Media Industry Conversations: Anatomy of a Production Company

Anatomy of a Production Company

Guest Speakers Maddy Bilder and Michael Garcia

When: Tuesday, March 25, 2025 - 5-6:15pm CT
Note: Speaker sessions are subject to change based on evolving guest schedules.

Please join us for a Q&A session where we discuss how a project is taken from an idea into a ready-to-air series with leadership at 26 Keys (Fargo, Alien: Earth), a production studio based here in Austin.

To RSVP, please fill out this form. This MIC will be in-person only in DMC 5.208. 

Speaker Biographies

Maddy Bilder, Project Director

Hailing from Austin, Texas by way of Irvine, California, Maddy Bilder is an experienced and notable Project Manager, with a strong producing, development, and operations background managing major projects across film, television, and other media.

In Bilder’s role as Project Director of 26 Keys, she works closely with Noah Hawley and Michael Garcia to oversee the project management of the company's current programming including multiple film and television projects, project managing through the script, prep, and production phases. Additionally, Bilder oversees various external-facing projects, education programs, and events for the company across the Hollywood, Austin, and global filmmaking communities.

Prior to the role, Bilder served as the Senior Producer of Film & Television Development at Texas Monthly Magazine where she managed the day-to-day department operations and collaborated on the development of over 2 dozen projects based on Texas Monthly journalism, most notably Max’s Love & Death, the 3-part docuseries How to Create and Sex Scandal, and the Netflix film Hit Man. Additionally she served as the Executive Producer on The Official Love & Death Podcast which was a joint partnership between Texas Monthly Studio and HBO. The podcast recently garnered her two 2024 Webby Awards.

Prior to her work in the film & television space, Bilder spearheaded numerous high profile events ranging from festivals, branded experiential events, corporate conferences, private events and more.

She received her Bachelors of Science Degree in Film, Television, & Digital Media from Texas Christian University.

Michael Garcia, President

Over the past 25 years, Michael Garcia has been a Producer and Executive involved in a number of highly acclaimed, award-winning television series. He has held roles as an Executive Producer, Network Executive and Studio Executive with both domestic and international experience. 

Prior to joining 26 Keys, Michael was the Vice President of Live Action Series at Lucasfilm Ltd. (starting in 2019),  where he was in charge of developing and producing Star Wars content for Disney+ as well as documentary films and series. While at Lucasfilm, he was CoProducer on the series Star Wars: Andor (the prequel series to Star Wars:  Rogue One), and Co-Executive Producer on the documentary series Light & Magic (which chronicled the history of visual effects and ILM). 

Prior to joining Lucasfilm, he was the Chief Creative Officer for Televisa USA (the US studio arm of Mexico’s Grupo Televisa, S.A.) and Vice President of Drama series at HBO Network. In his position as Chief Creative Officer of Televisa USA, Michael was in charge of building and overseeing all creative operations for the studio which produced, financed and distributed English language television series. In addition, Michael oversaw the joint venture between Televisa and Lionsgate TV to develop and produce programs for the US market. 

Prior to Televisa, Michael spent seven years as a development and current programming executive at HBO.  He joined HBO as Director of Drama series and was later promoted to Vice President of HBO Entertainment. While at the network, he was involved as an Executive on numerous drama series including The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Deadwood, Carnivale, Big Love, and True Blood. 

Michael is a graduate of Yale University with a BA in Economics.