'Orphan Black': Celebrating One Final Season of Clone Club at PaleyFest

"Orphan Black" returns this June for one final season, and I had the chance to interview the cast one last time on stage at this year's PaleyFest. Fans were given a bonus treat: An early screening of the show's Season 5 premiere.

One of the most innovative shows on television, "Orphan Black" earned an Emmy last year for star Tatiana Maslany, who has wowed audiences for her portrayal of multiple clones on the show, each with their own distinct personality. The entire cast was a joy to interview, and their tight bond made the conversation a pleasure to moderate. (They're mostly Canadian, after all!)

My pal Diane has a full roundup of Tweets and more from the panel here, while Hanh wrote up the panel for IndieWire; an excerpt:

In attendance were Emmy winner Tatiana Maslany, Jordan Gavaris, Kristian Bruun, Kevin Hanchard, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Ari Millen, Josh Vokey, Maslany’s acting double Kathryn Alexandre and co-creators and executive producers Graeme Manson and John Fawcett.

The panelists had literally finished their final day of shooting the morning before, and were therefore exhausted and not just a little emotional. Thrilled to be together again after wrapping, the cast and producers were game to share behind-the-scenes stories, their thoughts about being on the show and tiny hints of what’s to come.

Cast and Producers’ Favorite Clones: Rachel (1), Sarah (2), Katja Obinger (1), Helena (2), Crystal (1), MK (1), Cosima (2). Maslany couldn’t pick just one, so she picked Allison, Helena and Rachel.

A few pics from the stage:

KCRW's THE SPIN-OFF: Listen to TV Guide Magazine's Showrunners Panel from Wondercon

Following up on my post about this year's TV Guide Magazine Showrunners Fan Favorites panel at Wondercon Anaheim, we've taken the audio and posted it as a bonus edition of KCRW's "The Spin-Off" podcast!

The panel included:

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)

The discussion kicked off with an attempt to get the panelists to answer that always tricky question: What exactly does a showrunner do?

Listen below!

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

MIKE ON RADIO: Talking "Orphan Black," Spoilers, Seacrest and the First Lady on KCRW's "Press Play"

For my usual Monday appearance on KCRW's "Press Play," this week we talked about a wide variety of topics, including the departure of creator Aaron MacGruder off Cartoon Network's "The Boondocks"; the bingeworthiness of BBC America's "Orphan Black"; how Ryan Seacrest is doing new deals with "American Idol" and Clear Channel; First Lady Michelle Obama's TV appearances; and how we live in the age of the spoiler alert.

Listen below!