With the rapid expansion of new viewing technologies, specifically the streaming of feature films and series which in the United States now has about 160 million individuals subscribing to Netflix and Amazon Prime and millions more to many other streaming services, television is continuing to enjoy a golden age. Virtually all past and present television programs can now be transmitted. The variety of Television programs and how they can be watched are constantly expanding.  Only a tiny fraction of the material now being produced can be consumed by most people.  The choices are staggering  and festivals now play an important curatorial function. There are currently 500 scripted  series available to the audience.  For years television has been an important part of major film festivals like the Berlinale, Sundance, Toronto and Tribeca and has resulted in the creation of dedicated television festivals.  In  2017, Tribeca Enterprises  which is also in charge of the Tribeca Film Festival  established its annual Television Festival. This year it celebrated from September 20-23  the achievements  of established programs like  Law & Order: SVU and Shark Tank, presented the opening episodes of new seasons of various shows and world premieres  of challenging new series  like Valley of the Boom and Wayne.  Through discussions with the audience  after each screening, as well as panels,  the festival generated a direct discourse that might otherwise not be available. This year featured the world or season premieres of ten series. The Tribeca Talks The panels covered  Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York City, ABC’s Ten Years of Shark Tank and conversations with Bryan Cranston and David Edelstein as well as Rosario Dawson. Story telling reigned supreme in the festival and the audience engaged in discovering new perspectives.

Among new parts of the Tribeca TV Fest were indie pilots in the Fall Pilot Season section which migrated from the Tribeca Film Festival and showcased independent episodic productions.  The Midnight Episodic section added late night horror pilots. The first edition of the festival proved so popular with the TV audience that it was moved from the Cinepolis venue to the larger TriBeCa Spring Studio and an additional day was added to the program.  The audience for the festival exceeded expectations with Tribeca’s Spring Studio facility attracting thousands.  A larger number of pilots, estimated at several hundred, were reviewed for inclusion in the 2018 program.  Many of the pilots selected for 2017 are under discussion but no deals have been announced thus far. Fans of the screened programs were a large part of the audience and their favorites sold out fastest. For the anniversary celebrations around Law & Order: SVU, SHARK TANK and The Real Housewives Of New York City, fans lined up in front of the studio hours in advance to get the best seats.

Produced by its creator Dick Wolff for NBC for twenty seasons thus far, Law & Order: SVU has become   the longest running prime time drama on US television. It features an elite squad of New York police detectives bringing justice to sexual assault and domestic violence victims.  Celebrating  the 200th episode of ABC’s  Shark Tank,  the principal  Shark Tank  investors explained in a Tribeca Talk the impact of the show and the careers and products the show launched. One of the most popular reality shows on American television,  The Real Housewives of New York City has been already been on air for ten seasons.  Cast members and executive producers reflected on the meaning of the show, provided insights, and discussed the legacy of elite housewives Manhattan depicted.

Tribeca TV presented the world premiere of 5 original and diverse independent comedy pilots overcoming traditional conventions. The premiers shown were pilots for Shrimp, Great Expectations, I Was A Teenage Pillow Queen, Livin’ On A Prairie and My Friend Will.   Created and produced by Zelda Williams and Joshua Thurston, Shrimp provided great insights into the work of a group of women making a living as dominatrices with wealthy clients.  In their everyday lives they cope with the same problems and conflicts as people with straight endeavors. Zelda’s inspiration for her show was her own experience with being mistaken as a dominatrix in a bar. This prompted her to research and observe fetish lifestyles. My Friend Will by Ekija Guo is an original interpretation of the transformation of young writer named Jake who is frustrated by depressions and the quest for meaning in the art he pursues.  William Shakespeare suddenly appears in his apartment and through his centuries’ old perspective Jake rediscovers the theatre, New York City, and himself, and grows close to the anomaly of his ancient companion.

Wayne was created by  Shawn Simmons and  exec produced by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick  with writers  from the hit Deadpool films hits for the relatively new  YouTube Red  which charges a $12 monthly subscription fee. Wayne is a 10 part action comedy series that is scheduled to debut in late 2018 and was produced in just three month. Wayne features two teenagers, the 15-year-old Wayne played by Mark McKenna and his same aged crush Del acted by Ciara Bravo. The pilot offers a superb neo-realistic background of the socio-economic working class context of the protagonists. After Wayne’s father dies of cancer, he burns down his house to settle an old score with the landlord.  He picks up Del from her sociopathic family after beating up her father and  mute older siblings and leaves with her on a dirt bike. They go on a road trip and experience adventures on their way from the Boston area Southie to Florida on a quest to find a 1978 Pontiac Trans Am. The car had been given to Wayne by his father on his death bed but was stolen by his estranged mother that had abandoned the family. We see a tale of a passion and conflict in gritty settings interspersed with occasional bloody fights. In the pilot we see how Wayne is fighting for justice against all odds and encounter individuals struggling to making a living.  In their gray world Wayne and Del  confront bullies and domineering figures. The script for the series is excellent and nuanced but tends towards the dark side.  Wayne will have a large appeal. In the words of the creator Shawn Simmons,  “When the leader of the free world is on Twitter everyday being a bully – what better time to have something that shows someone who stands up for what’s right and stand up to bullies”

For me, Valley Of The Boom was an outstanding highlight of the Tribeca 2018 TV festival. Created by Matthew Carnahan with an outstanding cast of actors like Bradley Whitford, Steve Zahn, Lamone Morris and Stephan Paternot, the founder of TheGlobe.com,  playing himself. This timely six part National Geographic of the hybrid scripted docuseries genre uses a superb combination of documentary segments, re-enactments, and scripted elements.  Excellent writing and cinematography and the expected high National Geographic production value turned Valley Of The Boom into a seductive and addictive production with educational values and moral lessons for the audience. With drama, comedy and melodrama, this journey through the 90s across the Silicon valley  dotcom boom and bust and the rise of the internet will be released  in January 2019 and shown in 43 language versions in 172 countries, including China. It will be a learning experience about the most important early pioneers and brands from the 90’s bubble, interpersonal conflicts, and corporate struggles. Greed and debauchery are central to the Silicon Valley story of the 90s, as is the culture of speculation that replaced rational evaluation.  The noteworthy performance of Steven Zahn  as the con artist Michael Fenner  in Valley Of The Boom stands out, reflecting the still common maxim of  ‘fake till you make it’.  Fenner believed that God blessed him with the unique  ability to defy reality and established the Pixecon corporation,  an early internet video streaming site. He was also known for his conviction that the value of a company is measured by the size of the party it gives.  Having raised close to $30 million from investors, he spent a third of it on a parties that showed off internet video streaming. The demonstration was an utter failure and he disappeared, only to be arrested in 1999 as a fugitive with a criminal record under the name of David Kim Stanley. No one had bothered to check Michael Fenner’s identity. There is no other program I know which offers such a compelling and fluid inside story of the rise of Silicon Valley.  The digital technologies created there now dominate the world.

Participation in the 2018 edition of the Tribeca Television Festival was most rewarding providing telling insights into the minds of the creative production staff and outlooks on original new series,  an achievement Tribeca will undoubtedly be repeating  in the next edition of the festival.      

Claus Mueller,  filmexchange@gmail.com