Silicon Valley Comic Con 2016 – Con Man Panel

If there is one web series that is worth following it would be Con Man. This is a fictional account of the actor Wray Nerely (played by Alan Tudyk) who started in the now canceled show “Specturm” where he was the pilot. The series follows his misadventures at a convention he is attending. This show includes a vast number of very talented actors like Nathan Fillion, who stared in Firefly with Alan, Felicia Day and many other recognizable faces. Some from the cast of Firefly and others from movies and voice actors. Cameos are abundant throughout the series.

Presenting for the show was Alan Tudyk, Nathan Fillion, PJ Haarman and Shannon Denton. Alan, Nathan and PJ are all producers of the Con Man series. Shannon has a different field of experience which they brought up right after introducing themselves.

The first thing the panelists had to present was the Spectrum Comic Book. The first issue is to be released on “Free Comic Book Day” of 2016. These comics are meant to be a prequel, in the world of “Con Man”. They are the prequel issues of a canceled TV show that were based on a novel. These are comics that exist in the world of Con Man that we are getting to see. The comic was going to get a show as well apparently, but that, like “Spectrum” was canceled.

One of the more interesting things that Alan Tudyk told the attendees about was that he had been giving up film credits to this fictional character, Wray Nerely. He appears in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (Uncredited apparently), an episode of “Justified” and a few other places. Alan alludes to the fact that Wray Nerely will be appearing in a few other shows and movies as well. Just look for someone who looks very much like Alan but is not quite him.

There was one other big announcement that they had for Silicon Valley Comic Con. That was they announced the Con Man mobile game. This is being done by Frima. The game has the player managing a Convention and building it up. They will need arrange the booths and set up various aspects of the convention. They will also need to use fans of their convention to defend it against other fans who have turned destructive. The game will officially be launched at San Diego Comic Con.

After that, the floor was opened up to questions. There was one about the names that the characters got: Wray Nerely and Jack Moore. Alan told the attendee that the names were very intentional. They reflected how one of the characters had gone on to become an A list celebrity while the other was still stuck in a small world. Nathan chimed out about how the series would work to punish Wray when was he just pushing to become more successful and not enjoying what he fame he had.\

Another attendee asked if Wray and Jack were finally going to meet up in the upcoming season 2 of the show. Alan and Nathan both answered yes. Given throughout the first season they just kept mission each other, it will be good to see the two finally interact in character directly. It was still fun to see them missing each other at the convention and just talking with phone calls and video chats.

One of the questions asked of Alan was what he thought about playing a character in a cancelled TV show who was killed off in the movie. Alan was clear that he was sad that Wash got killed off during the movie. He was also very happy that the cast of Firefly was able to make that movie. It is very rare for a canceled TV show to get that kind of treatment. He also told us that Joss told him that it would work to raise the stakes. That Malcolm Reynolds had asked everyone to put their lives on the line. Wheddon knew it would feel cheap or just be too easy if everyone made it through the battle alive. He did his best to be sure that the character's death meant a lot to everyone watching and involved. Nathan had a bit more to say from his experience. He told attendees that it hit him much harder when “Firefly” was canceled on Fox then “Drive”. Still, of those shows, it is “Firefly” around and everyone shares in the pain of it getting canceled when it did.

The last question Alan took at the panel was how he attracted the cast and talent he did to the show “Con Man”. Alan responded that it helps to have friends who are good performers. Many of them did talk with others. Apparently season 2 will afford the opportunity to work through some of that backlog and expand the universe of “Con Man” some more.

Throughout the panel, both Nathan and Alan did a lot of talking. This did include one interesting stretch of Wash coming back as a ghost, somehow piloting like that and a pottery wheel. This had most of the audience just laughing. Alan and Nathan both thanked the fans for supporting this show and giving it the support that it has gotten so far. It will continue forward as it has. Supported by fans and ot be enjoyed by them as well.