Must-See TV ... Festival

Cast of beloved NBC drama heading to Texas for very special family reunion

The Bravermans are coming to Texas.

ATX Television Festival has a penchant for pulling off epic reunions of bygone TV shows such as Gilmore Girls (before the Netflix special series!), Friday Night Lights, Felicity, and Veronica Mars. When it returns to Texas on June 4-7, 2020, however, the festival is going all in on everybody's favorite show to cry about — Parenthood.

The NBC drama ran from 2010-2015 and told the story of the Braverman clan, a Southern California family just trying to get through all of the many, many, many hurdles that life and the show's writing staff threw their way. It was also famous for sob-inducing moments long before Dan Fogelman decided to break hearts every week with This Is Us.

Scheduled to attend next year's ATX Television Festival in downtown Austin is nearly the entire cast, including Peter Krause, Lauren Graham, Monica Potter, Erika Christensen, Mae Whitman, and Craig T. Nelson. Noticeably absent is Dax Shepherd, but the release did tease that additional participants will be announced at a later date.

The cast will join creator/executive producer Jason Katims and writer/executive producer David Hudgins for "a live script reading and panel conversation celebrating 10 years since the series premiere," says a release.

Along with the Parenthood cast reunion, ATX Television Festival will also reuinite the writers of Justified; feature a retrospective of HBO's groundbreaking Oz with series creator/executive producer Tom Fontana and cast members Lee Tergesen and Dean Winters; and screen the unaired pilot for L.A. Confidential, a show that was not picked up during the 2018 pilot season.

Other exciting additions include a panel on women in the television industry hosted by NBC. The panel will discuss, among other things, the network's Female Forward program, which helps women break into television directing.

The festival is also bringing back its popular The Pitch Competition, now in its eighth year. The competition gives undiscovered writers the opportunity to pitch ideas directly to network executives.

“The Pitch Competition is often the highlight of the festival for us,” said festival co-founders and co-directors Caitlin McFarland and Emily Gipson in a release. “Over the last seven years, our winners have received mentorship, gained representation, pitched to top networks, and even sold their pitch to a major studio." Writers interested in taking part must submit a 90-second video pitch and writing sample for an original scripted series by January 17.

For those just looking to revel in all things television, badges and day wristbands are on sale now. Badges begin at $295, and can be purchased here.

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Downtown News

Dallas convention center re-do will shut down DART stop for 3 years

Courtesy photo

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Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is about to shut down its stop at the Convention Center Station for the next three years.

The agency is being forced to close the station to accommodate the city of Dallas' construction and redevelopment of the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center. As part of the project, the station will be closed for the duration of construction, which is currently estimated at three years.

The Convention Center Station is a stop on both the Red and Blue lines, and the shutdown will affect anyone traveling to or from southwest Dallas. North Dallas, Plano, Rowlett, and Carrollton will thankfully be spared.

Rail detours
Riders who previously used the Convention Center Station will be directed to nearby alternative stations at Cedars or EBJ Union. DART has prepared clear signage, rider alerts, and bus connections to support customers and make navigating the closure as easy as possible.

Bus detours
Routes 28 and 106 will maintain regular service outside of downtown. Within downtown, instead of taking Lamar to the Convention Center, the bus will turn left on Young Street, right on Akard Street, right on Marilla Street where the Akard and Marilla bus stop is located (stop number 20685).

Outbound, routes 28 and 106 will turn left on Young Street, right on Lamar Street and then proceed on their regular route.

Layover at Akard and Marilla: Passengers deboard at Cedars Station and take the special South Dallas GoLink to bus stops at Akard and Marilla or to EBJ Union Station.

Route 224 will operate a detour going inbound. Inbound trips will come downtown via Elm and continue to Houston, turn left on Commerce and continue to Harwood. It will then turn left to go to the East Transfer Center where it will layover. Outbound trips will originate from the East Transfer Center and operate a regular route out of downtown.

Layover at East Transfer Center

Passengers arriving by train can deboard at Convention Center Station to board route 224.
Another option for passengers is to deboard at Akard Station, then board 224 at Elm and Akard.

Route 383 East Transfer Center is your final stop. 383 will not continue past this station. This route will be discontinued on February 02, 2026.

DART will implement a new GoLink Zone for Convention Center Station customers that will only provide service for trips originating at EBJ Union Station, Cedars Station, or the substitute bus layover location on Akard and Marilla and terminating at one of those locations.

The service will operate 7 days a week, from 5 am to midnight. Customers using this GoLink Zone may only travel between these three designated points.

All changes will be reflected online and in the GoPass app for the duration of construction.

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