The fourth annual ATX Television Festival is adding another great reunion panel to its already impressive lineup.
The cast and creators of Showtime's landmark series Queer as Folk will reunite to celebrate the show's 10th anniversary at the June 4-7 event, festival organizers announced Tuesday.
"We're extremely proud to bring Queer as Folk to the festival this year," ATX co-exec directors and co-founders Caitlin McFarland and Emily Gipson said. "We strive for diverse and revolutionary programming, and this groundbreaking series changed the game for cable television in 2000, marking a high point not only for the LGBT community, but for socially important storytelling. Along with The Gilmore Girls reunion, the Dawson's Creek writers' room reunion and much more programming still to be announced, this year's festival will offer a balance of critically acclaimed series and fan favorites."
Read more 'Gilmore Girls,' 'Dawson's Creek' Writers Reunions Set for ATX Television Festival
Queer as Folk, which won a GLAAD Media Award for outstanding drama during its five-season run from 2000-05, followed the lives of a group of gay friends and their relationships, careers, loves and ambitions. It helped spawn Showtime's lesbian-themed The L Word and pave the way for LGBT characters on primetime on both cable and broadcast television including HBO's Looking and Fox's Glee, among countless others.
Creators Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman will be in attendance, along with cast members Gale Harold (Brian), Peter Paige (Emmitt), Robert Gant (Ben), Scott Lowell (Ted), Michelle Clunie (Melanie) and Thea Gill (Lindsay). Additional cast members may join the panel.
"We are delighted that ATX Television Festival has chosen to honor Queer as Folk and that we have the opportunity to be reunited with our remarkable cast. Writing and producing a groundbreaking, and often controversial, show like QAF was challenging, but also a rewarding and transformative experience for all of us. We look forward to sharing to our stories and memories," Lipman and Cowen said in a joint statement.
The Queer as Folk event joins previously announced panels including the Gilmore Girls reunion, which will be held at the Paramount Theater, with a limited number of single tickets set to be released in early May at $85 each.
Additionally, ATX's annual Pitch Competition has added Jenny Bicks (The Big C, Sex and the City) to its roster of judges that already includes Kyle Killen, Scott Pennington and Keith Redmon. Additional judges will be announced. Submissions are now open and being accepted until Jan. 16.
Additional details about the ATX Festival and Pitch Competition can be found at www.atxfestival.com.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
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