The eighth annual ATX Television Festival has booked Showtime’s upcoming drama “City on a Hill” for its closing night event, as well as a panel about the “power of female partnerships,” Variety has learned exclusively.
The premium cabler will screen the premiere episode of “City on a Hill” and present a Q&A panel featuring cast members and executive producers June 8, 2019 in Austin, Texas. While the show stars Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, Jonathan Tucker, Mark O’Brien, Jill Hennessy, Lauren E. Banks, Amanda Clayton, Kevin Chapman and Jere Shea, with Kevin Dnun and Sarah Shahi recurring, and is executive produced by Chuck MacLean, Tom Fontana and Jennifer Todd, specific panelists will be announced at a later date. The show is set in early 1990s Boston, when criminals were emboldened by local law enforcement agencies in which “corruption and racism were the norm.”
The “power of female partnerships” panel will feature Lauren Whitney; WME partner in scripted television, Cori Wellins; and NBC Ent.’s co-presidents of scripted programming, Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta in conversation about the importance of personal and professional relationships among women in the television industry and how partnering at some point in their careers helped encourage one another and created a culture of empowerment. Additional panelists will be announced at a later date.
The ATX Television Festival will take place June 6-9, 2019. Previously announced programming includes panels for the “presidents of the guilds,” “Vida,” “Men in Trees,” Blumhouse Television, “Atypical,” “Perpetual Grace, Ltd,” a “Greek” reunion and the annual pitch competition.