TV dramas offer a wide array of themes and styles, as highlighted at the Variety FYC TV Fest on May 6. The event featured discussions on WBTV/HBO’s “Welcome to Derry,” AMC’s “The Audacity,” and CBS’ “Matlock” — each exploring unique types of evil, from malevolent clowns to ambitious tech leaders and a law firm concealing a significant secret.
In “Matlock,” Jason Ritter and Skye P. Marshall portray ex-partners and co-parents working at the same law firm. As Season 2 concludes, Ritter’s character, Julian, confesses his involvement in a major cover-up, a development that Marshall welcomed, even as their characters had reached a harmonious relationship.
“I was trying to figure out some way where there was maybe some accountability for Julian, but maybe not so much accountability that he’s in jail for six seasons,” she said. “I do hope that he pays for it, because I am sick of seeing people get away with stuff and not being held accountable. I’m exhausted. If he could at least do a few months in jail in the beginning of Season 3.”
Ritter is looking forward to Julian’s future following these consequences. “Maybe his professional life is ending, but in a way, he’s finally free of all of this,” he said. “His relationship with his dad is such an elusive one. I feel like he’s always just been like, ‘Well, maybe if I just do this one more thing, then he’ll go, “Actually, I am proud of you.”‘ Sometimes when your biggest, worst secret comes out, you can actually begin a new, humble life.”
Regarding “It: Welcome to Derry,” executive producers Andy and Barbara Muschietti, who also produced the “It” films, shared their reasons for revisiting the world of “It,” inspired by Stephen King’s book.
“We read the book when we were 14 and 15,” she said. “We had read other Stephen King books, but this one did a number on us. And still today, we’re being pulled by the book and by Stephen King.”
Andy Muschietti, who directed the films and series, considers the book a guiding text. “The movies don’t really do justice to the richness that the book has. There’s a whole thread of chapters they call the interludes — there are the writings and investigations of Mike Hanlon, one of the losers, the guy that stayed in town and actually was trying to figure out what It was.”
Ultimately, Bill Skarsgård returned to portray the terrifying clown Pennywise, as originally intended.
“Often, we’re not aware of how fortunate we were to assemble the team,” Barbara said. “We got basically the people that had made the movies with us. Bill being the God. I think our passion for it and people seeing that we were going to be there for the length of it, allowed us for us to get Bill and the rest of the team.”
“The Audacity” turns the lens on a more familiar horror: tech moguls. Showrunner, writer, and executive producer Jonathan Glatzer, alongside executive producer Gina Mingacci and actors Billy Magnussen and Simon Helberg, discussed the drama’s relevance.
“Tech has never been so much integrated into politics as it is today,” Glatzer noted during the panel. “I think everybody’s got a very strong opinion about the individuals, particularly at the top of the pyramid. But I think that we sort of save ourselves from being in that same target list because all of our characters want to get to that place. They’re want to be titans.”
He adds that Magnussen’s character is so desperate that it makes him relatable. “He has a want, he has a need. The people at the top of that pyramid that we read about every day do not have very many wants or needs that are not,” he said before backtracking. “I’m going to take that back, actually, because they have enormous wants and needs and we’re all paying the price for it!”
