With Comic-Con 2014 only weeks away and the Fourth of July weekend behind us, TV brands and networks are beginning to roll out plans for this year’s confab, July 23-27 in San Diego. Some plans have already been announced (“Gotham” will have its world premiere at Comic-Con, MTV is bringing ‘Teen Wolf’ to the convention floor), some are still up in the air and some remain a surprise, but as of this week, here’s what TV marketers (and fans) can plan for:
Hulu:
Seth Meyer’s animated series is entering its second season on Hulu next month, so “The Awesomes” team will be looking for the next big thing in superhero talent. The Xbox Lounge will be hosting Superhero Auditions all weekend, taking pitches for superhero name, superpower, origin story and costume ideas. The cast will choose their favorite submission for a chance to cameo in a future episode. Anyone who auditions will also receive a free month of Hulu Plus.
FX/FXX:
FXX is hoping to hype the upcoming “Simpsons” marathon and “Simpsons World” with Homer’s Dome, an installation with projection mapping inside Homer Simpson’s head. The site also offers Marge’s Sweet Station and the Kiwk-E-Race game, as well as the chance to participate in a Guinness World Record for “most contributions to a painting by numbers” on a mural.
The cast of “American Horror Story” will make its debut at this year’s Comic-Con for its upcoming season, “Freak Show.” Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Michael Chiklis, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Emma Roberts will look back on “Coven” before teasing the upcoming season, “Freak Show.”
“Archer,” “Sons of Anarchy” and new Guillermo del Toro drama “The Strain” also have planned appearances. “The Strain” also has a fan experience on July 26 called “He is Here” with special appearance, giveaways, screenings and props/costumes from the show’s first few episodes.
“Archer” fans get an exclusive screening of the season six premiere as well as an original short made specifically for Comic-Con. “Sons of Anarchy” are presenting first-look footage from its upcoming season, and “The Strain” will debut its third episode, set to air July 27 on FX, preceding a Q&A with Guillermo del Toro, showrunner Carlton Cuse and the cast.
HBO/Cinemax:
Fan favorites “Game of Thrones” and “True Blood” are headed to Comic-con this year, with Craig Ferguson moderating a panel for “Game of Thrones” Friday, with George R.R. Martin and a slew of cast members, and a star-packed panel for the vampire series on Saturday. Cinemax will hold a panel for its show “Banshee” on Friday as well.
HBO will also have a pop up shop on Market St. in San Diego for official network-branded merchandise.
Cartoon Network/Adult Swim:
“Adventure Time,” “Regular Show,” “Steven Universe,” “Uncle Grandpa” and “Clarence” will have a presence at the Cartoon Network booth with selfie photo ops, but the big news is that “Adventure Time” ConQuest is back this year, a “treasure-filled journey” throughout the convention center. The channel also has a series of screenings held at night where fans can win prizes for costumes and trivia after seeing exclusive content onscreen.
On the Adult Swim side, the Fun House is back at Petco Park with the addition of The Meatwad Full Dome Experience, being billed as “a mind-fudging interdimensional-space-coaster-love-canal.” The network booth will be at the convention to showcase series such as “Robot Chicken,” “The Venture Bros.” and “Children’s Hospital,” with the addition of new projects from Jack McBrayer/Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Mike Tyson.
TNT:
New Sean Bean starrer “Legends” might be one of the first things Comic-Con goers see, with the first-ever takeover of San Diego airport, including branding across escalators, baggage carousels and skyway bridges, also extending into the city with billboards throughout San Diego. Across social, “Legends” is getting behind its star actor with the hash tag #DontKillSeanBean as an ode to his many roles in which he’s died in the past.
“The Last Ship,” also debuting this summer on TNT, partnered with CraveOnline for a launch party aboard the USS Midway on Friday night featuring musical act MGMT. Returning show “Falling Skies” will make its appearance through the TNT booth that will be transformed into a cocoon where fans can pose for photos. The show will also premiere its video game “Falling Skies: The Game” at the show.
All three series also have panels set for Thursday and Friday.
NBC:
NBC and Universal Television’s slate this year is extensive, showcasing series including “Constantine,” “The Blacklist,” “Hannibal,” “Grimm,” “Bates Motel” and TV canine personality Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.
New NBC series “Constantine” is just in time for its debut this fall, the DC Comics-inspired show is hosting a 3D experience for fans at Gaslamp Square in San Diego all weekend, as well as screening the pilot during preview night on Wednesday, July 23. “Constantine” will also host a panel and is a part of Saturday night’s big event with Warner Bros. Television/DC Entertainment.
Returning shows “The Blacklist,” “Hannibal” and “Grimm” also have panels planned, and “The Blacklist” is taking over a restaurant in Gaslamp Square where attendees can create custom photos and get show-related souvenirs.
ABC:
Marvel properties and the ABC Castle are the highlights for the broadcaster, with a Marvel Television Presents panel, “Resurrection’s” first appearance at the show and “Once Upon a Time” introducing Elsa from “Frozen” fame. On Friday, Marvel Television Presents will include “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and the upcoming midseason series “Marvel’s Agent Carter,” which centers on star Hayley Atwell from “Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger.” The panel will be moderated by Marvel’s head of television Jeph Loeb. The “Once Upon a Time” panel will be held Saturday, moderated by “Community’s” Yvette Nicole Brown.
At the ABC Castle on the convention floor, attendees can audition for adventure reality series “The Quest” and collect exclusive pins from Mr. Gold’s Pawn Shop before catching a branded pedi cab ride in the Evil Queen’s carriage or Captain Hook’s ship, depending on where one’s fandom lies.
Nickelodeon:
Nick’s voice talent will be at Comic-Con this year, but this year also marks the first time the animated network is bringing its Animated Shorts Program to the show. The development program is an open call for attendees to submit project ideas to Nickelodeon’s animation development team. Each person just has to register in advance, then they get the opportunity to pitch their comedy ideas in 15-minute, one-on-one meetings.
The channel’s booth onsite will feature a recording room for fans to try out their own voice over skills in Nick shows, a GIF booth, a fan art contest and panels for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Sanjay and Craig” and “The Legend of Korra.”
Syfy:
Just in time for Sharknado Week, Syfy is headed to Comic-Con with its “Sharknado 2: The Second One” event of the summer. Its panel will feature the movie’s stars Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Vivica A. Fox, Kari Wuhrer, Judah Friedlander and director Anthony C. Ferrante. New series “Dominion” and “Ascension” will also host panels with behind-the-scenes looks, and multimedia story “Defiance’s” panel will take a look at the season so far.
Warner Bros. Television:
“The Arrow” star Stephen Amell will act as emcee to Warner Bros.’ “A Night of DC Entertainment” on Saturday, July 26, in Hall H, where the world premiere of “Gotham” and pilot screening of “Arrow” spinoff “The Flash” will be the highlights of the night, along with exclusive footage from NBC’s fall premiere of “Constantine” and the new season of “Arrow” on The CW. Warner Bros. TV and DC Entertainment are teaming up to host the night with screenings and some stars from each of the shows.
AMC:
Cable ratings hit “The Walking Dead” is back for a fifth season this October, so the show will once again use the July confab to build hype for its season debut. This will be its fourth appearance at Comic-Con, with a planned panel in Hall H on Friday, July 25, moderated by “Talking Dead” host Chris Hardwick with a long list of cast members and show creators on hand: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Chad Coleman, Michael Cudlitz, showrunner Scott Gimple and EP Robert Kirkman (and more).
Walking Dead Escape, the show’s fan experience at Comic-Con, is also returning this year for the third annual zombie run offsite, where attendees can act as apocalypse survivors as they make their way through the Zombie infected Evacuation Zone while being chased by “zombies.”
Starz:
“Outlander,” the novel adaptation set to debut on Aug. 9, has already seen a substantial fan community growing on Facebook, and is looking to Comic-Con to build on its own social community it started at OutlanderCommunity.com. Starz will bring the show’s EP Ronald D. Moore, author Diana Gabaldon and cast Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Tobias Menzies, Graham McTavish and Lotte Verbeek to its panel Friday to give more insight into the upcoming story before its on-air debut.
CBS:
Broadcaster CBS and cable net The CW will be focusing on new series “Scorpion” and returning shows “Under the Dome” and “Reign” this year in San Diego. First, The returning summer show “Under the Dome” will host a panel along with an exclusive sneak preview of an upcoming episode. The panel will include cast members Mike Vogel, Dean Norris, Rachelle Lefevre, Alexander Koch, Colin Ford, Eddie Cahill and executive producer Neal Baer.
The CW’s period drama “Reign,” about to begin its second season this fall, will host a panel with the cast to talk about what’s to come moderated by Meeta Agrawal of “Entertainment Weekly.” “Scorpion,” a new drama coming to CBS this fall, is adding an art element to its plans at Comic-Con this year, presenting superhero-inspired art for the show as well as a cast panel to talk about its Sept. 22 premiere plans.
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Fox:
“Gotham” and “Wayward Pines” will make their premieres at Comic-Con, but Batman-inspired “Gotham” will get a little extra attention. With a zipline and Uber police cars, the show has a transportation fix on this summer’s event. Fox’s “Sleepy Hollow” is planning a virtual reality experience with the Headless Horseman himself. Panels for Fox include “24,” “Bones,” “Wayward Pines,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Sleepy Hollow” and “Gotham,” among others.
A&E:
“Bates Motel” is back this year, also with Carlton Cuse as well as some of the cast: Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Olivia Cooke and Nestor Carbonell, for a panel on Friday afternoon to discuss the show after its second season.
History:
History is bringing “Vikings” to San Diego this year, featuring an “On the Set with VIKINGS” experience where fans can act as one of the cast, creating shareable videos after creating their own characters and transforming themselves into Vikings, complete with weapons, hair and makeup. The show will also offer issues of the “Vikings” comic book to fans who visit the “On the set” experience. History’s VP of scripted and nonfiction development and programming, Julian Hobbs, will join the cast in a panel on Friday as well, where they will unveil new season footage
Showtime:
Literary thriller “Penny Dreadful” just wrapped its first season on Showtime, and this summer plans to take Comic-Con by storm with a panel on its opening day. Josh Hartnett, Reeve Carney and Harry Treadaway, along with series creator John Logan will be on the show panel, moderated by “Archer’s” Aisha Tyler. Showtime is also offering signings and merchandise giveaways throughout the weekend including special edition books, tarot cards and character figurines from the series.
Bonus: Marge Simpson debuts her new M•A•C Cosmetics line at Comic-Con this year, selling the collection at M•A•C’s Gaslamp location for one day only on Saturday, July 26, before it goes on sale in stores everywhere on Sept. 4.
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