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Deadwood: The Movie, When They See Us, Russian Doll, and More at the 2019 Split Screens Festival

Deadwood: The Movie star Robin Weigert.
Deadwood: The Movie star Robin Weigert will join a live screening at the festival on May 31. Photo: HBO

There’s no greater feeling than finding a hot TV show before all of your friends do. So, instead of binge-watching The Office for the umpteenth time, why not attend a few talks and screenings at New York’s IFC Center next week? The third annual Split Screens Festival, co-produced by Vulture’s own Matt Zoller Seitz, might just tip you off to your new favorite show.

From May 29 to June 3, the Split Screens Festival will host screenings of Deadwood: The Movie, When They See Us, The Handmaid’s Tale, Instinct, Queen Sugar, Warrior, and Fear the Walking Dead. There’s also a talk and screening of The Twilight Zone’s “Replay” episode, featuring star Sanaa Lathan and screenwriter Selwyn Seyfu Hinds. The festival, which is run by Seitz, Salon TV critic Melanie McFarland, and DOC NYC’s Raphaela Neihausen, kicks off Wednesday with a panel about the creation of Russian Doll, with co-creator Leslye Headland along with other members of the production team.

Other events will feature in-depth conversations with Better Things creator and star Pamela Adlon; actor Christopher Abbott on Catch-22; Sam Esmail on Mr. Robot, Homecoming, and the art of paranoid thrillers; and actor William Jackson Harper discussing The Good Place. In addition, the festival will host several “TV Talk” panel discussions: “(S)heroes: Women in Action” is devoted to “television’s most inspirational, take-charge women” in shows like Alias, Archer, The Magicians, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, while “Skip Credits” will feature a moderated panel in which Seitz and McFarland discuss storytelling in the age of streaming with fellow TV critics Caroline Framke, Soraya McDonald, James Poniewozik, and Sonia Saraiya.

Tickets for most Split Screens Festival events will be $17 (or $14 for IFC members). Tickets for the “TV Talk” panels will be $12 general admission (or $9 for IFC members). The festival’s full schedule is available on its website.

Split Screens Festival: Deadwood, When They See Us, and More