While there weren’t a lot of A-list celebrities at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, there was still plenty to see and do. For a recap of my Preview Night, click here, or see all of our SDCC coverage.
Now onto Day 1…
Hulu’s Animayhem Activation Press Preview
My first official day of San Diego Comic-Con 2023 began with a press preview of Hulu’s massive Animayhem activation, which invited SDCC attendees to enter the 2nd dimension and celebrate the streamer’s adult animation lineup.
Upon stepping into the activation, you first enter the world of Solar Opposites, as Yumyulack shrinks you down and you enter the wall, providing many photo opps with larger than life objects.
We then passed through The Hall of Infinite Rogers, a hall of mirrors-like setup featuring standees of American Dad!‘s Roger in many of his different wacky disguises.
And stepped though a curtain into The Great North‘s Alanis Borealis, a big amphitheater with an Alanis Morrisette constellation on the ceiling answering Yes/No questions from the audience.
Then we stepped out into a more open area where you could get your picture taken in Archer‘s title card Wall of Agency Heroes, and on the couches of Family Guy and The Simpsons.
There was a tray of fancy mini donuts before the line to get a 360 degree photo on Stewie’s infamous Time Travel Pad.
Next you could enter Bob’s Burgers and get a photo with Teddy and the Belcher family at the restaurant’s iconic counter.
And then there were loads of photo opps as you entered Planet Express HQ to sit in the captain’s chair, hold a giant slurm can, get sucked through the vacuum tube, and interact with the gang from Futurama.
Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building Activation
I had a few hours to kill before my first press room, and nearby was the small activation for Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. The person had said the wait was about 35 minutes, so I got into line. However, it ended up taking nearly 2 hours—though, fortunately this was in the shade, with a nice breeze. The activation contained a screen where attendees could select from 4 locations from the series and then play a 20-second game, trying to identify up to 12 pieces of evidence in that room by touching them on the screen. (It pretty much resorted to poking and smashing randomly at the screen for 20 seconds). Afterwards, no matter how well you did, the prize machine would dispense a random prize, either a large or a small box. The small boxes contained a pin and a beauty product from Selena Gomez’s line (I wish I had learned this before I got in line, and not 5 minutes before my turn, after waiting in line nearly 2 hours to win some mascara). The larger boxes contained a Gut Milk water bottle—I would have definitely preferred to win that!
Max Animation Press Room
This year there were far less TV press rooms due to the actor and writer strikes. However, I had still planned to cover a couple press rooms. This first of these was for three upcoming animated shows that will be streaming on Max—season 4 of Harley Quinn (which premiered on Thursday July 27), and new shows Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake (which premieres Thursday August 31) and Young Love, a follow-up to the Oscar-winning short Hair Love (which premieres this Fall).
Check out my roundtable interviews with Harley Quinn supervising producers Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton & Ian Hamilton, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake showrunner Adam Muto & supervising director Ryann Shannon, and Young Love showrunner Matthew Cherry & supervising director Mark Davis.
FX Activation VIP Tour
FX was back again this year in their usual location across from the Hilton Bayfront, where they usually have their massive FXhibition activation. While it wasn’t called the “FXhibition”, the area held four themed activities for four new/returning series—What We Do in the Shadows, American Horror Story, Shogun and A Murder at the End of the World.
FX wasn’t holding a press preview for their activation, but instead offered something even better, scheduled VIP press tours of the activation every hour. For this, a group of 8 press folks were ushered to the front of each of the 4 stations. First up for me was Shogun, since there would be a live samurai performance starting soon. The three-or-so minute show featured a short dramatic scene involving swordplay and samurai.
Next we headed to the American Horror Story station where we were split into two groups of four to enter a wellness clinic. We were offered a small vitamin-filled drink and then entered the exam room, where there was a jump scare as a nurse charged at us with a huge needle. One member of my group screamed so loud that people outside could hear her and were laughing when we exited. We were also offered a lollipop containing real ants as we left. (That was not getting eaten by me!)
Next, headed over to the What We Do in the Shadows station, which was designed to look like Lazlo’s garden, and offered a prize wheel, some photo opps, and some sun tan lotion. As I spun the wheel and it landed on popsicle, the attendant could tell I was a bit disappointed and nudged it over one spot so I’d win a beach ball.
Next we headed to the A Murder at the End of the World, which also had a sign warning of a potential jump scare, so I was a bit on edge as we entered the airplane cabin. The flight attendant told us to select a seat, and then told us that we were going to be tested, passing around a tray to have us use our fingerprint to help unlock a door at the far end of the cabin. She also offered to take photos for people, which added to feeling that something was going to jump out at us. Once the door eventually opened (and nothing happened), we went into a dark, icy cave and sat around a campfire as the show’s trailer played on the ceiling. Once again, I was looking around, expecting some kind of monster to jump out at us, but fortunately, nothing ever did.
As I was walking over to the convention center, I passed this photo opp for a photo with the original car from That ’70s Show…
Ghosts Activation on Convention Floor
Since I had no luck getting into the Ghosts activation on the show floor on Preview Night, I decided to try again. The line had been cut off, but I waited an hour and eventually got in.
As I stepped into the small room, the door closed behind me and I started to hear the voices of the ghosts coming from every direction. After a while, they told me that my fate had been decided, and to walk out of the now open door to discover what it was. As I stepped out, there was a big sign saying “You’ve been Sucked Off!” (the show’s way of saying that a ghost had made its way to heaven). I couldn’t help but giggle at the wording. There was also someone taking a video of my reveal, and I was handed me a t-shirt saying “I was Ghosted at San Diego Comic-Con”. I’m not sure if that camera man was supposed to be in my video, or if that is just some kind of ghost!
As I was leaving the convention center I ran into a congregation of Indiana Jones cosplayers. Though, if you look carefully in the center, there’s a Short Round and a couple of the bad guys from Temple of Doom! (I don’t think I could have composed this photo if I had purposely tried.)
Krapopolis Screening
Next up was a special screening that FOX was holding for the upcoming animated series Krapopolis.
Set in mythical ancient Greece, Krapopolis tells the story of a dysfunctional family of humans, gods and monsters trying to run one of the world’s first cities, while also trying their best to not kill each other in the process. Featuring the voices of Emmy Award-winner Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso, Game of Thrones), Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd), Matt Berry (What We Do in The Shadows), Pam Murphy (Mapleworth Murders) and Duncan Trussell (The Midnight Gospel), the series centers on a flawed family of humans, gods, and monsters attempting to guide humanity out of the savage wilderness and into a new lifestyle experiment they’re calling “civilization.” In the series, Ayoade voices “Tyrannis,” the mortal son of a goddess. He’s the self-involved, narcissistic King of Krapopolis trying to make do in a city that lives up to its name. Waddingham plays “Deliria,” Tyrannis’ mother, goddess of self-destruction and questionable choices. Deliria is as petty as she is powerful, and only seems interested in defending civilization if it means she’ll get more worshipers out of it than her frenemies up on Mt. Olympus. Berry is “Shlub,” Tyrannis’ father, a mantitaur (half centaur [horse + human], half manticore [lion + human + scorpion]). He’s the self-described life of the orgy. A true pleasure seeker who thinks that everyone should just chill out and, if they need him for anything, he’ll be down at the bar. Murphy voices “Stupendous,” Tyrannis’ half-sister, daughter of Deliria and a cyclops. Trussell plays “Hippocampus,” Tyrannis’ half-brother, offspring of Shlub and a mermaid, and, obviously, a hot mess, biologically speaking.
Krapopolis will make its series debut on FOX with a special two-episode preview event on Sunday, September 24.
I got to the room a little early and sat through a panel on Robotech while waiting. Just before the screening began, they handed out gift bags including a toga t-shirt and some snacks—a bag of popcorn, a chocolate bar and a bottle of water. We then all donned our shirts and watched two back-to-back episodes of the series.
It looks like this will be a fun addition to the FOX Sunday animation lineup this Fall. The series has already been renewed for three seasons, so it should be around for a while!
Twisted Metal Premiere
Next I headed down the hall to meet up with some friends for the premiere of Peacock’s new series Twisted Metal, which is based on the popular PlayStation game of the same name. Before the screening started, the moderator took the stage along with someone dressed as Sweet Tooth the clown, and the two played the video game against each other.
After a pre-recorded intro from star Anthony Mackie, we watched the first episode of the series. I had never heard of the original game, but really enjoyed the pilot, which had a nice blend of action and humor. I have since watched the entire 10-episode season, which dropped on July 27.
Following the screening, some members of the audience competed in a Family Feud style trivia game to win a PS5.
Twisted Metal, a half-hour live-action TV series based on the classic PlayStation game series, is a high-octane action comedy, based on an original take by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick and written by Michael Jonathan Smith, about a motor-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. All 10 episodes premiere exclusively on Peacock on July 27, 2023
The Twisted Metal screening finished up late, so afterwards I called it a night and headed back to my hotel.
Look for my Day 2 recap soon.
