Emmy winners, nominees to align at 2024 North Fork TV Festival

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Emmy winners and nominees will take part in the North Fork TV Festival in Greenport on Aug. 27-28. The festival celebrates both mainstream and independent television, and brings together actors, executives, writers and directors.

Opening night features Emmy-winning actor Richard Schiff, of The West Wing, who is the festival’s 2024 Ambassador for the Arts honoree. Schiff also costars in Swipe NYC, this year’s comedy pilot winner.

“We are honored to present Richard Schiff with this year’s Ambassador for the Arts Award,” Noah Doyle, the festival’s founder, said in a news release about this year’s event. “His remarkable talent and dedication across TV and film have inspired viewers worldwide. We look forward to celebrating his talent in Greenport.”

The arts are an economic driver to the region, and contributed $330 million to the Long Island economy, according to a 2023 study by the Long Island Arts Alliance. For example, at the festival, which last drew people from California, allows festival attendees to spend time on the North Fork, and discovers its vineyards, shops and restaurants, many of them which serve up dishes using local fish and seafood and ingredients from nearby farms.

At the festival, Schiff will take part in a conversation moderated by Adrienne Rose White, a writer, actor and producer.

Others joining the festival this year are John Turturro (Severance) and Marcia Gay Harden (The Morning Show).  Turturro will lead a conversation on the evolution of television on Wednesday, and Gay Harden will be presented with North Fork’s 2024 Canopy Award at the closing night reception.

Confirmed participants also include Bridget Moynahan (Blue Bloods, co-producer/actor of Swipe NYC) and Kelsey Grammer (Frasier).

Other pilot winners include, for drama, The Sessions (Vince Eisenson and Al Julian); for comedy, The Ladies (Juliana Piscina); and for sketch comedy, Typical Dan Peterson Stuff (Scott Kruse, Josh Long, Kurt Quinn).

“This year’s winners include a riveting therapy group for convicted killers, a romantic, coming into age comedy about online dating in Brooklyn, an off-the-wall sketch comedy, and the feel-good story of a high school girls basketball team. The eclectic creativity on display in this year’s winners once again cement North Fork as a premiere destination for the independent television movement,” Mike Stern, the festival’s artistic director, and a  television and film writer and producer, said in the news release.

The festival will also feature a panel with veteran television showrunners Kevin Wade (Blue Bloods) and Chris Brancato (Hotel Cocaine). Moderated by Roy Ashton of the Gersh Agency, this conversation will focus on the creative and organizational process involved in developing and producing network and streaming content.

Both festival passes and individual tickets are available for purchase. More information is here.