The Television Academy has announced that its inaugural Televerse Festival will feature a 20th anniversary “Bones” reunion panel and a special acting class conducted by none other than living TV legend Henry Winkler.
The first wave of programming for the multi-day event, which is set to unfold Aug. 14-16 at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live, was announced Tuesday morning. Scheduled to take place before the final round of Emmy voting, the festival promises to not only celebrate television and its icons but also provide attendees and awards voters with unprecedented access and insight into some of the year’s biggest TV shows and award contenders.
As was announced Tuesday, the Televerse Festival will include an acting class with Henry Winkler, in which the “Happy Days” star will host a “live acting workshop, delving into the art of performance, building character and connecting with your audience.” Winkler, notably, won an Emmy for his performance as Gene Cousineau, an acting instructor, in HBO’s “Barry.”
The festival will also host a 20th anniversary “Bones” panel featuring creator Hart Hanson and stars Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, T.J. Thyne and Tamara Taylor. Together, the creatives will reexamine some of the show’s themes, its enduring resonance with fans, its real-life origins and the chemistry that was achieved between the series’ key cast members.
Additionally, “Andor” and “House of Cards” writer Beau Willimon will host a “Breaking Story” workshop in which he takes attendees “inside the writers room with a real-time demonstration of the story-breaking process with participation from a live audience.”
In collaboration with Peacock and UCP, the inaugural Televerse Festival will offer a sneak-peak screening of the new limited series “Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy,” which is set to premiere this fall, followed by a conversation afterward with creator/showrunner Patrick Macmanus and additional TBA panelists.
Sports fans, meanwhile, will get the chance to attend “Game On: Inside the Booth with the Los Angeles Dodgers,” a panel featuring lead Dodgers play-by-play announcer Joe Davis, former pitcher and current broadcast analyst Orel Hershiser, sports reporter and correspondent Kirsten Watson, executive producer Mike Levy and director Ben Dillenberger that promises to offer attendees “a rare inside look into the process of delivering live sports television.”
The festival will include TV Academy-sanctioned, For Your Consideration Round 2 panels as well, which will give voters access to new discussions about Emmy-nominated shows and performers. The festival will then close on the evening of Aug. 16 with the Academy’s induction of Viola Davis, Don Mischer, Ryan Murphy, Conan O’Brien, Mike Post and Henry Winkler into the Television Hall of Fame.
More programming announcements are set to come in the remaining weeks leading up to the event. Those interested can register to be notified about future announcements and updates at televerse.com. Tickets for all of the festival’s events are expected to go on sale in mid-July.
The 2025 Televerse Festival will run Aug. 14-16. The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards will air on CBS and Paramount+ on Sunday, Sept. 14.
