The highlight of the past week (besides SXSW) was… PaleyFest 2013! PaleyFest, founded in 1984, is a public program that showcases television shows at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles. It is an opportunity for a show’s cast and creative team to come together and discuss their show in front of an audience. 
Lasting about an hour, the program is moderated by someone in the TV business and concludes with an audience Q & A. Basically, it’s a great way to get the inside scoop on your favorite TV shows and hear the cast talk about their characters and plotlines.
This year’s lineup included panels for The Walking Dead, Revolution, Once Upon A Time, The Newsroom, Community, The New Normal, Parenthood, The Mindy Project, Nashville, Arrow, Dallas, New Girl, The Big Bang Theory, 2 Broke Girls, and American Horror Story: Asylum.
New Girl creator/executive producer Elizabeth Meriwether and star Zooey Deschanel at PaleyFest 2013
Most of the cast members (sometimes the whole cast) show up and they are usually accompanied by a few members of the creative team (the show’s creator, executive producers, etc.), and they are asked questions regarding the show’s hot topic issues, plans for future episodes/seasons, and generally what it’s like working on the show.
If you happen to like any of the shows mentioned above, the entire program for each panel is available on Hulu, as well as clips if you don’t have time to watch the entire thing. Also, for future reference, most of the programs are streamed live, so you can watch without commercials as it’s actually happening!
Nashville stars Hayden Panettiere and Connie Britton at PaleyFest 2013
I watched the panels for The New Normal, Parenthood, The Mindy Project, Nashville, and New Girl, and The Big Bang Theory, with 2 Broke Girls to come tonight, and quite enjoyed each of them. The sitcom panels tended to be pretty hilarious, as the actors are funny both on TV and in real life. It’s interesting to see how different casts interact with each other. The casts of New Girl and The Mindy Project had a lot of fun with each other and were really funny to watch, while The New Normal gang didn’t seem to have bonded as much yet. Much of the Nashville discussion was about it’s music, which is produced by T-Bone Burnett, and how the actors feel about having to sing and perform. That, and of course Connie Britton’s awesome hair. The Parenthood cast discussed the show’s reputation for being a tearjerker and Mae Whitman’s love for Friday Night Lights (Jason Katims created both Parenthood and FNL). And of course The Big Bang Theory couldn’t have missed an opportunity to discuss Sheldon’s “bazinga” catchphrase.
For a look at who’s attended PaleyFest in the past, please click here!
Things to consider:
- An Amy Poehler executive-produced show called Broad City will be airing on Comedy Central in 2014! Read more about it here.
- This video of Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon singing “SexyBack” as part of a barbershop quartet should be viewed by all.
Follow me on Twitter if you’d like: @sdexta
Popular Culture with Sarah! 