their 50s are often overlooked on screen. While they acknowledged there has been progress (Max’s And Just Like That…) they have a long way to go.

Then Preston, Zimmer, Brown, and Adlon each shared their personal experiences working with Betty White. They all touched on how she was remarkably talented and exceptionally kind; a rare combination in their line of work.

Other panels of the day were more intimate. Multi-hyphenate Ashley Nicole Black spoke to a crowd about wearing so many hats. Beginning as an actor, she discovered her talent for writing in school. Black’s talent ranges from being a writer and correspondent on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee to writing and performing sketches on HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show. Now, Black is a writer and actor on Apple TV+’s Shrinking, which is currently filming its third season.

At a time when many Black and POC women lacked this specific moniker, Black was grateful to follow artists like Robin Thede and Mindy Kaling’s footsteps into being able to do it all. Her advice to those seeking a career in the business was to “get fired as soon as possible” meaning, not to be afraid to present your full self when presenting ideas. If a person you’re working for isn’t interested in what you bring to the table, it’s best to leave and find where you will be fully valued.

Another panel sponsored by Mike Flanagan’s Red Room Pictures focused on the dying art of physical media. After discussing their egregiously large or small DVD and VHS collections, The Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Feinberg and Alamo Drafthouse’s Sarah Pitre discussed how the lack of physical media in TV and film is eroding the art of criticism and preservation. When seeking discussions on today’s works, one tends to look back on former trends and other works that may have influenced current creators. Unfortunately, in the age of streaming, this important aspect of oral and visual history is lost in a digital abyss, never to be seen again. It’s a situation many never quite saw coming, and solutions are few and far between.