Comic Con Asks, “Do You Know About The Event”?

The mysterious new drama from NBC – The Event – presented its pilot to a packed panel room at Comic Con last month. I had the great fortune of making it into the panel room along with some friends to see what all the talk has been about.

Blair Underwood is the President in NBC's The Event

Without revealing much of the plot (I just can’t do that to our readers), I will say this much: The story is dense, covering a wide range of timeframes and a number of very different characters. It features a diverse and large cast and a mystery that will hopefully unfold quickly and not linger on plot points for too long.

While I can’t say that I was pulled into this new show the way I was with the debut of Lost nor does the show seem destined to unravel the way that FlashForward unfortunately did during its short run, I am reserving judgment on The Event until I can see more than just the first hour.

But before I digress too much into the pilot, I can state that the Comic Con audience seemed enthusiastic about the pilot, giving it a rousing round of applause and greeting the panelists with fervor and excitement.

The panel was moderated by Kristin dos Santos from E! Entertainment Online and featured cast members Blair Underwood, Jason Ritter, Laura Innes, Zeljko Ivanek, Sarah Roemer and Ian Anthony Dale as well as Executive Producers Evan Katz, Steve Stark, Jeffrey Reiner (who also directed the pilot), Jim Wong and Nick Wauters (who is also the co-creator of the series).

Other members of the cast include (who were not a part of the panel) Scott Patterson, Taylor Cole, Lisa Vidal, Bill Smitrovich and Clifton Collins, Jr.

One of the more pertinent questions asked of the crew was how soon will viewers get answers to the questions that will quickly arise from the pilot. Co-creator Nick Wauters answered that there will be some answers in the second episode and it is his fervently hope that the show can continue beyond as “there are 200 people in Los Angeles who are crafting 22 hours of the show.”

A discussion was held on the various elements contained within the series as a whole such as the mystery elements of what “the event” actually is; the sci-fi elements as depicted in the pilot (which will be kept under wraps so as not to spoil before the premiere of the show) and the romance between the Jason Ritter’s and Sarah Roemer’s characters. Wauters again answered, stating that “the entire story doesn’t rest” just on one element. But, he would not elaborate on the event, obviously, nor would he confirm if the event is actually a series of different events.

The conversation then turned to Blair Underwood and his character in the series. He is “excited” to be the first Cuban/African President of the United States. And, as quickly as the panel started, it had to come to an end because of time constraints.

As closure to the panel, an announcement was made by co-creator Nick Wauters that there is an ongoing fan event to win a walk-on role for The Event. Anyone who is interested in this can visit Fan It for more details. Please be aware that you have to register with “Fan It” to get the details for this sweepstakes. Good luck!!

The Event premieres Monday, September 20 at 9/8c on NBC.