To close the season on a lighter note, Buffalo native Tom Fontana – award-winning writer, playwright, and creator of acclaimed television and HBO Films – will join us. From St. Elsewhere to Homicide, Life on the Streets, to Oz and beyond, his work has earned multiple Emmys, Peabodys, and Writers Guild Awards. We’re looking forward to an engaging and entertaining conversation filled with stories, insight, and plenty of wit.
Categories
At a Glance
Writer for St. Elsewhere
HBO's Oz creator
Honors
Few writers have left a deeper mark on modern television than Tom Fontana. A Buffalo native and award‑winning writer, playwright, producer, and director, Fontana has spent decades telling bold, character‑driven stories that reshaped the language and ambition of the medium.
From his early work on St. Elsewhere to the creation of Oz, Fontana consistently challenged conventions, pushing television beyond episodic storytelling and toward richer, serialized narratives. His work helped pave the way for the dramatic complexity and creative risk‑taking that define today’s most celebrated television series.
Fontana’s storytelling is grounded in sharp dialogue, moral complexity, and an unflinching look at institutions and the people who inhabit them. Over a career spanning network television, premium cable, theater, and film, he has navigated an industry marked by constant technological, cultural, and creative change while maintaining a distinctive and influential voice.
In this conversation, Fontana will reflect on his creative journey and the evolution of television storytelling. He will share insights into how ideas take shape, how characters grow over time, and how collaboration brings stories to life. He will also discuss the shifts that transformed the industry, from the constraints of network television to the creative freedom that redefined premium cable and beyond.
Audiences can expect candid reflections on creativity and risk, memorable stories from behind the scenes, and thoughtful observations about the challenges and rewards of a life spent writing. With humor, perspective, and wit, Fontana offers a rare glimpse into the craft of storytelling at the highest level.
Fontana has received multiple Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards, and Writers Guild Awards for his work in television and theater. He remains widely respected as one of the most influential voices in contemporary storytelling.
Date
Time
4:00pm
Venue
Fort Hill Performing Arts Center
Moderator
Michael Winship is the Schumann Senior Writing Fellow at Common Dreams, where he writes and edits political analysis and commentary. He is a veteran television writer and producer who has created programming for America's major PBS stations, CBS, the Discovery and Learning Channels, A&E, Turner Broadcasting, the Disney Channel, Lifetime, Sesame Workshop (formerly the Children's Television Workshop) and National Geographic, among others.
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Canandaigua, NY 14424
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