PaleyFest NY 2026 Opens October 8 in Midtown With the First PaleyFest Award

PaleyFest NY 2026 opens Thursday, October 8, at The Paley Museum in Midtown Manhattan, running through October 14 with seven nights of screenings and cast conversations. This year’s edition introduces the PaleyFest Award, a new annual honor marking the Paley Center for Media’s 50th anniversary, with Billy Crystal among the first recipients.

Key Takeaways

• The inaugural PaleyFest Award goes to Billy Crystal and six series: American Horror Story, Dexter: Resurrection, Tulsa King, Marshals, The Gilded Age and The Diplomat.
• Opening night on October 8 at 7 p.m. features an early screening of an episode from American Horror Story’s 13th installment.
• Billy Crystal’s career tribute, An Evening with Billy Crystal, takes place Monday, October 12, at 6:30 p.m.
• Dexter marks its 20th anniversary with a dedicated session on Friday, October 9.
• Sylvester Stallone is scheduled for a conversation following the Tulsa King screening on Saturday, October 10.
• All sessions take place at The Paley Museum, 25 West 52nd Street.

A New Award Gives PaleyFest NY a Sharper Identity

PaleyFest has long operated as a fan-facing festival, a place where audiences sit a few rows from the actors and writers behind the shows they follow. The PaleyFest Award changes the tone slightly. By naming honorees, the Paley Center for Media turns each panel into a recognition moment as well as a screening, giving the New York festival a distinct marker that sets it apart from its longer-running Los Angeles counterpart.

The timing is deliberate. The Paley Center for Media was founded in 1975 by William S. Paley as the Museum of Broadcasting, and the award was created to commemorate the institution’s 50th anniversary. Paley plans to present it every year as part of PaleyFest NY going forward.

Maureen J. Reidy, president and CEO of The Paley Center for Media, described the 2026 edition as especially momentous because of the award’s debut, calling it a mark of distinction for storytelling across media, television and entertainment.

American Horror Story Opens the Festival on October 8

The festival begins Thursday at 7 p.m. with American Horror Story, which is returning with an all-star 13th installment. Attendees will see an early screening of an episode, followed by a conversation with members of the cast and creative team. With Halloween three weeks away, the booking places Ryan Murphy’s horror anthology at the front of the calendar at a moment when the genre dominates New York’s cultural listings.

Friday, October 9, at 6:30 p.m. shifts to Dexter: Resurrection, paired with a 20th anniversary celebration of the original Dexter. For longtime viewers, the session links two eras of the franchise in a single evening.

Sylvester Stallone and the Marshals Cast Fill the Weekend

Saturday, October 10, at 6 p.m. belongs to Tulsa King, with a conversation featuring Sylvester Stallone after the screening. Sunday, October 11, at 6:30 p.m. brings Marshals, with series star and executive producer Luke Grimes joined by castmates Gil Birmingham and Ash Santos, along with showrunner Spencer Hudnut.

The weekend pairing shows how PaleyFest NY has balanced its lineup. Both series sit in the drama space, but they draw on broad, mainstream audiences rather than niche prestige viewers, which keeps the festival accessible to fans who may not follow awards-season television closely.

Billy Crystal Headlines a Career Tribute on October 12

Monday, October 12, at 6:30 p.m. is the only session built around a single person rather than a series. An Evening with Billy Crystal celebrates the comedian, actor, writer and producer’s decades in television and entertainment. Crystal confirmed the date himself, saying he is thrilled to be honored at PaleyFest on October 12.

The choice fits New York. Crystal, a Long Island native, has built much of his public identity around the city, and a career retrospective at a Midtown museum dedicated to television history places that story in a fitting room.

The Gilded Age and The Diplomat Close the Week

Tuesday, October 13, at 6:30 p.m. features The Gilded Age, a period drama set in 1880s New York that has made the city’s Fifth Avenue mansions and social rivalries central to its storytelling. For a New York audience, the session doubles as a conversation about how the city’s own history gets rebuilt on screen.

The festival concludes Wednesday, October 14, at 6:30 p.m. with The Diplomat, the Emmy-nominated political drama.

The Paley Museum Anchors the Festival in Midtown

Every session takes place at The Paley Museum at 25 West 52nd Street, a block known for its media history. The nonprofit Paley Center for Media maintains a public archive of more than 160,000 television, radio and advertising programs, which gives PaleyFest NY a context that a typical fan convention lacks. The panels happen inside an institution built to treat television as a cultural record worth preserving.

Paley Members receive discounts on festival tickets along with year-round benefits for Paley programs and events.

FAQs

When is PaleyFest NY 2026?

PaleyFest NY 2026 runs from Thursday, October 8, through Wednesday, October 14, with one session each evening at The Paley Museum in Manhattan.

What is the PaleyFest Award?

The PaleyFest Award is a new annual honor recognizing excellence in media, television and entertainment. It was created to mark the Paley Center for Media’s 50th anniversary and debuts at this year’s festival.

Where is The Paley Museum located?

The Paley Museum is at 25 West 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.

Who is being honored at PaleyFest NY 2026?

The 2026 PaleyFest Award honorees are Billy Crystal, American Horror Story, Dexter: Resurrection, Tulsa King, Marshals, The Gilded Age and The Diplomat.