On Monday, March 10th, Paramount+ hosted the SXSW world premiere of the highly anticipated drama series HAPPY FACE at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas. Guests viewed a special advanced screening of the new series, which premieres with two episodes March 20 exclusively on Paramount+.

Attendees included series stars Annaleigh Ashford, Dennis Quaid, James Wolk, Tamera Tomakili, Jennifer Cacicio (Showrunner),Melissa G. Moore (Executive Producer), Robert King (Executive Producer), Michelle King (Executive Producer) and Liz Glotzer (Executive Producer). 

Earlier in the day, cast and executive producers also visited Paramount+’s ‘The Lodge’ – the ultimate fan experience, offering an unforgettable and immersive journey that lets guests engage with hit content, iconic franchises and beloved characters – including the special HAPPY FACE activation. 

Don’t miss the two-episode premiere of the thrilling new drama Happy Face, streaming March 20 exclusively on Paramount+, with new episodes every Thursday. Inspired by a true-life story, Happy Face follows Melissa Reed (Annaleigh Ashford), daughter of Keith Jesperson, also known as “the Happy Face Killer” (Dennis Quaid). After decades of no contact, Keith forces his way back into his daughter’s life, and Melissa must find out if an innocent man is going to be put to death for a crime her father committed. In the process, she faces a reckoning of her own identity.

Maybe the most hyped show this summer is ALIEN EARTH and the Countdown City Geeks (Ted, Retro Ray, and David) got to be someone of the first people in the world to experience the SXSW Activation PoP up in downtown Austin and we learned a couple of new details plus got some really cool swag!

The name of the spacecraft that appears to bring the XENOMORPH(S) to Earth is the MAGINOT which in French means to imagine or contemplate plus is the last name of a French Minister of War. In English the name MAGINOT is pronounced MAH-G-NO and is spoken aloud at the ALIEN PoP up by the Actors on site.

Classic hatched ALIEN eggs along with unbroken and broken canisters of lime colored liquid where on full display.

Once you go through the experience with several actors deep in character asking if you have the proper credentials (badge you keep), have parasites, who is in your team, eventually being handed a pin style black light you also get to keep which is vital to your survival you are marched into a ship where your fate is determined by the quick actions of your teammates!

If you survive the experience you are met with a person that hands you more swag in the form of a nice two needle pin with mickey backings lol and a couple of PRODIGY CORP stickers which according to Xenopedia is an Earth-based corporation active around the year 2120! Plus Prodigy Corp recovered the wreckage of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation commercial vessel USCSS Maginot after it crashed on Earth with Xenomorph samples onboard.

Overall Countdown City Geeks and the fandom are very excited for the very talented Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion) lead series premiering this summer and we would also like to thank our contacts at SXSW for setting up our special appointment, FX and HULU for the RAD Pop Up and cool swag!

Keep it locked in to Countdowncitygeeks.com and all of our social channels for more coverage of ALIEN EARTH and everything you want to know about at SXSW 2025!

For one weekend in October, the city of San Antonio became the center of the nerd galaxy as some of the biggest stars from franchises like Star Wars, Star Trek, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, attended one of the biggest events of the year. Names like Hayden Christensen, Rosario Dawson, Giancarlo Esposito, Josh Brolin and many more met with thousands of fans and spoke with our team for some of the most memorable panels we have ever moderated. See our video highlights below.

We are anxiously waiting for the first announcement for Space Con 2025. Be sure to follow us on social media so you don’t miss any updates!