Hot headlines

The best Austin companies to work for lead the week's 5 most-read stories

Austin's reputation as a tech hub is producing some of the best places to work.

Photo by Jashkirat Saini on Unsplash

Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines. Looking for the best things to do this weekend? Find that list here.

1. 6 Austin-based companies hailed best places to work by U.S. News. The annual report examines publicly-traded companies around the world to determine the best employers based on six metrics including work-life balance and flexibility.

2. Instacart launchers start new cycle with laundry delivery just in Austin. NoScrubs is a new platform that offers easy laundry delivery and pickup within just two hours. It is the brainchild of the folks who brought Austin Instacart.

3. More than 20 Texas bands come together for San Marcos metal festival. San Marcos might be known for its serene natural surroundings, but something more distorted is coming. Central Texas Metal Fest II is returning to The Porch on July 19 and 20.

4. Self-flying air taxis to take flight at airports in major Texas city. Afleet of electric and autonomous air taxis is expected to take flight in Houston, thanks to a partnership between a California startup and the Houston Airport System.

5. Feminist Austin coffee roasters move into South First bakery bar. With the June 29 grand opening of Sightseer Coffee Roasters' first coffee bar, located alongside Sugar Mama's Bakeshop (1905 S. 1st St.), they’ll now get to double down on flavor.

Reexamining Don Draper

Jon Hamm, Henry Winkler, and more headed to Austin for TV festival

Getty Images

Jon Hamm is coming to Austin to talk about Don Draper.

From May 29 to June 1, 2025, the ATX TV Festival will take over downtown Austin, and this year Jon Hamm will be joining the festival for the first time.

Hamm will be here for an event called A Mad Men Retrospective, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the show's finale. In this panel (the moderator of which is not yet announced), Hamm will reflect on his Emmy-winning performance as Mad Men's Don Draper, the uniqueness of the character in the TV canon, and the show's influence 10 years after it ended.

Jon Hamm may be best known as Draper, but he's also given celebrated performances in several movies and other shows like Fargo, Black Mirror, and — fun fact! — Gilmore Girls.

Celebrating TV is what the ATX TV Festival is all about. This annual summer event is put on by ATX TV and consists of screenings, Q&As, and panel conversations; plus all sorts of parties, live music, happy hours, and other events. It's known for reunions of classic series and cult hits, and according to the website, it's like "TV camp for grownups."

Jon Hamm isn't the only heavy-hitter in this year's lineup.

Programming also includes an acting class and Q&A with Henry Winkler himself, a live script reading of classic episodes from The Golden Girls and Designing Women (guest actors to be announced), a reunion of the creatives and cast of the HBO hit series The Leftovers, a live recording of the podcast Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast with Suits stars and co-hosts Sarah Rafferty and Patrick J. Adams, and much more.

Additionally, the festival's annual Pitch Competition is still accepting open pitch submissions through January 17. This gives creatives in Austin a chance to pitch their show idea in front of some of the industry's biggest showrunners and executives. Those in the top 10 will receive a year of support to make the next steps in their TV careers.

Festival badges and passes ($150-535) are on sale now.

celebrities tv festivals