The Edinburgh TV Festival showcased will.i.am and producer Warren Littlefield (The Handmaid’s Tale, Fargo, Dopesick) as the first high-profile speakers for the 2024 edition this summer.
Clarkson Farm executive producer Andy Wilman will also appear at the 49th Edinburgh Television Festival in August.
“The speakers also contribute to two fresh areas of expansion that have been introduced to provide a practical and inspiring look at the future of the industry,” organizers said. In addition to regular Spotlight Sessions, panel discussions and programming masterclasses in Edinburgh, fresh Innovative Director Rowan Woods is keen to expand the event’s international reach and launch a fresh strand called Frontiers which “celebrates creativity, convergence and fresh forms of storytelling”. “
In the first year of the Frontiers component, will.i.am will talk to Alex Connock, a research fellow in media and artificial intelligence at the University of Oxford, about the future of creativity and the role that artificial intelligence will play in it. “Through his groundbreaking work as Founder and CEO of FYI, a pioneering Web 3.0 AI-powered creativity platform, will.i.am is uniquely positioned to offer invaluable insights into the impact of AI on content creation, distribution and audience engagement,” the organizers said.
Littlefield, a former network executive and architect of NBC’s “Must See TV” era, developing and overseeing such series as Friends, Seinfeld, ER AND Thanks, will be speaking at the In Conversation session in Edinburgh. “Now embarking on a fresh career as a producer of high-end drama, Littlefield is behind multiple Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series such as The Handmaid’s Tale, Fargo, Dopesick, Ancient manand Amanda Knox’s upcoming drama, co-produced by Knox and Monica Lewinsky,” emphasized the Edinburgh team. “Littlefield’s career reflects many of the substantial changes in the industry and he will discuss the evolution, the current state of theater writing, talent relationships and where the next substantial shows will come from.”
Said Woods: “It’s an incredibly invigorating moment for me to reveal announcements regarding our first session of the 2024 festival. They highlight three of our key priorities this year: expanding our international programming, reflecting the increasingly unequal boundaries between television and other sectors and the artistic opportunities that come with it, and celebrating the success and impact of British talent and program-making.”
The Edinburgh Television Festival takes place from August 20-23.
