This year’s San Diego Comic-Con is getting a spotlight though a journalistic lens via award-winning website Comics Beat and OTT app and FAST channel ElectricNOW. The comics news site, run by longtime comics journalist Heidi MacDonald, has partnered with the division of the media company created by Dean Devlin to produce Con Daily Powered by ComicsBeat on ElectricNOW. It’s a daily news show intended to give viewers access to top talent attending Comic-Con and a rundown of daily events.
Comic-Con is North America’s biggest annual pop culture festival, attracting over 135,000 attendees as well as the focused attention of Hollywood, with studios and streamers spending millions on hyping their movies and shows. Devlin, who made his name with big-budget spectacle movies before becoming an exec producer on recent adventure shows such as The Ark and The Librarians, said one goal was to bring the show to those who could not attend. “I recall going to early Comic-Cons to promote my films such as Independence Day and Stargate, long before it became the mainstream sensation it is today,” Devlin said in a statement. “I always felt the special sense of community the convention brought to fantasy and sci-fi fans. Now, collaborating with the award-winning website ComicsBeat, allows me to provide viewers at home who cannot make it to the show with an up-close and behind-the-scenes experience.”
Con Daily will consist of four special episodes to premiere after each day of Comic-Con, hosted by high-profile online personalities Yael Tygiel, known for his post-show podcasts, comedic content creator Reagan Yorke, video game industry voice Celia Schilling, and geek culture reporter Kari Lane. Each episode will stream exclusively on Roku and ElectricNOW, with daily updates hitting YouTube as well. The show will feature one-on-one interviews with celebrities, casts, and pop culture influencers. Each episode will end with a no-holds-barred panel featuring Con Daily correspondents giving a round-up of events at the show and the day’s news. The show will be produced by Lucas Thompson of ElectricNOW and directed by Patrick Meaney, known for his documentaries such as Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods, Neil Gaiman: Dream Dangerously, Chris Claremont’s X-Men and The Image Revolution.
