The parent company of New York’s Tribeca Film Festival is giving TV its own show. Tribeca Enterprises said Wednesday it will launch the stand-alone Tribeca TV Festival this fall.
The three-day event will showcase episodic storytelling from TV, online and virtual reality. It promises an advance look at brand-new series and fan-favorite programs as well as the chance to hear from their creators and stars. Tribeca says it’s the first dedicated TV festival to be created by an established film festival.
The new TV festival will take place Sept. 22-24.
Scheduled highlights include a conversation with “Will & Grace” stars Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally along with show creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan ahead of this fall’s NBC reboot. There will be a sneak peek of a future episode of the FX comedy “Better Things,” followed by a conversation with star Pamela Adlon speaking with co-creator Louis C.K., and the series premiere of ABC’s mystery thriller “Ten Days in the Valley,” followed by a conversation with Kyra Sedgwick, its star and executive producer.
“Ten years ago we wouldn’t have needed a TV festival. Now, with the change in the TV landscape, both the quality and quantity of shows, it makes sense,” said Robert De Niro, co-founder of Tribeca.
Last year, Tribeca launched an official section of its film festival dedicated to TV programming.