Donnie Wahlberg to Join ATX Television Festival Via Skype From NKOTB Tour!

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ATX Television Festival's fourth season is getting more of "the right stuff" with the addition of Donnie Wahlberg.

The 45-year-old actor and singer is taking a brief break from his New Kids on the Block tour to make an appearance via Skype to the Boomtown panel on Saturday, June 6 in Austin, TX, ETonline can exclusively reveal.

Wahlberg, who played Detective Joel Stevens, will be joining fellow co-stars Fred Golan, Mykelti Williamson and series executive producers Graham Yost and Jon Avnet for a mini Boomtown reunion. The NBC procedural drama, which ran for 24 episodes from 2002 to 2003, received critical praise for its innovative point-of-view shifting style, and has since gained a cult-like fan following.


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"Boomtown is one of our 'Cancelled Too Soon' shows -- I think it had a season and a half -- and we've been trying really hard to pull the cast together from all different places," ATX co-founder Caitlin McFarland explained to ETonline. "So in addition to having the cast there and Graham Yost and Jon Avnet, we found out this week that we're also going to live-chat Skype with Donnie Wahlberg from on tour with New Kids on the Block."

NBC

"He's apparently 'heartbroken' that he can't be there," McFarland continued. "It was a special show for him and he really wanted to be there for Graham and Jon, so he will be joining electronically to the Q&A portion of that screening."

In addition to reuniting with the stars of Boomtown, ATX fans will have the opportunity to attend panels with some of TV's most beloved past, present and future TV shows including Gilmore Girls, Dream On, Orphan Black, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Queer as Folk.


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"We know that people come for the one or two things that they're excited about," ATX co-founder Emily Gipson dished of the season four line-up. "But the people who have the best experience with this festival are the people who have gone to those things, but also wandered into other rooms. [When] they're open to discovering something new, that's where the magic happens."

"We are a very unique and different festival. So much about what makes this so special is meeting other fans, and finding sort of 'your people,'" McFarland explained. "So much of the festival is about the programming, but it's also about the community who love TV. So talk to the people in line and share stories and talk about what you're checking out because you might discover a whole new group of friends and new favorites."


Keep it locked to ETonline and follow @LeanneAguilera for an in-depth look at season four of ATX Television Festival including exclusive interviews with your favorite TV showrunners and stars!

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