Take A Journey with Unnatural History

The Cartoon Network is breaking into live-action series television with their brand new show Unnatural History that follows the mis-adventures of Henry Griffin (Kevin Schmidt), his cousin Jasper Bartlett (Jordan Gavaris) and their classmate Maggie Winnock (Italia Ricci), as they traverse the halls of fictional Smithson High School – located in Washington, DC – which is contained within a museum.

Kevin G. Schmidt's got skillz

You see Henry has never lived in the United States because of his globe-trotting parents who are anthropologists, traveling all around the world with them and gaining valuable experience from all the cultures for which he has been exposed. When his parents decide it is to Henry’s benefit that he live a “normal” life, he is transplanted to Washington, DC to live with his Uncle Brian (Martin Donovan), who is principal of Smithson High School, and his less-than-enthusiastic-to-have-Henry-there cousin Jasper.

The trio of teens is rounded out by fellow class mate Maggie, who is probably one of the smartest girls in school who does her best to keep Henry and Jasper out of trouble.

The four-member cast and series creator Mike Werb were on hand for the first time ever at Comic Con last month to introduce a new episode of the show and have a chat with fans of all ages on the last day of the convention.

Once the episode came to an end, Rich Sands from TV Guide, the moderator for the panel, introduced the cast and Mike Werb to the stage. The first question was posed to Mike, asking him where the idea of the series was developed. Werb explained that at one point in his life he left the United States “with $300 to my name and a fishing pole, spending three years in third world countries.” He created Unnatural History and about 8 other television pitches (potential TV shows) from his experiences and this is the one that stuck.

For those unfamiliar with Unnatural History, the series is a well-made family drama that is even parts National Treasure and Indiana Jones, a dash of Warehouse 13 and the typical angst of high school combined with the mis-adventures of intelligent but guileless teenagers.

Questions were then taken from those in the audience; and not surprisingly, most of those waiting in line to ask questions were children who seemed excited to talk to the stars of the show. Among the questions were how much preparation Kevin had in learning the skills for which his character Henry displays on a weekly basis. Kevin honestly explained that he probably didn’t have enough, but he does “as much as I can on stunts” while his stunt double takes over for the more difficult scenes. Kevin then explained that he trains three days a week on the fundamentals of Henry’s skills and joked that the only thing he really “brought to the role was his athleticism”. The cast all agreed, however, there are challenges in making the show but; despite a hectic schedule, they have a lot of “trust in the crew and the stunt coordinator”.

Martin was then asked what brought him to the project and he answered that it was “Mike and the material were what drew me in”. He also felt that Mike was “taking a risk going with him,” but they both seemed pleased with the final outcome.

Italia was then asked about her character, stating that Maggie is a non-stereotypical role: “Maggie takes chances and leads the way.” She was interested in playing the part because Maggie “isn’t the pretty girl; she’s smart but doesn’t act like it.” She went on to say that she feels “honored to play a girl that parents would be proud to have their child look up to.”

In turn Jordan was asked about his character, answering that “Jasper is a bit of a goof ball.” And, he feels that all three of the characters are “consummate, real teens.” And, Jordan and Italia agreed that Jasper has been in love with Maggie for a very long time but he doesn’t show it, but Jordan joked that he wouldn’t mind if their characters developed more of a relationship.

Then as quickly as the panel started it had to end in order to maintain the schedule of the room with creator Mike Werb hinting at some upcoming story lines, but he was careful about not spoiling too many points.

Unnatural History can be seen on the Cartoon Network on Tuesdays at 8/7c and is repeated on Sundays (check your local listings for specific air dates and times).