As seen on TV

Austin literary superstar's award-winning 9/11 tale premieres on Hulu

Lawrence Wright speaks at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2013.

Courtesy photo

One of Austin’s most acclaimed literary voices has a new gig: executive producer of a new Hulu drama series. The Looming Tower, a 10-episode adaptation of Austin-based author and New Yorker staff writer Lawrence Wright’s 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction work, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, debuts on small screens everywhere February 28.

The series follows the events leading up to September 11, focusing on members of counterterrorism task forces Squad I-49 in New York City and Alec Station in Washington, D.C. Jeff Daniels leads as FBI agent John O’Neill, who, along with agent Ali Soufon (Tahar Rahim), is investigating what they believe is an impending U.S. attack. They run into opposition from their CIA counterpoints, Martin Schmidt (Peter Sarsgaard) and Diane Marsh (Wrenn Schmidt), who are holding information that Al-Qaeda agents have entered American soil.

Wright is no stranger to adaptations. His one-man play, My Trip to Al-Qaeda, was made into an HBO documentary by Alex Gibney in 2010. Wright also has a producing credit for the Emmy Award-winning 2015 HBO documentary based on his 2013 smash-hit book, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief.

The LBJ Presidential Library will host Wright for a special first episode sneak peek and conversation on February 27 at the LBJ Auditorium at 2313 Red River St. Joining the chat will be the real-life Ali Soufon and actor Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, Call Me By Your Name, The Shape of Water), who appears as White House Counterterrorism official Richard Clarke in the series.

Although not open to the public, those interested can become a member of the Friends of the LBJ Library online to gain access to the event.

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ACL and Friends

Austin City Limits shares the setlist for its 50th anniversary broadcast

Gary Clark Jr. and Eve Monsees Austin City Limits 50th Anniversary

Photo by Gary Miller

Gary Clark Jr. and Eve Monsees play together for the 50th anniversary broadcast.

After 50 years of the live music TV seriesAustin City Limits(ACL), Austinites have plenty to look back on. Adding something new while appreciating the past, a two-hour broadcast April 4 will gather some of the top performers over the years for one big concert.

Titled "Austin City Limits Celebrates 50 years," the PBS broadcast will be hosted by Austin-based actors Jared and Genevieve Padalecki, who will share personal stories about ACL shows they've attended. It'll be based on archival footage of "defining moments and appearances," with each vintage pull followed up by an artist interview or a new performance.

Austinites who get the Austin PBS station on TV can watch there from 7-9 pm Central Time, or anyone can tune in on PBS.org and the Austin PBS app. Online users may need to change their local station selection.

Lyle Lovett Austin City Limits 50th Anniversary Lyle Lovett is a longtime favorite on ACL.Photo by Scott Newton

According to a press release, the broadcast lineup features Chris Stapleton, The Mavericks, Leon Bridges, Indigo Girls, Brandy Clark, Cam, Ángela Aguilar, Shawn Colvin, Lyle Lovett, Billy Strings featuring Sierra Hull, Rufus Wainwright, and Gary Clark Jr. joined by Eve Monsees.

Archival clips from both vintage and recent performances will feature:

Dolly Parton
Willie Nelson
Tom Waits
Ray Charles
Nancy Griffith
Emmylou Harris
Townes Van Zandt
The Chicks
Tracy Chapman
Lauryn Hill
Kacey Musgraves
Foo Fighters
Olivia Rodrigo
Jon Batiste
Brandi Carlile
Billie Eilish
H.E.R.
Noah Kahan
Jelly Roll

$\u00c1ngela Aguilar Austin City Limits 50th Anniversary$ Ángela Aguilar brings glamor in what might be the evening's most formal looks.Photo by Scott Newton

Every performance will be notable in some way, but the opening cover stands out: Country superstar Chris Stapleton will play Willie Nelson's "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground."

Nelson is an ACL favorite, having famously played the pilot episode that was taped on October 17, 1974, and later aired in 2025. In that first broadcast, Nelson and his band also played "Whiskey River," "Bloody Mary Morning," "Crazy," "Will The Circle Be Unbroken," and other classics. (The country 70s fashion onstage and in the audience is also worth taking a look back at.)

The next couple of decades — the 80s and 90s — return in a renewed version of ACL's songwriter circles, where performers will play each other's songs. That's where Indigo Girls, Brandy Clark, and Cam come in, first sharing songs and then trading off on verses of Indigo Girls' "Closer To Fine."

Brandy Clark, Indigo Girls, and Cam in the songwriter circle.Photo by Gary Miller

The broadcast will also pay tribute to Latin acts and Hall of Fame nominees over the years, plus one of Austin's greatest musical icons, Stevie Ray Vaughan; the latter is played by Gary Clark Jr. and Eve Monsees.

In the show's time as the longest-running music series ever on TV, it won a Peabody Award and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame landmark designation, and is the only TV series awarded the National Medal of Arts, according to the release. It also nods to executive producer since 1978 Terry Lickona, who won the prestigious Beacon Award, presented by Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, and more anecdotally has become one of Austin's most enduring symbols of musical authenticity.

"The entire history of Austin City Limits has been about music legacy and music discovery," said Lickona in the release. "It's about original, authentic music from every genre, anywhere and everywhere. An eclectic music program like ours couldn't exist anywhere else but PBS, thanks to a half-century of support for public media."

The release wraps up with a full broadcast setlist:

Chris Stapleton: "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground"
The Mavericks: "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down"
Leon Bridges: "Beyond"

Songwriters Circle:
Indigo Girls: "Share the Moon"
Brandy Clark: "Dear Insecurity"
Cam: "Burning House"
Indigo Girls w/Brandy Clark & Cam: "Closer to Fine"

Ángela Aguilar: "Piensa En Mi"
Ángela Aguilar w/ Trio Los Panchos: "Todo Una Vida"
Shawn Colvin w/ Lyle Lovett: "The Facts About Jimmy"
Lyle Lovett: "12th of June"
Billy Strings w/ Sierra Hull: "Soldier's Joy" (instrumental)
Billy Strings w/ Sierra Hull: "Midnight on the Stormy Deep"
Rufus Wainwright: "Going to a Town"
Rufus Wainwright: "Hallelujah"
Gary Clark Jr. w/Eve Monsees: "Dirty Pool"
Gary Clark Jr. w/Eve Monsees: "Pride and Joy"

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