SDCC 22: NBC Universal blitzes the Con with panels and brand new Fan Hub

Inbound to Comic Con in little over a week is NBCUniversal, with both panels and a massive installation right in the city’s Gaslamp section.

A universe of entertainment

As most people who have been to Comic Con at some point know, the show isn’t limited to the convention center. Far from it, SDCC has basically grown to encompass the entire lower section of the proper city.

One of the most active places for this growth is Gaslamp Plaza. Named after the most hoppin’ section of SD, and right across the street from the Con itself, Gaslamp is a hub of all things Comic Con. Maybe that’s where NBCUniversal got the name for its newest installation, the Fan Hub.

Aside from all the stuff that the entertainment giant has planned for the actual show, the Fan Hub will play host to even more fun.

NBCUniversal is set to take over Gaslamp Plaza with the NBCU Corner @ SDCC, featuring content from entertainment television and streaming platforms NBC, Peacock, SYFY, and USA Network. The immersive fan hub is a space where attendees can relax and recharge in-between panels with fun photo moments from new and returning NBCU shows, view custom NBCU content from the shaded viewing lawn and be rewarded with exclusive surprise giveaways throughout the weekend. 

Shows highlighted at the NBCU Corner @ SDCC include NBC’s “Quantum Leap” and “La Brea,” USA Network and SYFY’s “Chucky,” SYFY’s “Resident Alien,” “Reginald the Vampire,” Peacock’s “Vampire Academy,” “The End is Nye” and “The Resort.” 

Location: Gaslamp Plaza & Tin Fish Restaurant Adjacent 
Date: Thursday, July 21-Sunday, July 24 
Time: 10 a.m.- 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday  

NBC Universal press release

Getting COZI

But the Fan Hub isn’t all that’ll be taking place outside of the show. The MLK Promenade (behind the Omni Hotel) will also host “COZI TV’s Iconic Characters exhibit”.

Comic-Con attendees can visit many of TV’s most iconic characters with COZI TV’s Iconic Characters exhibit. The exhibit will be highlighted by a genuine 1962 AMC Rambler American 400, just like the red convertible featured in the Emmy-winning “3^rdRock from the Sun,” and an appearance on Friday, July 22 by actor and comedian French Stewart, who played the character Harry Solomon on the hit comedy. Eligible fans will be able to enter for a chance to win the fully restored classic car through the COZI TV 3rd Rock Rambler Sweepstakes, which anyone is available to enter at COZITV.com now through Aug. 31. COZI TV, NBCUniversal Local’s national multicast network that delivers the all-time best shows and pop culture favorites such as “The Munsters,” “The Nanny” and “Roseanne.” 

NBC Universal press release

About those panels

So while all of that is great, there’s a good chunk of show-goers who are almost purely into the panel side of things. And on that end, the Con is going to be jumping this year.

NBCUniversal will be bringing panels centered on the new Vampire Academy, Resident Alien, Chucky, and lots more.

Here’s the full listing:

Thursday, July 21 

• 2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.: Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Indigo Ballroom 
  • Comic-Con: A Glimpse Into the World of Peacock Original Supernatural YA Drama Series “Vampire Academy” 
  • Showrunners and executive producers Julie Plec (“The Vampire Diaries,” “The Originals,” “Legacies”) and Marguerite MacIntyre (“The Originals,” “Legacies”) will join series regulars Sisi Stringer (Rose Hathaway), Daniela Nieves (Lissa Dragomir), Kieron Moore (Dimitri Belikov) and Andre Dae Kim (Christian Ozera) to discuss Peacock’s highly anticipated “Vampire Academy,” based on the international bestselling book series — a story of friendship, romance and danger. In a world of privilege and glamour, two young women’s friendship transcends their strikingly different classes as they prepare to complete their education and enter vampire society. One as a powerful Royal, the other a half-vampire Guardian trained to protect against the savage Strigoi who threaten to tear their society apart. That is if Royal infighting doesn’t do the job first. Cast will partake in a Q&A live panel and give an exclusive first look moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s Sydney Bucksbaum. The series is from Universal Television and will premiere on Peacock Sept. 15. 

Saturday, July 23 

• 3-4 p.m.: Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Indigo Ballroom  
  • Unlikely Hero, Unrecognized Powers: “Reginald the Vampire”  
  • Featuring an exclusive first look at the new SYFY series coming this October as well as a thirst-quenching discussion with stars Jacob Batalon, Mandela Van Peebles, Em Haine and Savannah Basley, showrunner Harley Petyon, and executive producers Jeremiah Chechik and Lindsay Macadam. Moderated by “Fat Vampire” author Johnny B. Truant, which the series is based on. 
• 4:15-5 p.m. in Room 6A
  • “The End is Nye”
  • Bill Nye the Science Guy is back and hosting an all-new science disaster series “The End is Nye” with co-creators Seth MacFarlane and Brannon Braga. Each episode of the Peacock series explores an epic global disaster with engaging VFX spectacles, then demystifies them using science to show how we can survive, mitigate, and even prevent them. Sprinkled with MacFarlane’s signature humor, this extremely timely series explores end-of-the-world scenarios with Nye at the center of it all. Join executive producer Bill Nye, showrunner/EP Brannon Braga (“Star Trek,” “The Orville,” “Books of Blood”) and executive producer Erica Huggins (President, Fuzzy Door) as they debut the official trailer and share an exclusive sneak peek at their new Peacock series from Universal Television Alternative Studio and UCP. “The End is Nye” will premiere on Peacock Aug. 25. 
• 4:15-5:15 p.m.: Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Indigo Ballroom  
  • SYFY’s “Resident Alien” Invades Your Con  
  • The cast of “Resident Alien” — Alan Tudyk, Sara Tomko, Corey Reynolds, Alice Wetterlund, Levi Fiehler, Elizabeth Bowen and Judah Prehn – as well as executive producer/showrunner Chris Sheridan, come together for the first time on the same stage to answer your burning questions and give you an out-of-this-world exclusive look into the season two return on Aug. 10 on SYFY. Moderated by “Ancient Aliens” star and co-executive producer (and “Resident Alien” guest star) Giorgio A. Tsoukalos. The series is from UCP.  
• 5:30-6:30 p.m.: Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Indigo Ballroom  
  • World Premiere of Peacock and UCP’s “The Resort”  
  • Join creator Andy Siara (“Palm Springs”) and castmates William Jackson Harper (“The Good Place,” “The Underground Railroad”), Cristin Milioti (“Palm Springs,” “Made for Love”), Nina Bloomgarden (“Hot Pink”), and Luis Gerardo Méndez (“Narcos: Mexico”) for a special screening and conversation as they premiere the highly anticipated mystery thriller “The Resort.” “The Resort” is a multi-generational coming-of-age love story disguised as a fast-paced mystery about the disappointment of time. An anniversary trip puts a marriage to the test when the couple finds themselves embroiled in one of the Yucatan’s most bizarre unsolved mysteries that took place fifteen years prior. The series from UCP will premiere July 28 on Peacock. 
• 6:45-7:45 p.m.: Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Indigo Ballroom  
  • Back with a Vengeance: “Chucky”  
  • He’s your friend ‘till the very end! Join “Chucky” creator/executive producer Don Mancini and surprise guests for a can’t-miss conversation moderated by TV Guide Magazine’s Damian Holbrook and a behind-the-scenes look at season two returning this October on USA Network & SYFY. The hit series is from UCP.