After the panel for Kingsman: The Golden Circle ended in Hall H on Thursday at Comic-Con, I had a few options. I could walk the floor and get some new pictures of interesting cosplay and comic book displays or I could remain in the room for the next panel since I needed to be in there for the Netflix movie showcase. I stepped out of the room for a moment and contemplated roaming around but securing a spot in these rooms seemed to be the best thing to do, especially if you had to cover multiple panels for the day.
The next panel on display was for Teen Wolf, a show I have never seen one episode of. I’ve always been intrigued but never took the time to watch it. According to someone I ended up sitting next to, the show was in Ballroom 20 last year (the second best room for panels after Hall H) but they were given the Hall H treatment this year because it would be their last time attending the convention since their final season is set to begin airing at the end of the month. With this information in hand, I figured it could be good to cover it since the show is popular with its rabid fan base.
This panel was a bit different because there were no official moderators like some of the other panels had. Two of its more veteran stars led the discussion and they were Linden Ashby and Melissa Ponzio. They were then joined by creator Jeff Davis and soon the other members of some of the cast which included Dylan Sprayberry, Shelly Henning, Khylin Rambo, Cody Christian, Charlie Carver, Tyler Posey and Dylan O’Brien. I hear that O’Brien was a bit of a surprise appearance which would explain the roars he received when he was called out on stage to join the panel.
Being as I have never seen this show I could only judge the panel based on the participants and I must say I was moved by their genuine affection for each other. Some actors will say “yeah, we totally get along” and not mean it but on that stage, I saw six years worth of love that made them feel like a genuine family. There were several moments when any of them would be talking where they would be close to tears talking about their experience with the show. This wasn’t just a job for them. They cared about the material and some even acknowledged that it could be the work that defines them.
The bromance between Tyler Posey and Dylan O’Brien was pretty obvious and genuine. They both started on the show at 18 years old and are now 25 with even bigger careers than when they first stepped onto the Teen Wolf set. O’Brien mentions how he had never acted before doing the show and it was literally his first big break. Posey and O’Brien became instant friends and even talked about becoming roommates when production of the show first began. The mutual respect between the two actors is instantly palpable.
A lot of the panel was more about reminiscing than providing breaking news. At the start of the panel, fans were treated to an intro video that brings back fan favorite Tyler Hoechlin to the series for the final 10 episodes. We also got a video message from former co-star Colton Haynes who will also be returning for some of the final 10 episodes. He introduced a scene featuring the return of his character and judging from the fan reaction at the panel, they’re excited to have him back.
The panel also showed a video package of all of the stars’ original auditions for the show which were cut with the actual audition scenes that would later be on the show. It was a bit fascinating to watch the shift from audition to hitting the screen but also a strong indication of how much all of the actors had grown since walking into the audition room. Even though the room was dark, you could see the cast reacting to the piece and they all seemed to be really enjoying it.
The Q&A portion of the panel was probably when it showed the true class of all involved. There was one fan that stepped up to ask a question and they already knew his name from previous conventions and actually had a small conversation with him before he got to his question. The real stand out was a young girl who mentioned she had been to a dark place in her life but the show helped her overcome it because it pushed her to find her own pack to help her get out of that dark place. She then asked the cast what do they do to cope to get out of the darkness. Tyler Posey took the question on and his honesty was probably the highlight of the whole panel. He commended her for being brave to standing up in a room full of people and speaking her truth. He also admitted to being in dark places in his life, fairly recently and that his friends and family helped him through it. He even mentioned Dylan O’Brien as one of those people and soon after O’Brien just rested his hand on his back as a sign of support. The end result was Posey telling her to just always talk to someone (friends, family, he even said to not to be ashamed of using therapy as an option as well). Earlier in the panel, he mentioned that he got into acting as a kid to do the work and to not be famous and with honesty on display that most actors seem to avoid, I’m inclined to believe him.
As the panel was coming to an end you could tell no one on stage wanted it to end. The whole cast was happy to be there and Linden Ashby gave credit to the younger stars for always taking the work seriously and for just always being present. The big theme was that they were family and even though we tend not to believe stars when they say there were no blow ups on set during a six-year run, I came out of that panel believing that they caught some lightning in a bottle and got the right people together to form a great union.
Like I said, I’ve never watched the show, but after what I saw on Thursday it’s on my watch list. That and the extended trailer for the final season looked pretty amazing so I guess I will need to binge quickly!
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