Con Man

While waiting for another panel entirely, I sat down at the Microsoft Theater just as a panel began for ‘Con Man,’ a web-series that I had not actually heard of just yet, but is being produced by Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillon, both of whom I find to be particularly entertaining. It seems the premise of the comedy series is loosely based on Tudyk’s own life experience, as the main character Wray Nerely, is a struggling actor who once starred in a science-fiction show as the pilot of a ship, and though the show had a cult following, it was cancelled. Now Wray travels the convention circuits speaking about the show, all while watching his friend Jack Moore (Fillion), who played the captain of the ship, become a successful movie-star, and land the fame and fortune that Wray always wanted. Clearly it is based around the careers of both Tudyk and Fillion following the cancellation of ‘Firefly,’ and is one of the most successful crowd-sourced web series to date. Based on the size and energy of the fans in that audience, it is definitely gaining a cult following, and might just make some waves.

The star of the actual panel was Tudyk, and after discussing the show and what plans they have for the future, he really shined as they took questions from the audience, and Tudyk gave random items from a bag he brought to everyone who had a question. Among the best of the handed out items were wallpaper samples from a recent remodel of his, bricks that he chose not to use in the remodel, a broken toy ‘Serenity’ model, and an old ticket to see ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ that he received while filming ‘Rogue One.’ Based on that panel alone I am definitely going to be watching ‘Con Man’ soon just to see what antics Tudyk and Fillion get into, and to see if I can spot any of the fans that were in the audience that day, as Tudyk apparently invites a lot of real fans to be on the show, since it centers around being at fan conventions. Make sure to check the show out for yourself!


(video courtesy of ashwar 008)


Nick is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, who belongs to the privileged few who enjoyed the ending to ‘Lost.’ For more of Nick’s thoughts and articles, follow him on Twitter.