The ATX TV Festival 2024 is this weekend, as the annual “TV Camp for Grown-Ups” that celebrates television via premieres and screenings, panels, Q&As, and more. The 13th edition will feature a retrospective on USA’s Suits with cast members in attendance and a tribute to the late, great Norman Lear, who wrote / produced / created over 100 shows, including Netflix’s One Day at a Time starring Rita Moreno and Justina Machado. Show creatives and actors will also participate in conversations that examine the current state of diversity and inclusion on the small screen. Here are some of the Latinos scheduled to appear to discuss their work, both in front and behind the camera.
Julio Torres of Fantasmas
Writer/creator Julio Torres opens the festival with the world premiere of his new TV show Fantasmas, which will air on June 7 on HBO. This is the Salvadoran-American’s third premiere in Austin, first revealing HBO’s Los Espookys with Fred Armisen at ATX TV in 2019 and the film Problemista with Tilda Swinton at last year’s South by Southwest. Based on the trailer, we can expect Torres’ colorful and whimsical storytelling as his self-titled character searches for his lost golden oyster in New York.
Mark Indelicato of Hacks
Most of the world was introduced to Mark Indelicato as 12-year-old fashion-obsessed Justin Suarez in Ugly Betty, a groundbreaking show for LGBTQIA+ representation during the 2000s. He also explored Latinx family dynamics as Jorge, one the Diaz siblings in Amazon’s With Love, created by Gloria Calderon Kellett. And that’s before his current role as Deborah Vance’s assistant, Damien, in HBO’s Hacks. Following the screening of the season three finale, Indelicato will participate in an ATX TV Festival 2024 Q&A as well as speak in two panels about comedy and queer storytelling.
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa of Summer School
Roberto Aguierre-Sacasa is best known for the popular teen dramas he’s developed: Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, and its predecessor, Pretty Little Liars: Summer School. He is joining co-creator/EP Lindsay Calhoon Bring and the cast–Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney, Malia Pyles, Zaria and Mallory Bechtel (Maia Reficco is not scheduled to attend)–to talk about Summer School and give lucky attendees an early look at a new episode.
Danny Pino, Yul Vazquez, and Maurice Compte of Hotel Cocaine
Danny Pino of Cold Case and Mayans M.C. stars in the MGM+’s upcoming crime thriller, Hotel Cocaine. He plays Roman Compte, a Cuban exile and hotel manager of the Mutiny Hotel during the Miami cocaine scene during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Yul Vazquez plays Compte’s older brother Nestor and Miami’s biggest supplier of cocaine in this show about brotherhood and the American Dream/Nightmare. Maurice Compte, of Law & Order: SVU and Compte’s son, helps bring this story to the small screen as co-executive producer. All three actors are joining show creator and executive producer Chris Brancato, and actor Mark Feuerstein, to premiere Hotel Cocaine at ATX TV Festival 2024.
Debby Wolfe of Lopez vs. Lopez
Lopez vs. Lopez showrunner Debby Wolfe is speaking about authenticity and inclusion as the “face” of the small screen continues to shift towards more representation. After graduating from NBC’s Writers on the Verge program, the Salvadorian-Jewish comedy writer and film director first wrote for season two of NBC’s Whitney before joining the writers’ room for One Day at a Time for three seasons. Lopez vs. Lopez, starring co-creators and father/daughter George Lopez and Mayan Lopez, was recently renewed for a third season. Wolfe Is also joining Indelicato in the conversation about comedy for a mass audience.
Octavio Pisano of Law & Order: SVU
As Detective Joe Velasco on Law & Order: SVU, Octavio Pisano is joining the discussion about procedural dramas and what makes the long-running shows so addicting. The Mexican-born actor joined the cast in the 23rd season as the recurring character of an undercover officer from Cuidad Juarez before joining the main cast a few episodes later. He will also share the realities of being a working actor in the “Break the Mold” panel with Wolfe.
Justina Machado of One Day at a Time
Justina Machado is paying tribute to Norman Lear during the Closing Night Event with a script reading and conversation about the late show producer. The Latina actress is no stranger to ATX TV as she’s attended for her shows, One Day at a Time and The Horror of Dolores Roach, both of which were unfortunately canceled too soon. However, Machado is back to work with Netflix’s medical procedure Pulse.
Rafael Agustin of Jane the Virgin
Rafael Agustin was a writer in CW’s award-winning Jane the Virgin from 2017-2019 and is the founding CEO of the Latino Film Institute. He shared his experience of growing up undocumented with his Ecuadorian immigrant family in his memoir, Illegally Yours, and will discuss the importance of immigrant voices on the small screen and what he hopes to see in future storytelling in the panel, Telling Authentic Immigrant Stories.
