ATX TV Festival Announces Finalists and Mentors for the 2025 Pitch Competition

ATX TV Festival Announces Finalists and Mentors for the 2025 Pitch Competition & Yearlong Mentorship Program featuring ATX TV Co-President Emily Gipson and More Better Productions’ Rika Dharmesh Bhakta

ATX TV Festival has announced the Top 10 Finalists and new Mentors in its annual Pitch Competition & Mentorship Program, which guides emerging TV writers in developing their projects and the next steps of their career. 

Through a screening process of each applicant's 90 second video pitch and writing sample for a scripted series, ATX TV narrows the submissions down to the Top 10 who pitch live at the Festival in front of a panel of Industry Judges. 

In alphabetical order by title, the Top 10 Finalists are: 

• Boys’ Club, Christopher De La Cruz (half-hour comedy)
• Bronze Bullet, Brooke Solomon (hourlong Western drama)
• Camp Exodus, Maddie Smith & Air Durnell (half-hour comedy)
• Cricket Club of Canon High, Priya Mohanty (half-hour comedy)
• Don’t Try This At Home, Jules Crosby (half-hour comedy)
• Howl, Zoe Kerr (hourlong thriller)
• Killer of Your Dreams, Ann Chunharakchote (hourlong dark comedy)
• The Magazine, Rima Parikh (half-hour comedy)
• Payola Party, Aritrika Malakar (hourlong drama)
• Zhizha, Desdemona Chiang (half-hour comedy) 

The Pitch & Mentorship Program that takes place for the year following the Pitch Competition was developed to form a network of support around the Top 10 Finalists, guide them through the process of fully developing a pitch for their series, and help them get to the next stage of their career, whether that’s a support staff job or a staff writing job, getting their material in front of producers, meeting with agents and managers, and/or expanding their network.

“Growing the Pitch Competition & Mentorship Program has become a huge focus for me in my role at ATX TV,” said Emily Gipson, co-founder and co-president, ATX TV Festival. “Finding these incredible, talented writers and diving into the development process with them is as fulfilling for me as we hope it is for our wonderful participants. Discovery, mentorship, and career-building have always been core priorities of ATX TV, and we’re incredibly excited to announce the expansion of our Mentorship Program this year as we welcome our new class of finalists. Let the pitching begin!” 

As part of ATX TV Festival’s longstanding Pitch Program, Emily Gipson (Co-President, ATX TV) and Rika Dharmesh Bhakta (Manager of Film & TV Development, More Better Productions) will co-facilitate a year long mentorship program that includes overseeing one-on-one individualized mentorships with lower and mid-level executives, agents, managers, and writers in the industry to support and uplift the next generation of TV creatives. Bhakta, alongside Jackie Cohn, President, More Better productions and executive producer of Severance, will facilitate a pitch workshop for the Top 10 Finalists prior to the Pitch Competition in order to best prepare them to pitch live to judges at the festival. They will hear pitches, read scripts, and meet individually with a select number of the Finalists throughout the year-long program.

“Our goal is to guide each finalist and mentee into the next phase of their career as television writers and help them build genuine and meaningful relationships in the industry,” said Rika Dharmesh Bhakta, Manager of Film & TV Development, More Better Productions.

This year’s mentors include: 

• Molly Arkin, Creative Executive, Okay Goodnight
• Mitchell Bendersky, Manager & Owner, Expectation Management
• Rika Dharmesh Bhakta, Manager, TV & Film Development, More Better Productions 
• Mahak Jiwani, Head of Development-Scripted, Jigsaw Productions
• Laura Johnson, Director of Development, Doozer Productions
• Logan Kovarick, Director of Development, Good Karma Productions
• Katie Laner, Literary Agent, CAA
• Shruti Marathe, Director of Development, Unicorn Island
• Ashley Mathew, Independent Producer and Consultant (Graphic India)
• Olivia Taylor-Butler, Creative Associate, Disney Branded Television
• Lyra Tan, Agent, Gersh
• Kevin Ramlal, Writer

The Program also includes monthly virtual roundtables with Industry Leaders (showrunners, executives, and managers) for career advice and insight, guidance on how to prepare for meetings with executives, producers, agents, and managers, and a look inside the inner workings of a writers’ room. 

One grand prize winner will receive a script read and general meeting with at least three ATX TV Pitch Judges or ATX TV Panelists for feedback, pitch mentorship with a showrunner or executive, and three general pitch meetings. 

One runner-up will receive two general meetings with ATX TV Pitch Judges or ATX TV Panelists for feedback. 

Buy your Badge now and view Season 14 Programming at: atxfestival.com. For more information on ATX TV’s year round events and programming, please visit atxtv.com.

ABOUT ATX TV FESTIVAL 

ATX TV Festival is an annual event produced by ATX TV, taking place each summer in Austin, TX. As the leading television festival, it brings together fans and industry to celebrate the television medium by looking at its history, where it is now, and where it is headed. The festival consists of screenings followed by Q&As, panel conversations, and events (parties, live music, happy hours, hosted receptions, etc) and is known for reunions of classic series and cult hits. Screenings include never-aired pilots, canceled-too-soon series, current favorites, and world premieres. Panels conversations range from industry deep-dives to fan-focused conversations, along with discussions on representation (in front of and behind the camera) and responsibility in storytelling. The ATX TV audience is comprised equally of consumers and industry professionals, and ATX TV Festival is the only place they come together as one community to discuss and celebrate all aspects of #TVTogether.