Yikes, Saturday at Comic-Con is jam-packed with TV panels.
It will be an especially busy day if you love animation (particularly of the Groening or MacFarlane varities), Syfy channel (“Warehouse 13,” “Alphas,” “Being Human” and even “Lost Girl” have panels) and sophomore TV shows (“Once Upon a Time,” “Grimm” and “Person of Interest” all survived to see Comic-Con a second year).
Plus, big bloodsuck-y soaps “The Vampire Diaries” and “True Blood” have back-to-back panels and brand spanking new series “The Following” and “Revolution” will preview their pilots.
And the “Glee” panel that almost wasn’t will brave the Indigo Ballroom.
It’s a busy day so let’s look at the highlights for Saturday, July 14 at Comic-Con 2012:
Warehouse 13
10:00-10:45 a.m.
Ballroom 20
Who: Stars Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly, Saul Rubinek and Allison Scagliotti; executive producer Jack Kenny
Lowdown: It’s not flashy, but Syfy’s fantasy procedural keeps chugging along and this panel will preview the series’ fourth season, scheduled to premiere just a little over a week later.
Once Upon a Time
11:00-11:45 a.m.
Ballroom 20
Who: Executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz; stars Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Emilie de Ravin and Meghan Ory
Lowdown: One of last season’s few breakout TV hits returns for a Comic-Con victory lap and brings new full-time regular de Ravin (a.k.a. Claire from “Lost”) with them.
Futurama
12:00-12:45 p.m.
Ballroom 20
Who: Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche
Lowdown: If you’re among the few people who realize “Futurama” is still on the air, you’ll want to join in the fun here and check out footage from the new season. Also: “Wear your Futurama-themed costume for the chance to win slightly valuable prizes!”
The Simpsons
12:45-1:30 p.m.
Ballroom 20
Who: Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Anderson, Yeardley Smith
Lowdown: Beloved “Simpsons” writer David Mirkin moderates a panel celebrating the show’s upcoming 24th season. Expect sneak peeks at the latest “Treehouse of Horror” and a new “Simpsons” theatrical short “The Longest Daycare.”
A Conversation with Bryan Fuller
1:00-2:00 p.m.
Room 7AB
Who: Bryan Fuller
Lowdown: Cult TV fans know and love him from “Pushing Daisies,” “Wonderfalls” and “Dead Like Me” and Fuller also worked on “Heroes” before it became positively unwatchable. But the big deal about this panel is that Fuller gets to hype two brand new NBC series he’s overseeing based on well known properties: “Hannibal,” which brings everyone’s favorite liver-muching psycho psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter to weekly TV, and “Mockingbird Lane,” which reboots “The Munsters” with Eddie Izzard, Jerry O’Connell and Portia de Rossi.
TV Guide Magazine: Fan Favorites
1:00-2:00 p.m.
Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront
Who: (subject to change) Nathan Fillion, David Giuntoli, Joel McHale, Tyler Posey, Maggie Q, Matt Smith
Lowdown: TV Guide hosts a catch-all for Comic-Con favorites, so if you miss any of these stars in other panels here’s another chance to see them in person and ask questions. And maybe “Community’s” McHale can get some tips from “Grimm’s” Giuntoli about surviving on NBC on Friday nights.
Family Guy
1:45-2:30 p.m.
Ballroom 20
Who: Seth MacFarlane, Alex Bornstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green, Mike Henry and showrunners Mark Hentemann and Steve Callaghan
Lowdown: The annual MacFarlane deification portion of the Comic-Con weekend begins right here. And there’ll probably be a some back-patting and plugs for MacFarlane and Kunis’ hit movie “Ted.”
Alphas
2:00-3:00 p.m.
Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront
Who: “the stars of Syfy’s ‘Alphas'”
Lowdown: “A panel featuring the stars of Syfy’s Alphas discuss the show’s exciting new season.” That’s all they can tell us, so that’s all I can tell you. But I’m sure it’ll be “exciting”!
American Dad
2:30-3:15 p.m.
Ballroom 20
Who: Seth MacFarlane, Wendy Schaal, Scott Grimes, Rachael MacFarlane, Dee Bradley Baker, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman
Lowdown: MacFarlane’s second session promises to preview the “most hilarious moments” from the upcoming season of “American Dad.” I’m guessing that won’t take very long.
Grimm
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Room 6A
Who: Stars David Giuntoli, Russell Hornsby, Bitsie Tulloch, Silas Weir Mitchell, Reggie Lee, Sasha Roiz, Bree Turner; executive producers Jim Kouf,David Greenwalt Norberto Barba, Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner
Lowdown: “Grimm” was the little supernatural procedural that could on NBC’s flop-filled schedule last season. So turn out to show your appreciation for those valiant efforts and get a sneak preview of season two.
Being Human
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront
Who: Stars Sam Witwer, Meaghan Rath and Sam Huntington; executive producer Anna Fricke
Lowdown: In the international battle of “Being Human”s, Syfy’s version is now approaching season three, which means they’ve almost caught up to the British original which recently wrapped season four. And the Brits only do eight episodes per season, compared to Syfy’s 13. USA! USA! USA! (Although it should be noted, Syfy films in Canada.)
The Vampire Diaries
3:30-4:15 p.m.
Ballroom 20
Who: Stars Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Michael Trevino and Zach Roerig; executive producers Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec
Lowdown: You’ll get a screening (of some kind) and you’ll get a Q&A. Will you get Wesley or Somerhalder to take their shirts off? Probably not, but feel free to ask.
The Following
4:00-5:00 p.m.
Room 6BCF
Who: Executive producers Kevin Williamson and Marcos Siega; stars Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy
Lowdown: Get a first look at the buzzy Fox pilot starring Kevin Bacon as a FBI agent tracking a serial killer. It’s not scheduled to premiere until midseason, so this is a good chance to get ahead of the curve.
Shameless
4:00-5:00 p.m.
Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront
Who: William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum, Justin Chatwin, Jeremy Allen White “and others”
Lowdown: “Shameless” is randomly becoming a Comic-Con favorite, despite having no obvious connection to anything Comic-Con is known for. Consulting producer (and frequent “Glee” guest star) Mike O’Malley moderates a panel discussion with the cast and will help reveal “the top five fan-favorite moments from the past two seasons as voted on by you!” (Did you know you voted? Apparently you did.)
True Blood
4:30-5:15 p.m.
Ballroom 20
Who: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgård, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Nelsan Ellis, Deborah Ann Woll, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Joe Manganiello and Chris Meloni
Lowdown: The randy cast of “True Blood” is always up for a good time at Comic-Con, and per usual they’ll discuss what’s been happening in the season so far and drop some very vague hints for what’s ahead. Plus, this year they bring new co-star Meloni along for the fun.
Glee
5:00-6:00 p.m.
Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront
Who: Executive producer Brad Falchuk and stars Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Naya Rivera, Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz
Lowdown: What would Comic-Con be without “Glee”? It almost didn’t happen, but a last minute change of heart was good enough to secure the Indigo Ballroom on Saturday evening (after the show packed Hall H on Sunday morning last year). That could mean a lot of unhappy Gleeks shut out of the panel, especially with Finnchel expected to appear.
Person of Interest
5:15-6:00 p.m.
Room 6BCF
Who: Stars Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson, Taraji P. Henson and Kevin Chapman; executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman
Lowdown: Another of last season’s new TV hits provides a look at season two. Or you could just use the opportunity to bother Nolan with all your “Dark Knight Rises” questions.
Revolution
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Room 6BCF
Who: Creator and executive producer Eric Kripke (“Supernatural”) and stars Billy Burke, Giancarlo Esposito and Tracy Spiridakos
Lowdown: The latest epic series from J.J. Abrams’ production company boasts a pilot directed by Jon Favreau and will air Mondays at 10 p.m. on NBC this fall. Get a look at the pilot here and a chance to talk to some of the stars about what comes next.
Additional TV panels include Disney’s “Phineas and Ferb” from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Room 6A; “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” previewing season five from 2-3 p.m. in Room 6DE; “MythBusters” from 7:15-8:15 p.m. in Room 6BCF; Syfy’s culty “Lost Girl” from 8:15-9:15 p.m. in Room 6BCF; Cinemax’s soft porn series “Femme Fatales” from 8:15-9:15 p.m. in Room 6DE
Look for complete hall-to-hall coverage of Comic-Con 2012 from the entire HitFix team beginning Wednesday, July 11-Sunday, July 15.