Shrinking's Harrison Ford and Barry's Henry Winkler were among the noteworthy participants at the second day of Televerse.
The festival, which runs August 14-16, features television industry professionals both in front of and behind the camera — as well as a variety of panels, FYC presentations and screenings of this year's Emmy-nominated programming. Friday's line-up also included the premiere of Peacock's new crime thriller, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy, and The West Wing's Tommy Schlamme revisiting memorable scenes from his extensive directing career.
Below is a recap of Friday's events:
Acting Class with Henry Winkler
A true Hollywood legend, Emmy Award-winner and Television Academy Hall of Fame inductee Henry Winkler (Barry, Happy Days) received a well-deserved standing ovation when he took the stage at Televerse on Saturday.
Winkler then channeled a bit of his inner Gene Cousineau — though with a lot more nuance than Gene often displayed — as he hosted an acting workshop where volunteers performed scenes live on stage and then received feedback from the veteran actor. From telling naturally-funny performers to not let their humor undercut a scene’s drama, to drilling down on what a character’s truly trying to accomplish, Winkler offered a surplus of thoughtful advice for the actors.
He also worked with them to breakdown the mindset of their characters while making sure that the actors were keeping in mind what brought them to the point in time that we were watching. Winkler's emphasis on the latter would frequently result in a scene that felt markedly different and stronger than when participants previously performed it.
During the panel's Q&A at the end, Winkler shared moments where he felt doubt in his acting choices vs. when things clicked in for him. He also revealed the pivotal moment when he got the audition for Happy Days and landed on what The Fonz's speaking voice should be — which, in turn, gave him a career that spans five decades.
More photos in the Televerse Day 2: Friday Photo Gallery
Scene by Scene with Tommy Schlamme
Emmy Award-winning producer/director Tommy Schlamme sat down with The Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Fienberg to discuss his incredible career.
Clips from programs like Sports Night, The West Wing and The Americans were used to illustrate Schlamme’s approach and his innate love of showing characters move through spaces (and between rooms). This particular style is something TV used to mostly avoid, according to Schlamme, but his directorial choices resulted in the “walk and talk” style that he helped define.
Schlamme’s affection for using a Steadicam began when he took a job directing for a soap opera that filmed on location in Vienna. He also noted how he began to incorporate the Steadicam into more unlikely formats — like sitcoms — when he directed the pilot for Spin City.
The director then explained how his ongoing and rewarding creative partnership with Aaron Sorkin began, recalling how Sorkin immediately responded to the dynamic way Schlamme wanted to film the writer's dialogue-heavy scripts.
Later in the panel, a powerful clip from The Americans was played to show off his versatility. In the scene, sleeper Russian spy Philip (Matthew Rhys) has to pull a tooth from the mouth of his wife, Elizabeth (Keri Russell). Schlamme then thanked Americans creators Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields for taking his suggestions on how to film this scene, which helped overcome some initial hesitation from Russell and Rhys about the dialogue-free sequence.
The Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy: Premiere Screening and Q&A
Televerse attendees were treated to a sneak peek of the upcoming Peacock limited series, starring Michael Chernus (Severance) as America’s notorious serial killer who had a penchant for clown makeup.
Following a screening of the premiere episode, dropping this fall, showrunner and executive producer–creator Patrick Macmanus and composers Leopold Ross and Nick Chuba sat down with Variety’s Emily Longeretta to discuss the composers’ collaborative process of pairing music with the story (Ross and Chuba crafted 33 pieces of original music for the series, one for each of Gacy’s victims); the unique nature of this true-crime project, given that it focuses on the victims as opposed to the perpetrator; why Macmanus was initially drawn to telling Gacy’s story (particularly after initially turning it down); and the writers’ room’s partnership with GLAAD, an effort to put this true tale’s LGBTQ issues in proper perspective.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story — Limited Or Anthology Series Nominee FYC Screening
Netflix held a screening for their Emmy-nominated series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which is nominated for Limited or Anthology Series.
Beyond the Writers’ Room — TV Producers presented by IMDbPro
Executive producers Sarah Timberman (Justified), Melissa Bernstein (House of the Dragon), Stacey Sher (Mrs. America) and Kathleen McCaffrey (Industry) provided attendees with an inside look at the indispensable role of the non-writing producer.
For them, the joy lies in collaborating closely with writers, guiding a project through every phase of production and constantly flexing new creative muscles. But the job also requires a delicate balance — knowing when to step in and when to step back. Additionally, the panelists stressed the importance of protecting the show's original vision while navigating the inevitable twists of production — all while keeping an eye on the bottom line. Bernstein put it simply: "Check in on people, because it is art, and that’s the humanity of it all. You have to give it respect."
The Bear: Comedy Series Nominee Screening
FX held a screening of their Emmy-winning series The Bear, which has been nominated for Comedy Series.
Nobody Wants This: Comedy Series Nominee FYC Panel
Love was in the air last September when modern romantic comedy Nobody Wants This made its Netflix debut. The combination of sparkling dialogue, charismatic chemistry and enviable L.A. locations had viewers falling in love with the screen. “I wanted it to feel hyper-realistic, but also something you yearn for,” said creator Erin Foster. “The more specific you are, it weirdly becomes more universal.”
Friday’s panel attendees got a taste what made the show’s first kiss an instantly iconic moment. “It’s the leadup that you want,” said Kristen Bell, who was nominated for her first Emmy for her lead actress role in the series. The show’s highly anticipated second season is scheduled for October. Foster promised it will delve more into the next stage of the romance between Joanne and Noah — proving the point that people love stories about love.
Inside the Mystery: Irish Blood
Attendees were treated to an inside look at Acorn TV's new murder-mystery, Irish Blood, with star and executive producer Alicia Silverstone in attendance. Silverstone was joined on stage by director/executive producer Molly McGlynn and AMC Networks EVP of Linear and Streaming, Courtney Thomasma.
The six-part drama series follows hot-shot Los Angeles divorce lawyer, Fiona Fox (Silverstone), who receives a letter from her estranged father (Jason O'Mara) and sets out to uncover the mystery of his disappearance. Silverstone and McGlynn participated in a very candid discussion about the show's origins and the challenges of shooting the emotionally-charged material while balancing the tonal tightrope of suspense with some comedic elements.
Attendees were also treated to an early look at the third episode of Irish Blood, which airs Monday.
Irish Blood is now streaming on Acorn TV.
Casting Comedy Ensembles Panel
Casting directors Sherry Thomas (The Righteous Gemstones), Anya Colloff (Animal Control), Alexis Frank Koczara (Black-ish) and Seth Yanklewitz (Deli Boys) spoke about what goes into finding the right actor for a role. The group discussed how there is a learning curve to figuring out the sensibilities of producers that they are casting for — and for when they can present casting ideas to their collaborators. “So much of what we do is gut and instinct and intuitiveness," Thomas said.
Yanklewitz, who has also worked on the studio side, said one trouble spot with executives without experience in casting is that some don’t truly understand all the work and vetting that goes into putting an actor up for a role. The advice that he used to impart to others was: “If you say no, you better have two or three yesses.”
The Amazing Race: Reality Competition Program Nominee Screening
CBS' long-running reality series screened an episode for attendees, as the show is a Reality Competition Program Nominee.
Shrinking: Comedy Series Nominee FYC Presentation
First-time Emmy nominee Harrison Ford joined his Shrinking costars for a very funny — and often poignant — discussion about the hit Apple TV+ comedy series.
At the packed Shrinking panel — featuring Jason Segel, Ford, Jessica Williams, Michael Urie and casting director Debby Romano — star and co-creator Segel said that he felt that the show appeals to audiences because "everyone can relate to when you tell a friend you are having a hard time and they reply: 'Yeah, I am, too.'"
Regarding the fantastic ensemble cast, Romano said: “We somehow managed to find lightning in the bottle and that’s that chemistry that everyone has.” Williams shared that she felt everyone involved in the show “figured out our footing in [the first season], especially in the back half.”
Everyone also offered generous amount of praise for the legendary Ford, with Urie adding that he had learned a tremendous amount about working with the camera from him. He noted there is a scene in the recently-wrapped third season where Ford doesn’t speak, yet he still manages to steal the scene from he and Segel.
"It's extraordinary to have incredibly talented, genius actors to work with," Ford added. "This is just a dream for me and it doesn’t happen. I’m just so grateful at this juncture of whatever it is I’m doing!”
The Legal Future of AI in TV — IP, Licensing, & Legislative Frontlines
Five months to the day after the Academy held an AI Summit at its North Hollywood headquarters, Televerse hosted another discussion exploring the complex and ever-expanding legal future of AI. Moderated by ScreenEngine/ASI's chief client engagement officer, Holly Leff-Pressman, the panel included Daniel Goldberg (partner, Frankfurt Kurnit), Jonathan Handel (journalist and entertainment & technology attorney, Feig/Finkel), Ghen Laraya Long (entertainment & technology attorney), Carlos Sanchez (head of global business development, media at Protege) and Timothy Ursprung (policy advisor, Venable LLP). Topics included how federal and state lawmakers, courts, content creators and other stakeholders are responding to the evolving technology's impact on copyright, licensing and rights protection.
At the end of the conversation, Leff-Pressman asked the panelists for predictions of what will be happening six months from now.
Goldberg: “It's so hard to predict even two weeks from now. But I think you're going to see the states continue to pick up [on regulating AI] where the federal government is not.”
Handel: “I think you're going see many more leaps in AI capability and more challenges, especially in the field of video.”
Long: “I’m a big believer in people power, and I'd like to see Academy members step up and hold each other accountable for using AI in an ethical manner.”
Sanchez: “Training data that is organic in nature and that reflects what's going on in the real world as styles change, will continue to have value and will mitigate the threat of synthetic data totally coopting it.”
Ursprung: “I can promise that we’ll still be arguing about the same things!”
Survivor: Reality Competition Program Nominee Screening
Photo by: CBS
Televerse hosted a screening of an episode of Survivor, the long-running CBS hit that is a Reality Competition Program Nominee.
Black Mirror: Limited Or Anthology Series Nominee Screening
Photo by: Netflix
Netflix held a screening of their sci-fi drama Black Mirror, which is a Limited Or Anthology Series nominee this year.
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