SCAD TVfest kicks off with honors to The Duffer Brothers and Shōgun Emmy award winner Hiroyuki Sanada. Plus, the Atlanta television festival celebrates new shows like Watson, St. Denis Medical, and returning Emmy players like The Amazing Race.
Taking a break from Oscar season, I headed to Atlanta, Ga., for the 13th Annual SCAD TVfest — featuring the best and brightest in television.
During Day One of the festivities, Hiroyuki Sanada and The Duffer Brothers were on hand to receive awards for their work on Shogun and Stranger Things respectively. On the red carpet, the Lifetime Achievement Award winner Sanada says work on Season 2 of Shōgun is already underway.
“We are writing now and trying to start shooting maybe this year — we don’t know yet,” said Sanada. “Our writers’ room is working so hard. Yes, we’ve lost half the cast [due to plot points from Season 1], but we have another half remaining, and it’s gonna be fun.”
With the final season of Stranger Things due out this year, The Duffer Brothers talked to Variety’s Michael Schneider during the Variety Showrunner Award presentation about what the end of the show means to them and when fans can expect from the final season.
“We’re focused on digital effects sequences right now,” said Ross Duffer. “We started back in January. It’s going well. We’re actually ahead of schedule which is rare for us.”
“For both of us, it hit that last week of filming when we started to wrap,” said Matt Duffer. “That’s when we all started reflecting. Prior to that, everyone is so invested in the work. It was a full year of filming. You’re in it moment to moment.”
But Sanada and the brothers weren’t the only talent highlighted at the fest. Showrunners, actors, and more were on hand to discuss new and returning series.
“You Can Dive into Season 2 Even If You Haven’t Seen Season 1”: Showrunner Veronica West and President of Hello Sunshine Jennifer Neustadter Talk the Resurfacing of Surface Season 2
So much has happened since Surface premiered on AppleTV+ nearly two and a half years ago.
“Time really flies,” said Hello Sunshine president, Jennifer Neustadter. “It felt faster than that.”
“It feels great to be back,” said showrunner Veronica West, “but in a way, it’s a whole new chapter in the show. It’s a whole new setting, a new cast. Sophie’s (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) on this whole new journey. It’s a new beginning in a lot of ways.”
Since the show premiered in September 2022, its co-star Marianne Jean-Baptiste gained intense Oscar buzz with her turn in Hard Truths, and the premise of Surface — about a woman who attempts suicide and can’t remember why — mirrors the plot of Poor Things (except for the whole putting a baby’s brain in a woman’s body thing).
“Veronica’s amazing with anticipating trends,” said Neustadter. “I think one of the things the show does is that it keeps you on your toes and keeps you guessing.”
West said, “You can dive into Season 2 even if you haven’t started Season 1” and that the second season features elements of another popular film from the past three years.
“Saltburn has a lot of the same themes as Season 2,” continued West. “I love being in the zeitgeist. We’re so lucky to have Marianne, Rupert Graves, Julian Glover — British royalty for Season 2.”
“I’ve Never Seen Him as a Supporting Character”: EP Craig Sweeny and star/EP Morris Chestnut talk CBS’s Watson
No offense to Morris Chestnut: But he does not have side character energy. He’s total MCE! Which is why it feels strange to see him playing one of the most iconic supporting characters of all time in CBS’s Watson. Showrunner Craig Sweeny and Chestnut both see him as more than Sherlock’s confidante.
“I knew the world of Holmes so well from [working on] Elementary,” said Sweeny. “That version of the Holmes/Watson relationship was presented as much more of a partnership. From my own history, it didn’t seem impossible to me to take this fascinating character and put him in the middle of a show.”
“I’ve never seen him as a supporting character,” echoed Chestnut. “I’ve always seen him as a main character. We all see ourselves as a main character, and it’s our story. I was glad to have this opportunity to bring this character to life as a lead.”
Agatha All Along Showrunner Jac Schaeffer Talks the Show’s Relevance in the Dumpster Fire of 2025
As creator of the unofficial “first gay Marvel show,” Agatha All Along showrunner Jac Schaeffer said she hopes new audiences and repeat audiences discover it in this turbulent 2025.
“My hope is always empathy,” said Schaeffer. “That is the point of art: to create fully realized characters and walk in someone else’s shoes, understand their perspective and feel emotionally tied to them.”
Agatha All Along is unlike a lot of Marvel shows in that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Schaeffer said she just trusts her gut in knowing when to make things light.
“When I’m writing, directing, and even in post, the moment of ‘go serious’ versus ‘go funny’ is inside me.”
The Amazing Race Season 37 and Its LA Connection
“I don’t think there will ever be someone on The Amazing Race who meditated more than me and Nick!”
Competitors (and brothers) Mike and Nick Fio were just one of many duos revealed for The Amazing Race Season 37, and Mike is a little nervous to watch himself.
“We had a few embarrassing moments,” he said. “We grew up in a Brooklyn, Italian, very loud household. We don’t have the longest fuse. There were moments when I lost my temper.”
That’s where the meditation comes in, right?
The elder Fio, Nick, said that the biggest challenge was to slow things down.
“Sometimes moving very quickly can set you back. You have to slow down the nervous system so you can process information and make a very clear plan.”
Host and Executive Producer Phil Keoghan described what Season 37 kicking off in Los Angeles means to the show and the city.
“I had a family move into my office,” said Keoghan. “They lost everything. It was nice to do that for them. After a disaster, you see the strength of communities. People in LA have really rallied together. It’s been heartbreaking, but there’s been a lot of positive stuff with people coming together and wanting to help.”
Critics Choice Nominee St. Denis Medical Cast Talks Easy Team Camaraderie and Will-They-or-Won’t-They Relationship
Allison Tolman said that one of the things that drew her to working on NBC’s new comedy St. Denis Medical was its mockumentary style.
“It’s my dream,” said Tolman. “I love Christopher Guest films, like Waiting for Guffman. When this came along, it was a dream come true.”
Kahyun Kim, who plays Serena, said that she’s been watching other medical dramas, like Max’s The Pitt, and notes how similar — and dissimilar — they are from each other.
“My boyfriend was like, [The Pitt‘s] a show like yours but way more depressing and no laughs,” she jokes.
There’s even a character who’s kind of like Mekki Leeper’s character Matt on “the serious version of our show”: a deer-in-headlights newbie (Whitaker, played by Gerran Howell).
“Someone told me that!” Leeper said. “I don’t know if you’d want a crossover with Matt on that show though.”
St. Denis Medical was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for Best Comedy Series, and with a cast that includes David Alan Grier and Wendi McLendon-Covey, Tolman said that the breezy dynamic was immediate.
“It was so instant. We were so lucky. None of us did chemistry reads at all.”
As for the will-they-or-won’t-they relationship between Serena and Matt, Kim stays mum, but Leeper says that he knows exactly why his character is into her.
“For someone who’s so green and so starry-eyed, it’s nice to look at someone who’s so self-assured and confident.”
SCAD TVfest continues through February 7.
