Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) proudly announces the initial line-up for the 2020 SCAD aTVfest, Atlanta’s only festival dedicated to television. Now in its eighth year, the university’s annual signature event celebrating the television industry will be held at SCADshow, February 27-29, 2020. Entertainment Weekly (EW) returns for the second year as Official Media Partner, SCAD aTVfest.

"This promises to be a fantastic aTVFest 2020 in Atlanta,” said Christina Routhier, Executive Director, SCAD aTVfest. “We are excited to have Entertainment Weekly return as our official media partner. We appreciate the amazing support from networks and studios that bring top shows, talent, and below the line artists to our festival. aTVFest is dedicated to showcasing the best industry artists working in television today, from showrunners, directors and writers to costume designers, production designers and casting agents. Once again, we are thrilled to continue to highlight female talent in front of and behind the camera."

Producer/actress Kim Cattrall (FOX’s Filthy Rich) will receive the Icon Award; Eric McCormack (NBC’s Will & Grace) will receive the Impact Award; Tom Payne (FOX’s Prodigal Son) will receive the Discovery Award, Actor; Hunter Schafer (HBO’s Euphoria) will receive the Discovery Award, Actress; and the cast of NBC’s Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist will receive the Rising Star Cast Award. Honorees are scheduled to attend screenings and participate in conversations regarding their work. The festival’s In Conversation Series includes talks with Eric McCormack, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, Hunter Schafer, Miss J Alexander and Grown-ish costume designer Michelle Cole and actress Yara Shahidi.

As the Official Media Partner for SCAD aTVfest, EW co-curated this year’s programming and will have staff on-site to moderate select talent panels. EW will also host a photo and video studio for talent. Galleries will be available exclusively on EW.com and its social platforms. Shows and representatives attending this year's festival include the following (subject to change):

68 Whiskey (Paramount Network) with actors Sam Keeley, Jeremy Tardy, Gage Golightly, Cristina Rodlo, Beth Reisgraf and Executive Producer/Director Michael Lehman.

Animation Domination (FOX) with Executive Producers Julie Scully, Mike Scully, Danny Smith and character artist Mike Cassidy.

Awkwafina is Nora from Queens (Comedy Central) with actor BD Wong.

The Baker and the Beauty (ABC) with actors Victor Rasuk, Nathalie Kelley, Carlos Gómez, Dan Bucatinsky, Lisa Vidal, David Del Rio, Belissa Escobedo and Michelle Veintimilla.

Cherish the Day (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network) with actors Alano Miller, Xosha Roquemore and Director Blitz Bazawule.

Council of Dads (NBC) with actors Sarah Wayne Callies, Michael O’Neill, J August Richards, Clive Standen, Michelle Weaver and Co-creators/Showrunners Anthony “Tony” Phelan and Joan Rater.

Deputy (FOX) with actors Brian Van Holt, Danielle Moné Truitt, annd Executive Producer Kimberly Ann Harrison.

Filthy Rich (FOX) with actors Kim Cattrall, Melia Kreiling, Aubrey Dollar, Corey Cott, Benjamin Levy Aguilar, Mark L. Young, Olivia Macklin, and executive producers Tate Taylor and Abe Sylvia.

For Life (ABC) with actors Joy Bryant, Nicholas Pinnock, and Executive Producers Doug Robinson, Hank Steinberg, Isaac Wright Jr.

Legacies (The CW) with actors Jenny Boyd, Kaylee Bryant, Matthew Davis, Quincy Fouse, Chris Lee, Danielle Rose Russell, Aria Shahghasemi and Peyton Alex Smith.

Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (NBC) with actors Russell Hornsby, Arielle Kebbel, Michael Imperioli and Showrunner/Writer/Executive Producer Barry O’Brien.

Mixed-ish (ABC) with actors Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tika Sumpter, Arica Himmel and Executive Producer/Co-Creator Peter Saji.

New Amsterdam (NBC) with actor Tyler Labine and showrunner David Schulner.

October Faction (Netflix) with actors Tamara Taylor, J.C. MacKenzie, and Maxim Roy.

Prodigal Son (FOX) with actors Tom Payne, Keiko Agena, Frank Harts, Aurora Perrineau, and Halston Sage.

Roswell, New Mexico (The CW) with actors Heather Hemmens, Jeanine Mason, Michael Trevino, Nathan Dean and Executive Producer/creator Carina Adly MacKenzie.

Strike Back (Cinemax) with actor Warren Brown, director Bill Eagles, military technical advisor Paul Biddiss and writer/showrunner/Executive Producer Jack Lothian.

VIDA (STARZ) with actors Melissa Barrera, Mishel Prada, Ser Anzoategui, Chelsea Rendon, Carlos Miranda and Roberta Colindrez.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC) with actors Jane Levy, Skylar Astin, Alex Newell, John Clarence Stewart and Producer/Choreographer Mandy Moore.

Panels

The SCAD aTVfest panel series welcomes industry experts from a myriad of professions to engage in meaningful conversations about their work. This year's panels and workshops with industry experts include: Snackable Content for Any Audience, The Art of Representation, Inside the Writers Room, True Crime: TV’s Fascination with Killers, Into the Stream, FOX’s Animation Domination, AR/VR Next Generation Experiences, Create a Jaw-dropping Fight Scene with Cinemax’s Strike Back, The Windy City Trifecta: Dick Wolf's Chicago, Meet the Executives, Emerging Platforms in the Soaring 20’s, Below the Line series featuring: Production Design, Costume Design, National and Atlanta Casting, Behind the Scenes with Tyler Perry’s Ruthless, SCAD Alumni panels, and the annual Wonder Women Series, presented by EW, featuring actors, showrunners, and directors. In Conversation Series includes talks with Eric McCormack, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, Miss J Alexander, Hunter Schafer, Grown-ish costume designer Michelle Cole, and Yara Shahidi.

Honorees

Kim Cattrall, who stars in and is a producer of FOX’s Filthy Rich, will receive the Icon Award. She has had an extensive career in film, stage and television. She returned to television in 2014 as producer and star of Canadian series Sensitive Skin, which was nominated for a 2015 International Emmy Award. Cattrall was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award in 2017 for her role as Divina Jackson. Her film credits include Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans; The Ghost Writer; Meet Monica Velour; and both Sex and the City films reprising her role as Samantha Jones. Cattrall’s work on the Sex and the City series earned her a Golden Globe, two SAG Awards, and five Emmy nominations. On television, she was featured in Swedish crime series Modus and appeared in The Witness for the Prosecution, nominated for a 2017 BAFTA TV Award for Best Mini-Series, and won a Gemini Award for her role in Producing Parker.

Eric McCormack is known for his role as Will Truman on NBC’s Emmy Award-winning comedy Will & Grace, which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2002, five Golden Globe Award nominations from 2000 to 2004, and the Emmy Award for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2001. A decade after the show’s eight-season run, NBC revived Will & Grace, where he subsequently received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy. McCormack most recently starred in, produced, and directed Netflix’s Travelers. His other television credits include the Netflix series Atypical; director, producer, and star of TNT drama, Perception; producer on Lovespring International for Lifetime; and the TNT pilot Imperfect Union. His film work includes Alien Trespass, Free Enterprise, My One and Only, The Sisters, Barricade and Knife Fight. McCormack was born in Toronto and spent his twenties performing in theatres across Canada, eventually making his way to Broadway starring in The Music Man, Neil LaBute’s Some Girl(s), and in the Tony-nominated Gore Vidal’s The Best Man.

Tom Payne is currently playing the lead role of Malcom Bright in Fox’s hit television series Prodigal Son. He is also known for appearing on AMC's The Walking Dead as Paul "Jesus" Rovia. His other credits include HBO’s Luck with Dustin Hoffman, the BBC’s Waterloo Road, Wuthering Heights with Tom Hardy and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day with Amy Adams and Frances McDormand.

Hunter Schafer made her acting debut in HBO’s much-anticipated gritty high school drama Euphoria, from creator Sam Levinson. She stars opposite Zendaya as Jules, a new-to-town teenager navigating the trials and triumphs of coming of age. For her role, Hunter was included in The Hollywood Reporter’s list of 7 Rising Stars poised for a breakout in 2019.

Actors Jane Levy, Skylar Astin, Alex Newell, and John Clarence Stewart will receive the Rising Star Cast Award for Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. Jane Levy stars in this high-concept drama as Zoey Clarke, a whip-smart computer coder forging her way in San Francisco. After an unusual event, Zoey, who always preferred podcasts over pop songs, suddenly starts to hear the innermost wants, thoughts and desires of the people around her – her family, co-workers and complete strangers – through popular songs. At first, she questions her own sanity, but after getting guidance from her musically adept neighbor, Mo, and making a breakthrough with her ailing father, Zoey realizes this unwanted curse may just be an incredibly wonderful gift as she connects with the world like never before.

More than 10,000 SCAD students and alumni work in the fields of animation, entertainment, motion pictures, media production, writing, editing, broadcast media and performing arts, with over 3,000 in Georgia alone. The program’s unique project-based approach to film, TV and performing arts provides SCAD students a distinct advantage before they graduate with unparalleled access to industry tools, experts and life-changing opportunities&emdash;from cross-disciplinary collaborations that mirror major film and TV productions to acclaimed Academy- and Oscar-award winning faculty, including D.W. Moffett and Craig Anton. This year over 200 SCAD alumni, representing a variety of award-winning degree programs including animation, visual effects, film and television, production design, sound design, television producing, sequential art, screenwriting, motion media design, sculpture and photography, contributed to 21 nominated films.