Grab your popcorn, pick a comfy side of the couch, and get ready for a season of your favorite TV programs as the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, April 19-30th, announces their second annual program line-up.
For most avid television watchers, a busy night is flipping through the television guide waiting for your favorite shows to return. Wait no longer.
The 2017 Tribeca Film Festival has announced their newest line-up for the Tribeca TV Program. The TV program includes 15 shows, along with five series premieres, three season premieres, three independent pilots, one feature documentary, and one very special sneak peak.
Hold on to your popcorn, ladies and gentlemen, because that’s not all. At the Tribeca Film Festival, Hulu’s highly anticipated drama, The Handsmaid’s Tale, will premiere with a special conversation with the vibrant cast: Elizabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Alexis Bledel, Samira Wiley, and Max Minghella. Along with some of our favorites such as Netflix’s original series, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Showtime’s, Episodes.
Tribeca Film Festival, April 19-30th, teams up with AT&T to reflect on what is to come this year in television pilots, premieres, and documentaries.
The TRIBECA TV Lineup:
With media support from Vulture the entertainment and culture site from New York Magazine
Another Period (Comedy Central) – Season 3 World Premiere
Executive Producers: Natasha Leggero, Riki Lindhome, Jeremy Konner, Debbie Liebling, Stuart Cornfeld, Mike Rosenstein, Ben Stiller.
Another Period tells the incredible story of the Bellacourt sisters, Lillian and Beatrice (played by Leggero and Lindhome). Defined by their family’s wealth, they care only about becoming super famous —which is a lot harder in 1902. The show follows the insanely decadent and outrageous life of the Bellacourt coterie. Before others claimed their fame, they were the one American family who epitomized all that was spoiled, shameless and stupid. The Bellacourts have more servants than relatives and days filled with money, sex, drugs…and more money.
After the episode: A conversation with creators, writers, and stars Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome, and cast members Paget Brewster and Brett Gelman.
Screening time: Wednesday, April 26, 6:15 PM, SVA-2
Casual (Hulu) – Season 3 World Premiere
Executive Producers: Zander Lehmann, Liz Tigelaar, Helen Estabrook, Jason Reitman.
Season 3 returns with everyone’s favorite co-dependent siblings Valerie and Alex. They continue to live deep in each other’s emotional lives as they raise Valerie’s daughter Laura. Following dramatic life changes at the end of the last season, Valerie and Alex are adjusting to a new normal while continuing to struggle to maintain boundaries with each other.
After the episode: A conversation with creator and executive producer Zander Lehmann, executive producers, Liz Tigelaar, Helen Estabrook, and cast members Michaela Watkins, Tommy Dewey, andTara Lynne Barr. Moderated by editor for New York Magazine and Vulture, Stacey Wilson Hunt.
Screening time: Saturday, April 29, 6:15PM, SVA-2
Episodes (Showtime) – Final Season Premiere
Executive Producer: Jimmy Mulville.
Episodes, the award-winning, razor-sharp comedy about the insanity of making a television show, returns for its fifth and final season. Lauded English television writers Sean and Beverly Lincoln were lured to Hollywood to adapt their much-loved British boarding-school comedy, Lyman’s Boys. Their American network has mangled the show into Pucks!, a sitcom about a high school hockey coach starring Matt LeBlanc (played brilliantly by himself). After a dismal run, the sitcom was finally put out of its misery. Now Sean and Beverly struggle to create a successful new project in this country without completely losing their integrity, while Matt desperately attempts to revitalize his disappearing acting career.
After the episode: A conversation with creators David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik, and cast member Matt LeBlanc. Moderated by editor for New York Magazine and Vulture, Stacey Wilson Hunt.
Screening time: Sunday, April 30, 5:30 PM, SVA-1
The Eyeslicer – New Series Premiere
Executive Producers: Dan Schoenbrun, Vanessa McDonnell.
The Eyeslicer is a new variety TV show that brings the next generation of alternative American filmmakers together under one strange roof. The hour-long show will slice, dice, and then mince your eyeballs into delicious ceviche. Each episode is a handcrafted mixtape, blending boundary-pushing short form work into a weird, wild, uninterrupted whole. The Eyeslicer premieres at Tribeca with the episode “Facial Reconstruction”, featuring work from acclaimed indie filmmakers Lauren Wolkstein, Erin Vassilopoulos, Shaka King, Danny Madden, and Leah Shore.
After the episode: A conversation with co-creators Dan Schoenbrun and Vanessa McDonnell, and filmmakers Lauren Wolkstein, Erin Vassilopoulos, Shaka King, Danny Madden, and Leah Shore.
Screening time: Friday, April 28, 9:00 PM, SVA-2
Genius (National Geographic) – New Series World Premiere
Executive Producers: Ken Biller, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Gigi Pritzker, Sam Sokolow.
Genius charts how Albert Einstein (Geoffrey Rush), an imaginative, rebellious patent clerk who struggled to land an academic post in his early years, went on to become the greatest scientific mind of the 20th century. The show explores his rise as he juggles his volatile, passionate and complex personal relationships. Based on Walter Isaacson’s acclaimed biography.
After the episode: A conversation with director and executive producer Ron Howard, executive producers Brian Grazer and Gigi Pritzker, showrunner Ken Biller, and cast members Geoffrey Rush, Johnny Flynn, Emily Watson, and Samantha Colley.
Screening time: Thursday, April 20, 6:00 PM, BMCC
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu, MGM) – New Series World Premiere
Executive Producer: Bruce Miller.
Based on Margaret Atwood’s acclaimed novel, The Handmaid’s Tale is the story of Gilead, a modern-day totalitarian society facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, ruled by a fundamentalist regime that treats women as property. As one of the few fertile women, Offred is forced into sexual servitude in a desperate attempt to repopulate the world. In a society where one wrong word could end her life, Offred has one goal: survive and find the daughter taken from her.
After the episode: A conversation with executive producers Bruce Miller, Warren Littlefield, and cast members Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, O.T. Fagbenle, and Max Minghella. Moderated by writer for The New York Times Magazine, Jenna Wortham.
Screening time: Friday, April 21, 6:00 PM, BMCC
I Am Heath Ledger (Spike TV) – World Premiere
Producer/Co-Director: Derik Murray. Co-Director: Adrian Buitenhuis.
Told through excerpts of his greatest performances, interviews with friends and family (including Ben Mendelsohn, Naomi Watts, Ang Lee, and Ben Harper), and the lens of his own camera, I Am Heath Ledger is an intimate celebration of the actor, artist, and icon. An artist of exceptional depth and courage, Ledger was equally talented behind the camera. This stirring documentary paints a rich portrait of one of the great artists of his generation.
Screening times:
Sunday, April 23, 5:00 PM, Tribeca Festival Hub
Monday, April 24, 6:45 PM, RGL-9
Wednesday, April 26, 8:00 PM, CIN-6
Thursday, April 27, 8:00 PM, CIN-6
The Sinner (USA/Universal Cable Productions) – New Series World Premiere
Executive Producers: Derek Simonds, Jessica Biel, Michelle Purple, Charlie Gogolak.
A young mother is overcome by an inexplicable fit of rage and commits a startling act of violence. The event launches an inverted and utterly surprising crime thriller whose driving force is not the “who” or the “what,”—but the “why.” Soon the investigator finds himself obsessed with uncovering the woman’s buried motive. From Universal Cable Productions, The Sinner is a riveting psychological thriller, with a pilot stylishly directed by acclaimed filmmaker Antonio Campos (Afterschool, Christine).
After the episode: A conversation with executive producer and director of the pilot Antonio Campos, executive producer Derek Simonds, executive producer and cast member Jessica Biel, and cast members Christopher Abbott and Bill Pullman.
Screening time: Tuesday, April 25, 6:15 PM, SVA-1
Soundtracks: Songs That Defined History (CNN)
Executive Producers: Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre.
Soundtracks explores seminal moments in history through the music that defines them. Featuring original interviews with legendary musicians as well as celebrated journalists, historians, and writers, the series reveals how music has been a driving force behind social change. In a Tribeca screening at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York, the show will explore how songs like Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” took on new and heightened meaning, as music took center stage for a country fighting to heal. Co-hosted by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
After the episode: A conversation with CNN anchor of New Day, Chris Cuomo, and professor at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, Jason King. Moderated by Executive Vice President and Deputy Director for Museum Programs at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Clifford Chanin.
Screening times: Tuesday, April 25, 7:00PM, 9/11 Memorial & Museum
Wednesday, April 26, 3:00 PM, SVA-2
After the episode: A conversation with executive producers Maro Chermayeff and Jeff Dupree
There’s… Johnny! (Seeso) – New Series World Premiere
Executive Producers: Paul Reiser, David Steven Simon, David Gordon Green, Jeff Sotzing, Brian Volk-Weiss, Craig Knizek, Cisco Henson, Michael Pelmont, Matt Ochacher, Evan Shapiro, Kelsey Balance.
It’s 1972, and everyone goes to bed together… with Johnny Carson, TV’s biggest star. 19 year old Nebraskan Andy Klavin stumbles his way into a gig as a gofer at Carson’s “The Tonight Show” and into a world that will change his life. There’s… Johnny! takes a fictional comedic trip back in time, to go behind the man in front of the curtain, and look at the lives and loves of the people who make all of America laugh.
After the episode: A conversation with creator Paul Reiser, executive producers David Steven Simon and David Gordon Green, and cast members Tony Danza, Ian Nelson, and Jane Levy.
Screening time: Thursday April 27, 6:15 PM, SVA-2
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix) – Season 3 World Premiere
Executive Producers: Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, Jeff Richmond, David Miner.
After living in a cult for fifteen years, Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) decides to reclaim her life and start over in New York City. Season 3 opens with Kimmy in an unfamiliar position with the Reverend back in her life. Meanwhile, Titus returns from his cruise and auditions for an exciting new role, and Lillian has to break up with her boyfriend Robert Durst.
After the episode: A conversation with co-creators and executive producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, and cast members Ellie Kemper, Tituss Burgess, Jane Krakowski, and Carol Kane. Moderated by co-host of Morning Joe, Willie Geist.
Screening time: Friday, April 28, 6:00 PM, BMCC
The Vietnam War (PBS) – Special Sneak Peek
Producers: Sarah Botstein, Ken Burns, Lynn Novick.
Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s ten-part, 18-hour documentary series tells the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never been told before. Featuring testimony from nearly 100 witnesses, including Americans who fought in the war,those who opposed it, and Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides. The Vietnam War is an immersive, 360 degree narrative of a seminal period of history.
After the episode: A conversation with filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.
Screening time: Friday, April 28, 5:30 PM, SVA-1
Pilot Season
For the first time in 2017, Tribeca opened submissions to independently produced TV pilots. This showcase program represents the strongest new voices bringing their talents to the episodic space.
After the screening: Join us for a conversation with the creators.
Screening times: Sunday, April 23, 9:00PM, CIN-07
Monday, April 24, 4:45 PM, CIN-01
Friday, April 28, 10:45 PM, CIN-01
Saturday, April 29, 3:15 PM, RGL-01
- Black Magic for White Boys – World Premiere
Executive Producers: Jamie Block, Ronald Guttman. An aging magician is about to lose his small New York theater, but has a devilish plan to save it. A middle-aged man finds his sovereignty in jeopardy when he impregnates a woman he barely knows. A real estate mogul is frustrated that he can’t raise the rent on this tenants. These characters converge in Tribeca alum Onur Tukel’s bizarre comic tale about testing boundaries, gentrification, and how old New York is fading away. With: Onur Tukel, Ronald Guttman, Jamie Block.
- Lost & Found – World Premiere
Executive Producers: Haroula Rose, Melonie Diaz.
Stella and Ian are separating. But for this modern LA couple, that’s nothing to be sad or ashamed about. They decide to host an “un-wedding” party to celebrate. As friends and family descend on their home for the occasion, secrets are revealed and loyalties tested in this comedy-drama about family, friendship, and marriage. With: Melonie Diaz, Will Janowitz, Jennifer LeFleur, Terence Nance, Avi Rothman, Laura Lee Botsacos, Abby Wathen, Nick Thurston, Haroula Rose, Ethan Gold.
- Manic – World Premiere
Executive Producers: Kimberley Browning, Kate Marks.
Aurora Carter, an Ivy League-bound, AP Exam enthusiast finds that her over-achieving obsessiveness lands her in a boarding school for kids with mental illnesses. Now she has a singular goal: prove she doesn’t belong with the rest of the freaks. Determined to fight the system, Aurora makes alliances with the other girls one by one and inspires them to take control of their lives. With: Shanice Williams, Dot-Marie Jones, Russell Andrews, Nicki Micheaux, VyVy Nguyen.