Saturday of San Diego Comic-Con 2022 was definitely my busiest, with 3 press rooms, a panel, an activation and a party.
American Dad Press Room
My morning started off with a press room for the TBS animated series American Dad!, where we got to speak with stars Dee Bradley Baker (“Klaus”) & Jeff Fischer (“Jeff Fischer”), executive producer/
New episodes from Season 17 of American Dad! return to TBS on Monday, September 5.
The Orville: New Horizons Press Room
Next up was a packed press room for The Orville: New Horizons. While we didn’t get a chance to speak with all of the cast in attendance, we did talk with stars Peter Macon (“Lt. Commander Bortus”) & Chad L. Coleman (“Klyden”), Penny Johnson Jerald (“Dr. Claire Finn”), Mark Jackson (“Isaac”) & Anne Winters (“Ensign Charly Burke”), and producers Brannon Braga & Tom Costantino. The participants discussed how the series has been tackling some tough topics, the relationship between Bortus and Klyden, Charly’s initial rage towards Isaac, and more. The videos from these roundtable interviews will be posted soon in a separate post.
The Sandman Panel & Press Room
My first time in Hall H this year was for the panel for the upcoming Netlflix series The Sandman, which is based on the DC comic series written by Neil Gaiman. The series launches August 5.
There is another world that waits for all of us when we close our eyes and sleep — a place called the Dreaming, where The Sandman, Master of Dreams (Tom Sturridge), gives shape to all of our deepest fears and fantasies. But when Dream is unexpectedly captured and held prisoner for a century, his absence sets off a series of events that will change both the dreaming and waking worlds forever. To restore order, Dream must journey across different worlds and timelines to mend the mistakes he’s made during his vast existence, revisiting old friends and foes, and meeting new entities — both cosmic and human — along the way.
The panel was moderated by MythBuster Kari Byron, who you could tell was a huge fan of the franchise. They showed some exclusive clips, and discussed how each of the panelists had been cast, with Patton Oswalt being the first, before even he knew about the project. They also discussed changing up the genders of some characters, using Johanna Constantine instead of John, and how the original look of Lucifer was inspired by an androgynous David Bowie.
The panel closed out with the world premiere of the trailer.
In the press room, we weren’t allowed to take photos or videos at the roundtables, but I did get some photos at the press line.
At the roundtable, we got to speak with executive producers Neil Gaiman & Allan Heinberg, and stars Gwendoline Christie (“Lucifer”), Boyd Holbrook (“The Corinthian”), Jenna Coleman (“Johanna Constantine”), Tom Sturridge (“Dream”) & Vivenne Archeampong (“Lucienne”). These were some interesting and fun conversations, with the producers talking about the casting process, how the TV adaptation allows the story and characters to breathe, and more. The actors discussed their characters, finding the right look, and working with the special effects. They also mentioned some scenes they were excited to film, and are excited to see. Gwendoline Christie is such a delightful woman, with a boisterous, infectious laugh. Write-ups of these interviews will be posted separately later on.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 23: Neil Gaiman, Vivienne Acheampong, Vanesu Samunyai, Allan Heinberg, Patton Oswalt, Gwendoline Christie, Tom Sturridge, Mason Alexander Park, Boyd Holbrook, Jenna Coleman and Kirby Howell-Baptiste stop by the Netflix booth featuring The Sandman at San Diego Comic-Con at the San Diego Convention Center on July 23, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Araya Doheny/Getty Images for Netflix)
Apple TV’s Severance Luman Activation
For its first appearance at San Diego Comic-Con, Apple has gone all out, with a massive, immersive experience for the Apple TV+ series Severance, which allows attendees to go through orientation as a new Lumon employee. I had tried several times over the weekend to get into this activation, but it proved to be extremely popular and packed every day. I finally managed to score a reserved time on Saturday, though things were still running at least 30 min behind schedule by the time my appointment came around.
Upon entering the experience, the new Lumon employees were lined up in a waiting room where old TVs show tips and and quotes from Lumon founder Kier Eagan (Praise Kier!). Other Lumon employees tossed out things randomly to those of us waiting in line. I was tossed a finger trap, followed by a Lumon-branded eraser for being the first person to actually catch their finger trap—several of my fellow new recruits failed to catch their finger traps.
Once we made our way to tablets, we entered our info and took a photo for our company ID, and then waited for our turn to go in. On the wall was a big TV screen where a welcome video played on a loop, reminding us of the Nine Core Principles on which the company was founded. (“I’m a Verve man myself!”). We entered the building into a conference room with a large table. On each chair was a Lumon-branded bag containing an access badge, the company manual, and a coin. A man informed us that we might be a bit confused and greeted us each by our innie names, mine was Jesse J. as the employee assigning them liked the alliteration.
We then proceeded into the main hallway where a man in a white coat greeted us, holding a painting of Kier Eagan. Half of the employees in my group were taken by Security to the break room, while my half was led into a room containing many more paintings. The man described the subjects of each of the paintings, and handed out more random Lumon-branded items to reward employees. This time I received a Lumon pen. I must have been doing something right!
The two halves of my group reunited in the the therapy room, which was darker, with two chairs. A stoic woman selected one of us for a therapy session while the others watched. Afterwards, she offered each of us a Lumon pin.
Then we headed down a stark white hallway where we came across a man inside the security office expressing his concern over what he was seeing on the monitors. He was not not a member of the security team, and rushed us down the hallway into the smile center, a room filled with large close-up photos of mouths. On our way there, we passed by an odd room—a goat’s silhouette could be seen moving behind the door. The man explained the smile study, suggesting the company was doing great work for humanity. Though he also poked fun at some of the smiles.
We then made our way to the office area, where a bubbly man and woman greeted us. They gathered us in the corner for a team photo, and then allowed us to explore the office. I sat at the desk and refined some data, trying to sort encrypted numbers into their proper buckets, but failing. Though they cut me a break since it was my first day on the job. There was also a vending machine in the kitchenette where we could use a Lumon coin to get either pretzels or raisins. I had noticed the musical instruments in the corner and asked the Lumon employee wif we were going to get some music, and he said if the company reached its goal of 70% we would. Well, we must have hit those targets because a few minutes later, we were suddenly rewarded with a Music Dance Experience. A record was playing, lights were flashing, and the whole office broke into dance.
Afterwards, we stepped into the elevator and exited out at a desk where we could pick up our team photo and photo ID, which we’d need for work the next day.
Overall, it was a really clever and fun experience. The actors did an amazing job of interacting with folks, especially the two overly-enthusiastic employees in the office area, and the slow, measured and suppressed enthusiasm of the therapist. The activation did a great job of transporting you into this bizarre and unusual world of Severance.
Paramount+ Party at the Star Trek 10 Forward Experience
I will thrilled to score an invite to a party that Paramount+ was throwing at the Star Trek 10 Forward Experience. Upon checking in, I was handed a ticket to redeem for one goodie bag, and then I proceeded into the bar. They were offering a selection of themed drinks, and so I ordered the Romulan Ale, which was a bright blue cocktail. I’m not if the guy next to me had ever seen Star Wars as he ordered the “pickerd”. There were servers walking around with various hors d’oeuvres and desserts. The bar also had a station where you could get a caricature of yourself (though I arrived a bit late and all the slots were already full), a photo booth where you could get a photo of you in a transporter, and a station to redeem your swag bag ticket. At the booth, they asked for your t-shirt size (there were red and white Klingon band t-shirts) and a choice of two Picard posters, plus a bag containing a glass, a 10 Forward hoodie and a Star Trek hat.
Next door was the more colorful recreation of the 10 Forward from the series. In the back, they had a photo area where the casts of various shows, including Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, and The Orville, were posing for photos.
Later, when the casts made their way back to the main bar, we got a chance to meet Jack Quaid of The Boys and Lower Decks, as well as the latest Spock, Ethan Peck, who was one of the nicest folks, introducing himself to everyone (like we didn’t know who he was) and thanking each of us.
This was such a great party, and a wonderful way to spend the last night at the Con.
If you missed my recaps for the other days of Comic-Con 2022, you can find them here: Wednesday/Preview Night | Thursday/Day 1 | Friday/Day 2
