Cannes Film Festival 2013

'Big Bang Theory,' 'Fringe' hit Hall H as Warner Brothers TV announces Comic-Con plans

'Nikita,' 'Supernatural' and 'Person of Interest' among other panels

<p>Will Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons dress up for "The Big Bang Theory" Comic-Con panel in Hall H?</p>

Will Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons dress up for "The Big Bang Theory" Comic-Con panel in Hall H?

Credit: CBS

Organizers of the San Diego Comic-Con have slowly but surely been coming to the reality that many TV show panels are as much in demand from convention-goers as movie panels — if not moreso — and over the last few years, the Convention Center's biggest room, Hall H, has started hosting TV events on Sundays after the movie studios have skipped town. So when Warner Bros. released its Comic-Con plans (the first TV studio to do so this year), it was no surprise to see "Fringe" get a promotion from Ballroom 20 to a Sunday slot in Hall H. But the bigger deal involves "The Big Bang Theory," which will also be in Hall H, but on Friday — which is typically prime movie studio time.

As other studios and networks announce their own Con plans, it'll be interesting to see if "Big Bang" is an anomaly, or if other TV shows that generally have to turn many, many people away from Ballroom 20 — say, "Game of Thrones" and "True Blood" — also get the big room on an earlier day.

After the jump, a list of the pilots Warner Bros. will be screening in Ballroom 20 on Wednesday, July 11, and then days, room numbers and tentative guests for the various Warner Bros. panels:

PILOT SCREENINGS

"666 Park Avenue" (ABC)
"Arrow" (CW)
"Cult" (CW)
"The Following" (FOX)
"Revolution" (NBC)

PANELS

Thursday, July 12

"MAD" (Cartoon Network) Producers Kevin Shinick and Mark Marek. Room 6DE

 "Nikita" (CW): Series stars Maggie Q, Shane West and Lyndsy Fonseca join executive producer Craig Silverstein. Room 6BCF6BCF

 Friday, July 13

"The Big Bang Theory" (CBS) Series stars and producers TBD, Hall H

 "Cult" (CW) Series stars Matt Davis, Jessica Lucas, Alona Tal and Robert Knepper joining executive producer Rockne S. O’Bannon. Room 6BCF

"666 Park Avenue" (ABC) Series stars Terry O’Quinn, Rachael Taylor and Dave Annable joining executive producers David Wilcox and Matthew Miller. Room 6BCF

 "Arrow" (CW) Series stars, including Stephen Amell, and producers, for a pilot screening and discussion. Ballroom 20

"Childrens Hospital" (Adult Swim): Star/executive producer Rob Corddry and executive producer Jonathan Stern join stars Lake Bell, Erinn Hayes, Rob Huebel, Megan Mullally, Henry Winkler and Ken Marino. Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Indigo Ballroom

Saturday, July 14

"The Vampire Diaries" (CW) Series stars Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder and more join executive producers/writers Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. Ballroom 20

 "The Following" (FOX) Series stars Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy join executive producers Kevin Williamson and Marcos Siega. Room 6BCF

 "Person of Interest" (CBS) Stars and producers TBD. Room 6BCF

 "Revolution" (NBC) Series stars Billy Burke, Giancarlo Esposito and Tracy Spiridakos join creator/executive producer Eric Kripke and director/co-executive producer Jon Favreau. Room 6BCF

(Author's note: I haven't watched either pilot yet, but placing both "The Following" and "Revolution" in 6BCF seems like a mistake, given the popularity of Williamson, Kripke and Favreau among the Comic-Con crowd, not to mention the presence of actors like Bacon and Esposito.)
 
Sunday, July 15


"Supernatural" (CW) Series stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, joined by recurring guest stars Misha Collins, Jim Beaver and Mark A. Sheppard, as well as new executive producer Jeremy Carver and consulting producer Ben Edlund. Hall H

"Fringe" (FOX) The last "Fringe" panel ever is also its first in Hall H, with series stars Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown, Jasika Nicole and John Noble and the show’s executive producers. Hall H

"DC Nation" (Cartoon Network) Sneak previewing a new action-comedy programming bloc. Producers TBD. Room 6BCF
 

Alan-sepinwall-sm
Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching
Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

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  • Shaggy_werewolf_talkback_profile

    That Werewolf Guy

    What will the BIG BANG THEORY panel be like? "Hey nerds, we actually hate you, but thanks for not getting that we laugh AT and not WITH you. You made us rich." Followed by applause from the audience.

    June 7, 2012 at 1:55PM EST Reply to Comment
    • Midnight_run_mca255950_talkback_profile

      sepinwall They've been coming to Comic-Con for several years now to huge applause, Wil Wheaton cameos, Barenaked Ladies performances, etc. The Comic-Con crowd LOVES that show.

      June 7, 2012 at 2:00PM EST
    • Gizmo_bigger_talkback_profile

      dan That Werewolf Guy - They've done "Big Bang Theory" panels every year since the show launched. Whatever the show's attitude towards nerds often seems to be, the Comic-Con crowd loves them and the cast interacts very well with the crowd. It's weird, because there's nothing they can "spoil" or "deconstruct," but the panels are almost always more appealing than the show itself...

      -Daniel

      June 7, 2012 at 2:02PM EST
  • Harry_lime_talkback_profile

    odessasteps

    Good luck with the chaos that is San Diego. Are you guys hosting any panels?

    June 7, 2012 at 4:06PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Conatonc

    Agreed about the Revolution panel in particular. This brings back memories of standing against the back wall of a packed 6CDEF watching the Heroes pilot. Seems about right for The Following, though. Vampire Diaries and Person of Interest both started in there to a not-full room.

    Really happy to hear about BBT and Fringe in Hall H, especially BBT. Not because I like the show, but because it's a strong indication that last year's packed Sunday tv panels and the insane backup at Ballroom 20 may finally have convinced the studios that tv can actually fill up the room.

    June 7, 2012 at 4:43PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Fringepanel

    Fringe last panel, maybe for this last time the moderator will pay some attention to Anna Torv?

    Every year Jackson and Noble need to have all the attention, both Tucker and last year Holbrook ignored Anna Torv.

    So maybe someone from Hitfix?

    June 7, 2012 at 5:14PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    The Bandsaw Vigilante

    Nearly the entire upper "Big Bang" cast and crew all packed together in one room, at a single table, no less?

    Guys, I think you're missing out on a GOLDEN opportunity, here...

    June 7, 2012 at 7:22PM EST Reply to Comment
    • Default-avatar

      Conatonc Agreed. It was even addressed over in a column at the A.V. Club earlier today (http://www.avclub.com/articles/why-being-a-popculture-hater-is-okay-and-sometimes,79940/): "Nor have I seen reports of Community fans launching missiles at the creative offices of The Big Bang Theory."

      It's the perfect opportunity!

      June 7, 2012 at 7:41PM EST
    • Default-avatar

      The Bandsaw Vigilante My sentiments exactly. One shot's sometimes all you get. Did we learn *nothing* from the movie "Valkyrie"??

      June 7, 2012 at 11:39PM EST

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