Vulture.com, New York Magazine’s culture and entertainment site, today announced the initial lineup for the 2016 Vulture Festival, a series of high-profile events celebrating the best of today’s television, music, film, and more. The festival will take place May 21–22 primarily at Milk Studios, with select events at other venues, in New York City. Additional events will be announced in the coming weeks. Among the highlights of the two-day live showcase, curated by Vulture’s editors, are:
- A Happy Endings reunion sponsored by Hulu with creator David Caspe, showrunner Jonathan Groff, and cast members Eliza Coupe, Elisha Cuthbert, Zachary Knighton, Casey Wilson, Adam Pally, and Damon Wayans Jr., hosted by Vulture editor Jesse David Fox.
- Shonda Rhimes, executive producer of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder, and The Catch, in conversation with Vulture Hollywood editor Stacey Wilson Hunt, sponsored by OUTFRONT Media.
- An exclusive interview with HBO’s The Sopranos creator David Chase and New York and Vulture television critic Matt Zoller Seitz.
- Star Krysten Ritter and series creator–showrunner Melissa Rosenberg of Marvel’s Jessica Jones, which is currently streaming on Netflix, in conversation with Vulture editor Abraham Riesman. This session is sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment. Admission will be offered free to the public.
- A live table read with the cast and guest cast of Hulu’s Difficult People, followed by a panel discussion with Amy Poehler, Billy Eichner, Julie Klausner, James Urbaniak, Nathan Lane, Cole Escola, Shakina Nayfack, Andrea Martin, Megan Hilty, Scott King, and John Early, led by Vulture editor E. Alex Jung.
- TV Land’s Younger cast members Sutton Foster, Miriam Shor, Debi Mazar, Nico Tortorella, and Dan Amboyer go head-to-head with FX’s You’re the Worst cast members Stephen Falk, Aya Cash, Chris Geere, Kether Donohue, and Desmin Borges in a pop-culture trivia game show hosted by Brett Gelman.
- Comedy night featuring Sarah Silverman and Friends at BAM.
- A jam session with Fred Armisen and Sharon Van Etten.
- Live tapings in the Casper Podcast Lounge, including Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson’s 2 Dope Queens; Chris Gethard’s Beautiful/Anonymous; Reply All hosted by Alex Goldman and featuring guest Paul Scheer; Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas in How Did This Get Made?; NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour host Linda Holmes and panelists Stephen Thompson and Glen Weldon.
- Lifetime’s UnReal co-creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, cast members Shiri Appleby, Constance Zimmer, B.J. Britt, Craig Bierko, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Josh Kelly, and executive producer Carol Barbee in conversation with Vulture editor Gazelle Emami.
- AMC’s Better Call Saul co-creator Peter Gould and stars Bob Odenkirk, Michael McKean, and Rhea Seehorn in conversation with New York television critic Matt Zoller Seitz.
- An ultra-exclusive tour of the Met Breuer with New York and Vulture senior art critic Jerry Saltz.
- An interview with cast members of USA’s Mr. Robot, including Rami Malek, Christian Slater, Carly Chaikin, Portia Doubleday, and Grace Gummer.
- A conversation with CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star and co-creator Rachel Bloom and co-creator and executive producer Aline Brosh McKenna, along with the show’s executive music producer, Adam Schlesinger, and Vulture Hollywood editor Stacey Wilson Hunt.
- An exclusive look at TNT’s new drama series Animal Kingdom, and a conversation with its executive producers John Wells and Jonathan Lisco.
- An exclusive early viewing of Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass, followed by a discussion with the film’s costume designer, Colleen Atwood, led by New York and Vulture senior editor Kyle Buchanan. This session is sponsored by Screenvision Media.
- Actors behind some of your favorite animated voices read classic movie scenes, including John Roberts (Bob’s Burgers), Larry Murphy (Bob’s Burgers), Aisha Tyler (Archer), Carlos Alazraqui (Bordertown, Inside Out, Happy Feet), Lucky Yates (Archer), Elizabeth “EG” Daily (Rugrats, The Powerpuff Girls), Maurice LaMarche (Pinky and the Brain, Futurama, Kung Fu Panda, The Powerpuff Girls, Zootopia, Rick and Morty), and Alex Borstein (Family Guy), moderated by Vulture editor Nate Jones.
- Vulture Festival and Governors Ball present Gary Clark Jr. and Albert Hammond Jr. in concert at Webster Hall.
- An exclusive interview with Trevor Noah, host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, at the Standard High Line.
- An exclusive first look at TBS’s new show Search Party, followed by a conversation with the show’s creators Michael Showalter, Sarah-Violet Bliss, and Charles Rogers, along with cast members Alia Shawkat, John Early, John Reynolds, Meredith Hagner, and Brandon Michael Hall.
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The weekend will kick off on Friday, May 20, with an exclusive opening-night party at the Top of the Standard, co-hosted by DIRECTV.
Tickets costs will range from free to $150, and will go on sale to Citi ThankYou card members today, and to the general public on April 20, 2016, at www.vulturefestival.com. A limited quantity of festival passes, called the Vulture Pass, will be available through May 6. Follow @VultureFestival and @Vulture for updates.
Sponsors include DIRECTV, TNT, Hulu, Casper, Citi, NBC4NY, Screenvision Media, OUTFRONT Media, NYC & Company, Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment, Carolines on Broadway, Earwolf, Governors Ball, the Standard, Heineken, Baron von Fancy, Taylor Creative, Bridge Lane Wines, Tekserve.