Scenes from Wondercon 2015: Showrunners, Lightsabers, Cosplay and More

Another fun Saturday (always during Easter weekend though, what gives?) at Wondercon in Anaheim, and Team TV Guide Magazine was there in force. My colleagues Rich Sands, Damian Holbrook and Rob Moynihan all moderated several panels, our photo guru Geraldine Agoncillo was there documenting it, and I got to once again moderate our annual "TV Guide Magazine Fan Favorite Showrunners Panel."



And it was a good one this year -- as I noted, the cross section of drama/comedy/thriller/sci-fi/animation looked a lot like your DVR. Here's who we had:

Brannon Braga (Star Trek: TNG/Voyager/Enterprise; 24; Cosmos and Salem)
Kerry Ehrin (Moonlighting, Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, Bates Motel)
Adam F. Goldberg (Still Standing, Breaking In, The Goldbergs)
Dan Harmon (Sarah Silverman Program, Rick and Morty, Community)
Alex Hirsch (Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Fish Hooks, Gravity Falls)
Peter Horton (actor; Grey’s Anatomy, Brimstone, The Philanthropist, American Odyssey)
Graeme Manson (Flashpoint, Being Erica, Orphan Black)



Rob wrapped the panel up here. Among the takeaways:

Thanks to Twitter and Facebook, today's showrunners are more accessible than ever before, which sometimes comes as a blessing and a curse when you have fans voicing their opinions. "You're the face of every mistake," Hirsch said. "The more visible you are, the more crazy people are mad at you." Goldberg added that he oftentimes feels like his show's writers are in a bubble when crafting the season, so he embraces social media because, "I can find out what people like and know what people are responding to."

Collider has a nice roundup of the panel here. Among the highlights:

The panel discussed what it means to be a superstar showrunner; making noise and pushing boundaries; Harmon’s big move to Yahoo; how Hirsch gets away with a show that’s one of the most dense animated series ever seen on a children’s network; how social media has changed the game; the premiere of American Odyssey and Anna Friel’s committed performance; how Manson keeps track of every clone and personality while constantly bringing in more; how it’s impossible to shock people anymore; their take on remake mania; where Goldberg gets the content for Erica; the breaks that got them to the next level; and what we can look forward to this next season.

Another nice mention of the panel here by Mr. Rhapsodist.

More pics from the panel:









And how about some pics from the rest of Wondercon:


Alex Hirsch signs posters for "Gravity Falls" fans after the panel.


Lightsabers! Many, many lightsabers.


Yeah, OK, guys, a bit disturbing.


Live makeup demonstration


The Ice King!


Posters!


Outside the convention center

Scenes from Anaheim's Wondercon

You may recall that last month I had the opportunity to moderate TV Guide Magazine's TV Showrunners panel -- featuring Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries), Glen Mazzara (The Walking Dead), Steve Molaro (The Big Bang Theory), Remi Aubuchon (Falling Skies) and others -- at Wondercon in Anaheim.

Since I was going down there, I thought it might be fun to introduce the Blogger Kid to the "con" culture, and also brought along his older cousin for the ride. They both got a kick out of the spectacle. Evan was a bit freaked out at first by all the costumes, but the Nintendo booth (where he kept going back to try out games) and all the Minecraft paraphernalia won him over. Here are some photo highlights:


Stormtroopers


Inside the convention center


Inside the convention center

Pics From TV Guide Magazine's Showrunner Panel at Wondercon

TV Guide Magazine was in force at Wondercon this Saturday in Anaheim, and I got to moderate one of the best panels of the convention (if I do say so myself!). Our TV Guide Magazine TV Showrunner Panel, which we organized in honor of the magazine's 60th anniversary, boasted some of TV's heaviest hitters: Greg Plageman (Person of Interest), Jeff Davis (Teen Wolf), Remi Aubuchon (Falling Skies), Glen Mazzara (The Walking Dead), Steven Molaro (The Big Bang Theory) and Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries). In a wide-ranging chat, we talked about everything from how and when to kill off major characters, to when to bring romantic interests together and how to walk the tightrope of network content standards. We also chatted about the showrunners' TV influences ("Hill Street Blues" was a popular one), and they all also gave us a few nuggets of storyline scoop.

My colleague Rob Moynihan summed up the panel here. And here are a few more pics from the panel, snapped by TV Guide Magazine's west coast photo editor, Geraldine Agoncillo.

The Walking Dead, The Vampire Diaries and More: TV Guide Magazine's Showrunner Panel Comes to Wondercon

I hit Anaheim on Saturday for my first-ever Wondercon in Anaheim, but kicking it off with a bang via our all-star TV Guide Magazine Showrunners Panel (see the listing here.)

Here are the panel details:

TV Guide Magazine celebrates its 60th anniversary with an all-star panel of TV's hottest showrunners. Moderated by Los Angeles bureau chief Michael Schneider, the panel brings together top showrunners and producers of current and classic hits for a lively discussion of sci-fi and fantasy television. Panelists include Remi Aubuchon (Falling Skies), Jeff Davis (Teen Wolf), Glen Mazarra (The Walking Dead), Steven Molaro (The Big Bang Theory), Greg Plageman (Person of Interest), and Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries).

Saturday March 30, 2013 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Room 300DE

In addition, TV Guide Magazine editors will be moderating the following panels:

Rich Sands: Falling Skies, Saturday, 12:30–1:30pm, Room 300DE
Damian Holbrook: Arrow, Sunday, 1:00–2:00pm, Arena

Got a question for one of the show runners? Leave a comment!