The TV Academy is getting into the festival biz. What to expect from Televerse

Los Angeles Times

2 days ago

The Television Academy's goal for its new festival is right in its name: Televerse.
Set for Aug. 14-16 at L.A. Live's JW Marriott — across from the Peacock Theater, where the organization will host the 77th Emmy Awards ceremony a month later — the convention-style event aims to be all things to all TV lovers.
'As the medium continues to grow in scope, impact, and global reach, we saw an opportunity to create something new: a space that brings together our members, the makers behind the work, and the audiences who love it,' Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego said in a statement to The Times about the event's genesis.
'There are a number of television festivals out there,' adds President and CEO Maury McIntyre. 'But we feel we are uniquely positioned because our 30,000 members are the ones who are making this television. It makes sense for us to be the ones to curate something like this because we are the experts in this business.'
Composed of some 26 academy-generated panels, an equal number of 'For Your Consideration' presentations for Emmy-nominated shows, sneak-peek screenings and an exhibit floor for activations and vendors, hopes are this initial Televerse draws enough industry pros and fans to make it an annual must-attend.
'We bring a different angle to how television is made,' says the academy's public relations branch governor, Christina Lee, who co-chairs the committee that's organizing Televerse programming. 'It's an even deeper peek behind the curtain than you would find at any other festival.'
While nostalgia will play a part — in the form of 'Bones' and 'Queer as Folk' reunions — the festival will highlight below- and above-the-line crafts, along with developments in business and technology.
An opening-night conversation with NBC/Peacock executive Pearlena Igbokwe, FX's John Landgraf and Netflix's Brandon Riegg will be moderated by Abrego. The festival climaxes with the 27th induction ceremony for the organization's Hall of Fame; this year's class includes Viola Davis, Don Mischer, Ryan Murphy, Conan O'Brien, Don Post and Henry Winkler.
The 'Happy Days' icon will also conduct an acting class at Televerse. Winkler assures attendees he'll do better than Gene Cousineau, the 'Barry' acting coach he won an Emmy for playing.
'He didn't care about his students,' Winkler says during a phone interview. 'I had to teach Cousineau what the love lesson was!
'Anytime that young professionals who are working out their struggle to make a career get to mingle with those people you love to watch, only good can come from that,' Winkler says of his hopes for the event.
Other sessions open to the public (starting at $30) and academy members ($20, with some free programming) include a story breaking/writers' room simulation with 'House of Cards' showrunner, 'Andor' writer and 'Severance' executive producer Beau Willimon; a scene-by-scene directing panel by nine-time Emmy winner Thomas Schlamme, who perfected 'The West Wing's' 'walk-and-talk' technique; live noise creation by Foley wizard Sanaa Kelley ('Shōgun,' 'Ted Lasso'), whose sound effects-making demonstrations have earned her more than 588,000 Instagram followers; and 'Game On: Inside the Booth With the Los Angeles Dodgers,' which explores how coverage of the World Series winners' games is coordinated with announcer Joe Davis, pitching legend Orel Hershiser and others on hand.
'We don't think any festival has focused on live sports yet, and it's a huge part of television,' McIntyre enthuses about the Dodgers panel. 'It's about our hometown too.'
Other panels will cover everything from music supervision and casting to artificial intelligence.
'We want Televerse to start being the preeminent place where you can find all things television,' says producer Sabrina Wind ('Desperate Housewives'), Lee's co-chair. She added that enough ideas have been pitched by academy members to program years of future festivals.
That's not even counting FYC presentations. Studios, networks and platforms have hosted such events around town for years, but this is the first time the TV Academy has sanctioned post-nominations FYC shindigs. Final-round voting for the Emmy Awards begins Aug. 18.
'Televerse allows us to do a second round of FYCs where everyone is on the same footing,' McIntyre says. 'They're all going to get about an hour, can bring in whatever talent they want, we're going to have a core focused group of members down there.'
While they're pitched at Emmy voters, limited tickets to FYC panels will be available to the public. Academy members can attend two per day for free and buy tickets to more.
Along with charging the FYC presenters what McIntyre characterized as nominal, administrative fees, Televerse is also selling exhibit floor space and seeking sponsorships.
'It is intended to provide another means of revenue for the academy, as we look to make sure that we are set up for the future of whatever comes for this industry,' McIntyre says.
First discussed before COVID-19 and further delayed by the guild strikes of 2023, Televerse arrives with more than just finance and electioneering on its organizers' minds.
'We engage with our audiences every year for the Emmy Awards,' Lee notes. 'Televerse is giving us a chance to engage with our audiences outside of the Emmys.'
'People who do television love talking about great television,' Wind adds. 'I mean, who doesn't want to do this?'