Gather around the campfire, kids, and we’ll tell you the tale of ye olde multi-camera sitcom. Shot before a live audience on a studio soundstage. A laugh track gently nudging you to join in. Sitcom families where Father Never Knew Best, but that was the whole joke. They just don’t make ’em like that much anymore. But when they did, CBS comedy Everybody Loves Raymond was one of the greats.
A family-friendly traditional sitcom about a sportswriter navigating marriage and kids and his own aging parents across the street, Everybody Loves Raymond first launched in 1996, making this its 30th anniversary year, and a prime time for the ATX TV Festival to host a reunion event. Star Ray Romano will be joined by series creator Phil Rosenthal – a festival regular who’s appeared at prior fests to screen his fan favorite food & travel show Somebody Feed Phil – plus some of the show’s writers.
Back in December, ATX TV Festival announced a special reunion event for this year’s festival bringing together cast and crew of Friday Night Lights, the Austin-shot critical darling about high school football. Today’s programming drop adds new names to the roster: Gaius Charles (Brian “Smash” Williams), Jesse Plemons (Landry Clarke), and Aimee Teegarden (Julie Taylor). They join previously announced cast Connie Britton (Tami Taylor), Kyle Chandler (Coach Eric Taylor), Adrianne Palicki (Tyra Collette), and producers Jason Katims, David Hudgins, Jeffrey Reiner, Liz Heldens, and Kerry Ehrin.
But the local fest – celebrating its 15th anniversary this year – is not just about honoring the past. Expect plenty of premieres and of-the-moment panels at the May fest, including a just-announced screening and Q&A of The Other Bennet Sister with stars Ella Bruccoleri and Dónal Finn; “A Conversation on Medical Accuracy on TV” presented by the John Ritter Foundation; a conversation on TV’s “nuclear renaissance” exploring TV’s legacy of shaping public opinion and policy change on nuclear threats; a TV critics roundtable with the Television Critics Association; and a live recording of the Lead With Kindness vodcast with showrunner/writer/producer Melinda Hsu and CAA agent Ann Blanchard.
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.