The 1st Annual Tribeca TV Festivial Recap

Written By Justin D Williams

Tribeca Film Festival is one of the biggest film festivals in all of New York City. The company last weekend on September 22nd to the 24th had their 1st Annual Tribeca TV Festival. The festival was packed full of screening and panels. Otakus & Geeks was in attendance for a couple of shows such as Liar, Ten Days in the Valley and Designated Survivor. Check out the red carpets pictures and livestream panels below provided by Tribeca. 

Trevor Noah & the Writers of The Daily Show

Trevor Noah offered a peek at what goes on behind the scenes at The Daily Show and talked about being the new kid on the late night block. He compared their work environment to “working in trauma,” noting that the “time from shock to laugh is the shortest amount of time possible."  He went on to call Trump “the most dishonest, authentic person you will ever come across in your life,” and noted Hillary Clinton’s shortcomings in the election, remarking that she couldn’t “get to the emotion that was needed." View the livestream here

Ten Days in the Valley 

Kyra Sedgwick joined her all-female creative team from Ten Days in The Valley for an illuminating conversation about their smart take on the TVmystery-procedural. Kyra challenged the notion that a female character has to be likable, and noted the double standard, saying, “Did we ever ask if Walter White was a good father?....We really didn’t. I think [my character] is real. When I’m in people’s living rooms…I want to play a real character.” View the livestream here

Designated Survivor  

ABC’s Designated Survivor stars Maggie Q, Kal Penn, Italia Ricci and Paulo Costanzo discussed the striking similarities between their show’s storylines and what’s happening in Washington, noting that they had to adjust the ending of season one because it was “too close” to reality. The cast recollected about co-star Kiefer Sutherland’s intense chess skills and quipped about his dramatic delivery when he says “check.” View the livestream here

Red Oaks 

The ensemble cast and crew of Red Oaks reflected on what new and returning audiences can look forward to in their final season, and reminisced about their love of working together.  The cast chatted about their favorite things about the 80s, and Executive Producer Steven Soderbergh quipped that he didn’t remember the 80s because he was born in 1989. View the livestream here

Queen Sugar 

Queen Sugar stars Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner and Kofi Siriboe discussed their mutual love and how they enjoy working with such “fierce” female directors. They called out Executive Producer Ava Duverney and said they wanted to direct an episode together. Diving into the more serious topics tackled within the series, the co-stars discussed the importance of accurately depicting race and culture. View the livestream here 

Gotham

Following the series sneak peek, cast members Ben McKenzie, Robin Lord Taylor, Jessica Lucas and Erin Richards joined Executive Producer Danny Cannon to talk about what audiences can expect in the shadowy world of Gotham City this year.  McKenzie discussed his experience writing an episode, remarking, "I found writing my own dialogue harder than anyone else's," but thought Harvey Bullock's dialogue was the easiest to write. View the livestream here

Pillow Talk

Patrick J. Adams joined Creators Mike Piscitelli and Writer Rachael Taylor to talk about sex, literally. Adams compared the show to The Sopranos, noting his character is as flawed and unlikable as Tony Soprano. View the livestream here

Will & Grace

Will & Grace Co-creators and Executive Producers Max Mutchnick and David Kohan surprised the packed audience by screening the first episode of their highly-anticipated new season. Following the politically-charged episode, Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally took to the stage to preview what's to come this season, including a relationship between Karen Walker and the Trumps, Jack's new acting technique called Jack-ting, a business venture between Will and Grace, and the return of Beverly Leslie. Messing also discussed their fresh approach to LGBTQ topics and gender fluidity. They noted that despite the notoriety of the series, their stardom is still lost on some, with Mullally being mistaken for Julia Louis-Dreyfus and McCormack being mistaken for a Friends star. View the livestream here

Liar

Joanne Froggatt and Creators Jack Williams and Harry Williams discussed the twists and turns in the series, which follows the volatile aftermath of a seemingly innocent date. Froggatt discusses the similarities and differences between this character and her character on Downton Abbey, both of whom deal with rape. View the livestream here

Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television

Ryan Hansen playing himself again is his hardest role yet. He is even able to make Kevin Hart break character.  Thanking YouTube Red for being "cool enough to make fun of themselves," stars Ryan Hansen and Samira Wiley talked about how fun it was to be on set together. The costars also bragged about the amazing cameos, from Jon Cryer to Donald Faison and Kristen Bell, among others. They also teased that Veronica Mars reunion could be in the works... View the livestream here