Alan Cumming, Slow Horses star Gary Oldman and Paradise's Sterling K. Brown helped kickoff the first day of Televerse.
The Television Academy's festival — which runs from August 14-16, 2025 and celebrates all things TV — began Thursday with a mix of must-see panels and FYC screenings headlined by various actors, creatives and craftspeople. From an in-depth chat about breaking story with Andor writer/producer Beau Willimon to a fascinating peek at sound design with Emmy Award-winning Foley artist Sanaa Kelley (Shōgun, Only Murders In the Building), here's a recap of the first day's highlights and events.
The Art of Foley with Sanaa Kelley
Foley artist Sanaa Kelley (above) took audience members inside the process of sound design with a live Foley session on Thursday.
With more than 300 credits to her name and 30 years in the entertainment business, Kelley brought a wealth of knowledge to her presentation. Kelley, an Emmy winner for Shõgun, opened by explaining the importance of Foley. Her job, she says, is to service the story by bringing a human touch and authenticity to the sounds in a television show, film, commercial, video game, and even social media posts.
Kelley went on to demonstrate some of the props that make those sounds: Easter grass stands in for actual grass; uncooked lasagna, when snapped, mimics the sound of breaking bones; a pair of work gloves with taped-on paper clips sounds like a dog’s nails clacking across the floor (pictured below); and an umbrella opening can be a parachute or a dragon’s wings.
Sometimes, nothing beats the real thing: Handcuffs are always handcuffs, and nothing else mimics the distinctive snap of a flip phone.
Top Chef: Reality Competition Program Nominee FYC Presentation
This FYC presentation for Bravo's Top Chef had fans and audiences figuratively salivating, thanks to a lively panel featuring host Kristen Kish.
"I wouldn’t be in full glam and a nice white suit if it wasn’t for Top Chef!" joked two-time Emmy nominee Kristen Kish when asked how her life has changed since taking on the show’s hosting duties.
Kish kicked off Televerse by sitting down with Gold Derby’s Debra Birnbaum, and the two had plenty to discuss: Namely, what sets Bravo’s Top Chef apart from TV’s ever-expanding roster of reality competition shows, how the hosting gig initially came her way, the ways in which her work as host is influenced by having won the show herself (season 10) and how Top Chef has positively affected representation in professional kitchens around the world. She also spilled some behind-the-scenes secrets (Tums are “a must” on set, she says) and shared the best advice judge Gail Simmons gave her before she started ("Eat breakfast").
Next for Kish will be her third go at hosting the beloved cooking competition series — Top Chef Season 23 begins shooting this Sunday — and competing on the fourth season of The Traitors, which drops early next year.
USA's The Rainmaker: Premiere Screening and Q&A
The Rainmaker stars Milo Callaghan, Lana Parrilla, Madison Iseman and P.J. Byrne
“I’ve had my fun with these characters; now it’s your turn.” That’s what John Grisham told Michael Seitzman, showrunner of the new USA network series The Rainmaker, based on the author’s 1995 bestselling legal thriller. At a panel following a screening of the premiere episode on opening day of Televerse 25, Seitzman and cast members Milo Callaghan, Lana Parilla, Madison Iseman and P.J. Byrne shared memories of tackling source material first adapted as a 1997 film starring Matt Damon, Jon Voight and Danny De Vito.
Callaghan stars as Rudy Baylor, a neophyte attorney at a scrappy Charleston, South Carolina, practice who takes on a case that pits him against an elite firm headed by a ruthless litigator played by John Slattery. Callaghan told the audience he relished the chance to inhabit “a young man trying to do the right thing. The legal aspects were obviously important, but not as much the human element.”
Iseman, who plays Sarah, Rudy’s girlfriend — and, later, adversary in the legal battle at the story’s center — was also intrigued by the numerous moral dilemmas. Reflecting on the experience, she said, “I feel like I walked off the set a completely different person.”
Parilla had a blast in the role of Rudy’s non-nonsense boss, Jocelyn Stone, better known as "Bruiser," a nickname inspired by her combative manner. “I love the sass in her, and that she’s a ballsy broad,” she said.
Rivaling Bruiser in the audacity department is her number two, Byrne’s Deck Shifflet. “He lives in the moment and isn’t afraid to do whatever he needs to do in any situation,” Byrne said.
As for Seitzman, his nervousness about taking liberties with Grisham’s material was allayed when, he recalled, “[Grisham] said he forgot which parts he wrote, and which parts were invented for the show.”
Slow Horses: Drama Series Nominee FYC Presentation
Jackson Lamb himself, Sir Gary Oldman, shared the stage with executive producers Doug Urbanski and Adam Randall to discuss key moments and events from the current season of Apple TV+'s Emmy-winning series.
The motley crew of misfit spies that makes up the Slow Horses cast of characters may not always be as slick as James Bond, but they get the job done, nonetheless. "They’re flawed, very dysfunctional people — that’s the appeal," said Oscar-winning star Oldman at Thursday’s FYC panel. Season four of the Apple TV+ hit is nominated in five Emmy categories, including Outstanding Drama Series, following its win for writer Will Smith in Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for season three.
Executive producer Doug Urbanski described the show as "a character study with thrills thrown in," and made a point to note that it’s not written in a traditional episode-by-episode format. "We write and shoot one six-hour story — with cliffhangers every 55 minutes," he explained.
Oldman took time to praise the entire cast and crew, especially the core actors. In season five, which will air in September, Oldman says we can look forward to a "gas event" where his character, Jackson Lamb, delivers what Oldman calls "a fart to end all farts." He said, "the entire cast is in the scene, and the joy of it is seeing how they all reacted."
Workshop: Breaking Story with Beau Willimon
Writer/producer Beau Willimon (Andor) took attendees inside the writers room with a fascinating, real-time demonstration of the story-breaking process that was almost like an improv class, with Willimon prompting attendees to give him character and setting information that he would then use to shape a show around.
The live audience participated in the event, acting as scribes would in the room by pitching ideas to help shape story points into episodic television. While stressing that his way was not the only way, Willimon demonstrated his overall approach was "all story stems from character," noting "I don’t break episodes. I break character arcs."
He tasked the audience with defining the core needs of a trio of central characters on an imaginary new series, and then formulate their journeys through the season — with episode benchmarks for where they were in their arc. He noted that other plot points could come later, since some plot specifics would naturally result from the character specifics, while other details can be filled in after you know these essentials.
At the end of the panel, Willimon did tease a new sci-fi project (based on IP) that he is developing. "I’m working on a show where people on a spaceship are the last vestiges of humanity looking for a new planet."
Could this be the long-in-development Battlestar Galactica? The reboot from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail never happened, but maybe one of the key creatives from that galaxy far, far away is lending his skills to the Cylons?
The Traitors: Reality Competition Program Nominee FYC Presentation
Alan Cumming kicked off the panel with two major announcements: There will soon be two seasons of The Traitors per year and one of them will feature non-celebrities/average citizens.
"There will be one [show] in the spring [of 2026] and one in the fall," Cumming told the enthusiastic Televerse crowd on Thursday. Attendees were shown a trailer teasing the the civilian-only version of the show, where people were asked to apply. Cumming is set to host this version of the popular reality series, which begins production in 2026.
Cumming was joined by some of the most "Traitorous" cast members from the first three seasons — including Bob the Drag Queen, Kate Chastain, Cirie Fields and Boston Rob Mariano.
What’s Next - The Future of Music Supervision
Tracy McKnight, a vice-president at Broadcast Music, Inc. and former music supervisor, sat down with three of the industry’s top music supes — Maggie Phillips (The Handmaid’s Tale, Alien: Earth), Thomas Golubić (Better Call Saul, Poker Face) and Janet Lopez (The Gilded Age, Pulse) — for a candid chat about music supervision and its future.
After discussing the various aspects of what the occupation entails — specifically the “two sides” of their work: the creative side (song selection) and the project management side (clearances, budgets) — all three music supes got real with the audience about how the landscape has changed since TV’s Sopranos-era “golden age,” and how it’s changed even more recently following the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Highlights included the music supes sharing their own personal career highlights and getting real on the topic of fighting for fair pay in a tumultuous industry.
TV Getaway with Phil Rosenthal & Will Forte Panel
Actor Will Forte and creator–executive producer–host Phil Rosenthal reunited for a lively, laugh-filled conversation spanning travel, comedy and their respective Netflix series, The Four Seasons and Somebody Feed Phil.
The two first crossed paths in 2003, when Everybody Loves Raymond star Ray Romano hosted Saturday Night Live — and their easy rapport hasn’t dimmed since. Over the course of the discussion, they covered everything from Robert F. Kennedy’s brain worm to Rosenthal’s soon-to-open restaurant.
Forte rolled out some of his best dad jokes (“A city I love more than Dublin? Tripplin'.”), while Rosenthal dropped a dose of comedy wisdom: “The more specific you get [in comedy], the more universal it becomes.”
What We Do in the Shadows: Comedy Series Nominee FYC Screening
FX screened an episode of What We Do in the Shadows.
Based On: A New Take on Adaptations
A group of top showrunners gathered Thursday to trade insights on the rewards and hurdles of adapting existing IP into must-watch television.
The panel featured Graham Yost (Silo, Justified), Gloria Calderón Kellett (One Day at a Time), Patrick Macmanus (Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy), David Hudgins (FBI: Most Wanted, Friday Night Lights) and the President and founder of Alloy Entertainment, Leslie Morgenstein. Deadline's Katie Campione moderated the panel.
One takeaway was clear: An engaging story is only the starting point. The real challenge lies in finding material that can be deepened and expanded while maintaining a strong relationship with the original creator. Even the best partnerships, however, come with complications.
Hudgins recalled becoming “too close” to a source, and Macmanus revealed he initially turned down Devil in Disguise — twice — before realizing the key was telling the story from the victims’ perspective. Morgenstein emphasized that the most crucial decision an executive makes is choosing the right showrunner, and when evaluating material, he asks: “What can we change, and what do we need to change to make the best show possible?”
Paradise: Drama Series Nominee FYC Presentation
Panelists for the Hulu drama included Dan Fogelman (Executive Producer, Showrunner), Sterling K. Brown (Executive Producer, Xavier Collins), James Marsden (President Cal Bradford) and Julianne Nicholson (Sinatra).
Fogelman introduced new footage from the second season of the Hulu drama, which opened with an origin story of sorts for a new character on the show played by Shailene Woodley. It was the exact same footage previewed at Comic-Con in July, which Fogelman says is basically how the first episode of the second season opens. In it, Woodley is a tour guide at Graceland; her routine is glimpsed via a short montage as she interacts with guests and explains the significance of key items at the popular tourist attraction. All of this goes down before the massive volcanic eruption that causes a tsunami to drown the world in Paradise. (The footage seems to play out in a timeline parallel to the events of the first season's memorable seventh episode, "The Day.")
At the end of an afternoon tour, visitors are about head out on their tour bus when a tsunami alert parks them in fear. Chaos erupts and Woodley's character jumps into action. She grabs supplies and barks orders at fellow staff members before dashing off into a bunker/bomb shelter on the property.
Paradise is set to return in early 2026.
Game On: Inside the Booth with the Los Angeles Dodgers Panel
The Los Angeles Dodgers are reigning World Series champions, and creating compelling, accurate coverage of their games requires an equally high-caliber crew.
At the Game On: Inside the Booth with the Los Angeles Dodgers panel, the broadcasting team had their chance to share their love of the sport. Sports Emmy Award winner and lead play-by-play announcer Joe Davis talked about the art of translating the excitement in the stadium to home TV screens. Moderator John Hartung, studio anchor for Sportsnet LA, credited how Davis makes it look easy: “Nobody in our business prepares more than Joe Davis,” he said.
The panel, which included correspondent Kirsten Watson, broadcast analyst Nomar Garciaparra, senior coordinating producer Stu Mitchell, executive producer Mike Levy and director Ben Dillenberger, focused on the historic game last September when Shohei Ohtani reached 51 home runs and 51 stolen bases, an event they all agreed they were lucky to witness.
“When we’re watching games at home, we’re watching through the eyes of the director,” Hartung pointed out. Added Dillenberger: “I’m very lucky to cover this team.” Go Blue!
Anne Rice's Talamasca: The Secret Order — Premiere Screening and Q&A
Following the debut screening of the pilot, showrunners John Lee Hancock & Mark Lafferty cast member William Fichtner, and writer Anna Fisher discussed the newest addition to AMC’s Anne Rice's Immortal Universe. While the Talamasca is a concept Rice introduced, there were no books centered on her secret society that track supernatural beings. As Hancock put it, “She built a foundation and we built the building.”
Fisher recalled being told that the series would be “John le Carré meets Anne Rice.” Lafferty elaborated on this: “What are the conventions of a spy story and what are the conventions of an Anne Rice vampire story?” From there, the writers set out to craft a story about how those two conventions could intersect.
Fichtner’s vampire, Jasper, is far more salt of the Earth compared to the outwardly sophisticated types we often see in this universe and the actor noted at one point you see Jasper “bare foot in jeans and a t-shirt listening to some rock music.” He added, “He’s pissed off at a few things in the world!”
Interview with a Vampire’s Eric Bogosian guests in the series, and he won’t be the only familiar element, though Hancock said that when it came to crossover potential, “We look at it as opportunity not obligation.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race: Reality Competition Program Nominee FYC Panel
Bringing some charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent to the Academy’s inaugural Televerse were four queens from the most recent season of MTV’s RuPaul’s Drag Race, nominated for eight Emmys this year including Outstanding Reality Competition Program.
Lexi Love, Sam Star, Acacia Forgot and Lana Ja’Rae closed out the first day of the fest by treating the fan-clacking crowd to a mini–LipSync LaLaPaRuza Smackdown (with some help from a gold Speedo–clad Bruno of the show’s Pit Crew). In between lip sync numbers, department head makeup artist David Petruschin (better known to fans as Raven), who is responsible for putting RuPaul into drag for the series, spoke onstage with Drag Race EP Mandy Salangsang and Drag Race: Untucked co-EP Natalia James about some of the latest season’s highlights and what makes the show so special to its dedicated fans. (Oh, and in case you’re curious, Lana Ja’Rae took home the crown as the first-ever Televerse LaLaPaRuza champ.)
A Candid Conversation with Cris Abrego /Member Mixer
Television Academy chair Cris Abrego had in-depth discussions with three top executives about the state of the industry today and where it may go in the future.
First up was FX chairman John Landgraf, whom Abrego noted is often called the Mayor of Television. In response, Landgraf quipped, “I feel like I’m a mayor, but Silicon Valley has sent in the National Guard!” The reference was fitting, because the discussion focused largely on Silicon Valley's impact on the entertainment industry — especially the influence of AI and YouTube. “I don't worry that AI can reach the supreme heights of creativity that the most gifted artists can reach,” Landgraf said. “But what I do worry about is: What if AI can do the job that an entry level, college-educated or masters-degree-educated person can do?”
Next, Abrego delved into the state of unscripted television with Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade and vice president of nonfiction series at Netflix, Brandon Riegg. Both dismissed trade reports that unscripted is on a downward trajectory. “I think we're in a fantastic place,” said Wade, whose slate includes The Masked Singer, The Floor and several Gordon Ramsay titles. “I couldn't disagree more with those headlines.” Riegg, who shepherds such shows as Love Is Blind, Squid Game: The Challenge and America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, added, “Every genre goes through peaks and valleys. But if you look at unscripted right now, I’d argue we’re on a real upswing with good momentum.”
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