Exclusive: "American Dreams" Reunion at ATX Festival – Which of Your Faves Will Be There?
by Megan Masters
12/13/12


This summer’s 2nd Annual ATX Festival is setting the stage for many a TV reunion, including the late, great "American Dreams" — but will your favorite Pryors be there?

TVLine has learned exclusively which actors, writers and producers behind the acclaimed ’60s-set drama are headed to Austin in June — and rest assured, you will not be disappointed.





But before we reveal the Dream-y panelists (Spoiler Alert: Brittany Snow!), here’s a quick recap on what ATX is all about:

Launched last summer by two entertainment biz vets — and TV-loving gals – Caitlin McFarland and Emily Gipson, the weekend-long event celebrates great television: past, present and future.

In addition to typical festival fodder like screenings and Q&As, ATX provides a forum in which attendees can interact with the industry folks — of both the on-screen and behind-the-scenes varieties — they admire most, like the American Dreams team.





Most of the Pryor clan will take part in the much-anticipated panel, including "Dreams’" aforementioned leading lady Snow (Meg), "Parenthood‘s" Sarah Ramos (Patty), Tom Verica (Jack), Ethan Dampf (Will) and Rachel Boston (Beth).

Friends of the fictional family will be in tow as well, with "Glee‘s" Vanessa Lengies (Roxanne), Arlen Escarpeta (Sam) and Jamie Elman (Luke) all confirmed to appear.





Creator Jonathan Prince also will be on hand to reminisce about the series, along with "Dreams" writer/producers Liz Tigelaar (Life Unexpected), David Semel (House), Becky Hartman Edwards (Switched at Birth), Jason Wilborn (Brothers & Sisters) and Rama Stagner (Army Wives).

Additional cast members will be added to the roster as the festival nears, so participation from Will Estes (JJ) and Gail O’Grady (Helen), to name a few, is still a possibility.





Tickets for the bound-to-be epic weekend (June 6-9) can be purchased now at the official ATX site.

There’s also still time to enter the festival’s inaugural Pitch Competition, in which you can share your brilliant ideas for a new series with the likes of Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Cougar Town), Tigelaar and Kyle Killen (Awake).

http://tvline.com/2012/12/13/american-dreams-reunion-2013-atx-festival/

This sounds AWESOME!!! I miss this show SO MUCH!!!
I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO want Will Estes (JJ) to come!!! :heart: I've had a crush on him for the longest time!!
I may just go to this!!! :D :D :D
Still sad that American Dreams didn't get a proper send-off. I loved this show!!!

Wow, this would be awesome!

Yes, the panel representing the show "American Dreams" will be there tomorrow afternoon, Sunday, June 9th, at 1:00 P.M. (Austin, Texas time). That is 2:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time. I hope that I get to see a lot of pictures of them from the festival online! Hooray for "American Dreams"!

"American Dreams" Reunion: Unaired Alternate Ending Showed Where The Pryors Ended Up
by Laura Prudom
6/10/13


When the "American Dreams" cast and producers reunited at the ATX Television Festival on Sunday in Austin, Texas, loyal fans were treated to the unaired but long-rumored "epilogue" to the series finale, which showed where Meg Pryor (Brittany Snow) and her beloved family should've ended up when the show was abruptly cancelled after Season 3.

"American Dreams" creator Jonathan Prince admitted that the brief scenes showed how the writers would've ended the series had they been given the money or time to film one more episode, but since they hadn't, they had to film it while they wrapped up the finale without going overbudget.

"We showed it to ourselves ... it's raw. The editor's talking instead of an actor -- that's what makes it beautiful. It's just our little present to ourselves," Prince explained, telling fans that many members of the cast hadn't even seen it, and only Snow, Tom Verica and Gail O'Grady were aware of it at the time, since they were involved in filming.





The original Season 3 finale saw Meg riding off into the sunset with Chris (Milo Ventimiglia), much to her parents' disapproval. But the unfinished epilogue aimed to give closure to the Pryors by checking up on them three years later.

In the epilogue, we see a long-haired Meg on a bus headed to Woodstock, having not spoken to her parents or returned home since leaving with Chris. After a couple of fellow hippie travelers inquire about the purpose of her trip, Meg reveals that she's planning to attend Woodstock with her friend, Sam (Arlen Escarpeta), who has just graduated from Berkeley.

We also discover that she'll be staying in New York with her best friend Roxanne (Vanessa Lengies), who is now married to Luke (Jamie Elman) and has a baby. Younger sister Patty (Sarah Ramos) is attending college at Harvard's sister school, Radcliffe.





We get flashbacks to Meg's memorable moments with all of the aforementioned characters and see the inner turmoil playing out on our heroine's face, before Meg turns up at her parents' house.

Her nephew Trip (son of Will Estes' JJ and Rachel Boston's Beth) is outside on the swingset. He recognizes Meg from family photos, and tells her that his father designed the astronauts' space suits -- we realize that the timing of the epilogue is somewhere around the moon landing.





At this point, Meg's father Jack (Verica) comes out to bring Tripp inside, sharing an awkward few moments of silence with his daughter after sending his grandson into the house.

Helen (O'Grady) comes out to find him soon after, and it's tense for a couple of seconds before Jack asks if Meg is hungry. When she admits that she is a little, he tells her that her mother probably has some leftovers from dinner and retreats inside. Meg and Helen share a relieved hug after three years apart, and we see Jack's face briefly overwhelmed with emotion in the background.

As the camera moves away from the house, we hear audio of Neil Armstrong's moon landing before we fade out.





In addition to an emotional appearance from a fan who won a $20,000 college scholarship thanks to a competition the show staged in partnership with Campbells' soup, the "American Dreams" reunion panel also (somewhat) answered fans' lingering questions about whether Seasons 2 and 3 of the show would ever be available on DVD.

Sadly, the producers admitted that because of costly music licensing issues, it was unlikely that NBC would find it cost-effective to make those licensing deals unless fans campaigned to prove that the DVDs would sell, suggesting a Kickstarter campaign to gauge interest.

Keep the "Dreams" alive, Pryor fans!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/10/american-dreams-reunion-unaired-ending_n_3413896.html?utm_hp_ref=tv

Wow. I would SO LOVE to see that alternate ending.

And I would SO LOVE to see AD on DVD!!!

Thanks for sharing the article!!!

That alternate ending is interesting. Would've liked to have seen that too. I almost like that better than what they had. I'm glad the cast reunited. It'd be nice if it got on DVD too. Reading that article made me want to rewatch them!