Written by Jon Williams
Comic-Con International kicked off yesterday in San Diego. Beginning
in 1970 and initially focused primarily on comic books, SDCC has evolved into a
preeminent pop-culture showcase extravaganza that goes far beyond just comics (although
they are still a large part of the show) and into the realms of movies and TV.
Here is a quick look at some of the television titles, both beloved favorites
and soon-to-be breakthroughs, that will be holding panels and releasing news as
the convention progresses through Sunday.
A natural outgrowth of comics is into animation, a format
that is often associated with children’s entertainment. A number of animated
children’s television shows will be at Comic-Con. One of those is
Adventure
Time, the beloved cartoon whose tenth and final season is all set to
wrap up, with just the series finale remaining. Lego’s animation has become
quite a force in entertainment, and
Lego
Ninjago will be represented at Comic-Con as well. Fans will also be
able to hear about the upcoming seventh season of
Voltron:
Legendary Defender, a reboot of the classic
Voltron
series from the ‘80s. Another reboot comes in the form of
DuckTales,
the new adventures of Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
And in a bit of surprise news, it was announced yesterday that
Star
Wars: The Clone Wars will return for one final 12-episode arc to
complete the series.
Of course, cartoons aren’t just for kids anymore, and
animated entertainment for grown-ups is very much on Comic-Con’s agenda.
The
Simpsons is the longest-running sitcom in American history, animated or
otherwise, and at Comic-Con will be looking ahead to its 30
th
season. In addition, creator Matt Groening (who also created
Futurama)
will be presenting his new series,
Disenchantment.
Similarly long-running Seth MacFarlane staples
Family
Guy (going into its 17
th season) and
American
Dad (13
th season) will be represented, as will
Bob’s
Burgers (9
th season) and
Archer
(10
th season).
Horror television is a genre that has seen quite a bit of
growth lately, and that will be reflected in big panels for both
The
Walking Dead, which will undergo some big changes in its upcoming ninth
season, and
Fear
the Walking Dead, which returns for the second half of its fourth
season on August 12. Carrying on the zombie theme is
Z
Nation, soon to return for its fifth season. From the mind of Stephen
King comes the second season of
Mr.
Mercedes, based on his
book
trilogy, as well as
Castle Rock, a
new series not directly from King’s writings but set in and around a town that
features prominently in many of his works. Also making the leap from the page
to the screen are
The Passage, from
Justin Cronin’s
vampire
trilogy, and
Nightflyers, based
on a novella from
Game of Thrones
author
George
R.R. Martin.
Then there’s sci-fi and fantasy TV, which has perhaps the
largest presence at this year’s convention. The granddaddy of them all is
Doctor
Who, which will have a huge panel in preparation for its eleventh
season and first female Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker. Fans can also look
forward to panels on
Star Trek: Discovery,
the latest series in that
massive
universe, as well as the
Trek-inspired
homage from Seth MacFarlane,
The Orville.
Legion
and
The Gifted both tie into the
X-Men
universe, while
Preacher
is adapted from the Vertigo comics series. A
Charmed
reboot is coming this fall, and fans of witches can also look forward to
A Discovery of Witches, adapted from
Deborah Harkness’s novels. Finally,
The
Magicians, a series based on
Lev
Grossman’s novels, recently wrapped its third season and will return next
year for a fourth.
And there are also plenty of shows that don’t easily fit
into any of these categories.
Riverdale
makes perfect sense for Comic-Con, as it is based on classic Archie Comics
characters.
Breaking
Bad’s panel will celebrate ten
years since the show premiered, and the spinoff/prequel,
Better
Call Saul, will be there as well to focus on the upcoming fourth
season. The surreal life-after-death comedy
The
Good Place will look ahead to its third season, while the historical
drama
Vikings
prepares for its midseason premiere. And the trend of reboot continues with a
new iteration of
Magnum
P.I. coming in September.
That’s a lot of TV—and that’s just a small portion of all
the movie, comic, and other pop-culture media properties that will be
exhibiting at Comic-Con International in San Diego this year. What are you and
your patrons looking forward to hearing about? Let us know, and stay in touch
with Midwest Tape for all the latest news as these shows and more make their
way onto DVD and Blu-ray.