For those who are eager to get a look at some of the upcoming pilots, Preview Night at Comic-Con is the place to be. Warner Bros. Television is once again giving us a nice sampling of their upcoming new TV series, among which are J.H. Wyman and J.J. Abrams' futuristic cop drama Almost Human, The Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals, Greg Berlanti's The Tomorrow People and the Hunger Games-like survival drama The 100. All of these pilots are being screened in Ballroom 20 during Preview Night. But if you're too busy wandering the floor, gathering swag, or stuck in line waiting to get your badge, rest assured that all of these pilots will also be featured in individual panels later on during the convention.
The pilots will be screened during SDCC Preview Night (Wednesday July 17, 2013) from 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. in Ballroom 20.
We won't know for sure which order the pilots are actually going to be screened, but since Almost Human is the bad odd-robot-out, being the lone series among this bunch to air on Fox, we'll start with that one.
Almost Human
As mentioned, Almost Human comes from J.J. Abrams and J.H. Wyman. The series is set in the near future when robotic technology has advanced enough for cops to be partnered for human-like robots called synthetics. The story follows John Kennex (Karl Urban), a detective who's reluctant to be teamed with an especially life-like android named Dorian (Michael Ealy). The two need to figure out how to work together in order to survive. Fans of Abrams and sci-fi will want to check this one out, though there's also the added layer of the investigation side of the series, which could be a great draw for fans of police procedurals. In addition to Urban and Ealy, the cast includes Minka Kelly, Mackenzie Crook, Michael Irby and Lily Taylor.
Almost Human panel is scheduled for Friday July 19, 2013 at 4:00pm - 5:00pm in Ballroom 20
The Tomorrow People
The CW's The Tomorrow People comes from Greg Berlanti, Phil Klemmer and Danny Cannon and is based on a UK series by the same name. Robbie Amell stars as a guy who discovers he has special powers - teleportation and the ability to communicate telepathically among them - and belongs to a generation of humans called The Tomorrow People. The pilot episode shows a lot of promise in the way it introduces us to Amell's character Stephen as he begins to discover the extent of his powers and learns that his kind are being hunted by a paramilitary group of scientists known as Ultra.
The Tomorrow People panel is set for Saturday July 20, 2013 at 5:55pm - 6:55pm in Room 6BCF.
The CW's The 100 is set in the future when earth has been abandoned after a nuclear apocalypse destroyed much of the human population and left earth uninhabitable nearly a century ago. Man's been living on a cluster of space stations brought together to form "The Ark," but resources are running low, so they're hoping the time is right to return to Earth. To test the planet out, they sending 100 juvenile delinquents to the planet to explore. And that's just the beginning of the story. The cast includes Eliza Taylor, Paige Turco, Thomas McDonell, Marie Avgeropoulos and Isaiah Washington. As mentioned, there's sort of a Hunger Games-tone to the story in its focus on a group of young people left to their own devices. The premise along offers plenty of potential for drama and adventure as these characters attempt to co-exist and survive on a planet that could prove to be a hostile environment.
The 100 panel is set for Friday July 19, 2013 on 12:45pm - 1:45pm in Room 6BCF.
The Originals
On one hand, The Originals has a built in audience as it's a spin-off of The CW's popular supernatural drama The Vampire Diaries. On the other hand, the series' debut this fall probably offers a window for new viewers to board the story even if they haven't been watching The Vampire Diaries. The Originals centers on the Original vampire family and a vampire/werewolf hybrid, Klaus, who returns to the French Quarter of New Orleans, which is something of a magical melting pot. It's also a town he helped build centuries ago. It seems like there's a lot of history among these characters, which may be what allows this spin-off to develop into its own series apart from TVD.
The Originals panel is set to take place Saturday July 20, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront.
