After a successful first year, those behind Tribeca TV, the television component of the Tribeca Film Festival, are expanding the festival’s TV offerings. The festival goes down in New York April 19-30.
The TV program features 15 shows, including five series premieres, four season premieres, three independent pilots, one feature documentary, and one sneak peek.
World premieres include Hulu’s Handmaid’s Tale, followed by a conversation with cast members Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Alexis Bledel, Samira Wiley and Max Minghella; Nat Geo’s first scripted series Genius, about the life of Albert Einstein, followed by a conversation with executive producers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard; USA’s crime thriller anthology series The Sinner, followed by a conversation with stars Jessica Biel and Bill Pullman and director Antonio Campos; and There’s … Johnny!, from NBC’s comedy service SeeSo, followed by a conversation with showrunners and cast including executive producers Paul Reiser and David Gordon Green and star Tony Danza.
“Coming off of a very successful first year of Tribeca TV, we curated this year’s program to include an expanded, exceptional lineup of top-notch shows and dynamic storytellers both in front of and behind the camera,” said Cara Cusumano, director of programming at the Tribeca Film Festival. “As the TV landscape continues to evolve in exciting, cinematic directions, the festival creates a unique opportunity for audiences to discover together on a big screen what everyone else will eventually be talking about from their couches at home.”
The season premieres include Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, followed by a conversation with executive producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock and stars Ellie Kemper, Tituss Burgess, Jane Krakowski and Carol Kane; the premiere of Showtime’s Episodes final season, followed by a conversation between Matt LeBlanc and creators David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik; season three premiere of Hulu’s family comedy Casual, followed by a conversation with creator Zander Lehmann, as well as executive producers and cast members; and the season three premiere of Comedy Central’s Another Period, followed by a conversation with creators, writers, and stars Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome.
Tribeca TV will also host a special event for CNN’s new series Soundtracks: Songs That Defined History, executive produced by Dwayne Johnson, which explores music as a driving force behind social change, with the premiere of the series’ 9/11 episode at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
Spike TV will premiere a new installment of its feature documentary series I Am, an inside look at the life of Heath Ledger, as told by his inner circle.
Additionally, the new independent variety show from the mastermind behind collective: unconscious,The Eyeslicer will premiere at the festival, bringing together the next generation of alternative Americans under one strange roof.
The festival will honor Ken Burns for his unparalleled work as one of the most celebrated historical documentarians with the festival’s new Citizen Filmmaker Award. Following the presentation, audience members will screen a sneak peek created especially for Tribeca of The Vietnam War, the unprecedented 10-part, 18-hour documentary film series directed by Burns and Lynn Novick, which will air on PBS this fall.
