Apple TV original Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed makes its global debut on May 20, but for an inside look and advanced screening of yet-to-be-released episodes, you’re going to need an ATX TV Festival badge. The local fest, celebrating its 15th anniversary this May, announced today the addition of the darkly comedy thriller to its lineup, to be followed by a conversation with creator/showrunner David J. Rosen, and stars Tatiana Maslany and Murray Bartlett. The half-hour, 10-episode series follows “a newly divorced mom who falls down a dangerous rabbit hole of blackmail, murder and youth soccer after becoming convinced that she witnessed a crime.”
The ATX TV Festival is also bringing, in partnership with NBCUniversal, a slew of new panels to the fest packed with talent and executives from the now 100-year-old network. The just-announced panels include a look inside The Paper with cast and crew; A Conversation with Executives Lisa Katz & Erin Underhill on how NBC maintains and the legacy of its iconic shows; annual favorite “Funny AF,” featuring guests from both behind and in front of the camera discussing the ins and outs of making a comedy series; and “Investigating the Legacy of Procedurals,” a discussion with “legendary talent” sharing their experience working on NBC procedurals.
The previously announced Friday Night Lights 20th anniversary reunion, perhaps the most iconic collaboration of Austin and NBC (well, for two seasons, at least), adds Scott Porter (Jason Street) and Executive Producer Sarah Aubrey to the already stacked lineup of cast and crew attending.
Also announced for the festival is a script reading of classic episodes from I Love Lucy. Expect favorites from the festival to pop in and act out scenes from the iconic sitcom celebrating its 75th anniversary.
To collect the festival’s first ever “Collaborator Award” are accomplished casting director team Sherry Thomas and Sharon Bialy. The duo have worked on shows including Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and The Handmaid’s Tale.
If you’re looking to keep things indie, catch filmmakers and Macaroni Art Productions Co-Founders Steve Zahn & Rick Gomez talk about the ATX TV Festival debut of their series You Belong Here, giving a holistic look at what it’s like to make your own show from the ground up.
Some more recently announced panels giving an inside look at TV are “How to Cast a Procedural (and Get Away with It),” a conversation with members of the Casting Society of America on the casting of procedural dramas, and “Development In Progress,” an executive producer panel on the development process featuring Kat Candler (Little House on the Prairie), Megan Creydt (Landman), and Dana Honor (Stumble).
The 2026 ATX TV Festival takes place May 28-31 in Downtown Austin. Find badge and pass info here, and catch up with the Chronicle’s decade-and-a-half of festival coverage here.