Will.i.am and Warren Littlefield set for Edinburgh TV festival

William, The Handmaid’s Tale producer Warren Littlefield and Clarkson’s Farm EP Andy Wilman will speak at this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival.

Grammy-winning musical artist and The voice Coach Will.i.am will be a keynote speaker in a new Frontiers stream that will bring together the traditional TV industry with leaders from other sectors, such as podcasting, technology and digital.

He will speak with Dr Alex Connock, television producer, professor at the University of Oxford and AI expert. Will.i.am is the founder and CEO of FYI, a Web 3.0 AI platform aimed at leveraging technology for creative production. The two will discuss the future of creativity and the role AI will play in content creation, distribution and audience engagement.

Littlefield, the former network chief who oversaw the creation of NBC’s “Must See TV” era, will discuss his career on both sides of the line. After overseeing the development of shows such as Friends, Seinfeld, emergency And Cheershe became an independent producer on shows such as The Handmaid’s Tale, Fargo And Stupid sick manand is directing the upcoming Hulu drama about Amanda Knox, which counts Knox and Monica Lewinsky as co-producers.

Littlefield will discuss how his career has reflected many changes in the industry, the current state of scripted dramas, talent relationships, and where the next big shows are coming from.

Wilmna, executive producer of The Grand Tour And Clarkson’s Farmwill be in conversation with Jane Root, CEO of Nutopia, who gave the green light to its reboot of Higher speed while he was controller of BBC Two in the early 2000s. With The Grand Tour Towards the end, Jeremy Clarkson’s right-hand man will discuss creativity, the struggle for talent and the secrets to success.

The announcements are the first made for this year’s festival, which is the first since Rowan Woods became creative director.

“It’s such an exciting moment for me to be able to unveil our first session announcements for the 2024 Festival,” Woods said. “They allude to three of our main priorities this year: expanding our international programming, reflecting the increasingly porous boundaries between television and other sectors and the creative opportunities that this brings, and celebrating the success and impact of talent and the creation of British programs. We have much more news to share in the weeks ahead and we look forward to bringing the industry together in Edinburgh in August to reflect on a challenging year and chart the way forward.

This year’s festival runs from Tuesday August 20 to Friday August 23.