What strikes me as interesting is the fact there’s actually some history between Floyd County and ATHF/Adult Swim proper…

Floyd County was established circa 2009 by Adam Reed and Matt Thompson (who previously worked on Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo for Swim). Towards the end of Dingo, Reed left then 70-30 Productions to clear his head and eventually developed the concept for Archer, while Thompson and Co. attempted to continue Frisky Dingo. They even tried to stay afloat with a spin-off, The X-Tacles, but sadly Swim passed on a full series for either, thus the 70-30 ultimately closed.

With a limited budget, Reed, Thompson, and a few others established Floyd County and produced Season One of Archer with the help of/out of the same building space as Radical Axis Studios (the studio who originally animated Swim shows such as ATHF, Squidbillies, 12 oz. Mouse and many others). With a lot of the Williams Street animated mainstays being completed (or axed), Radical Axis would end up closing some time before the (at that point) final season of ATHF, with many of the animators/artists and other staffers moving to either Bento Box Atlanta, Awesome Inc., or to Floyd County. In particular, ATHF lead animator Todd Redner, editors Pierre Cerrato and Brad Lee Zimmerman, animators T.J. Buford and Adam Towes, to name a few. Most went on to work on various seasons of Archer, as well as less popular FX shows such as Chozen and Unsupervised, as well as many other projects for other networks.

As far as I’m concerned, it will be very interesting to see who of the “unsung heroes” will be behind animating and designing the new season of the show. A lot of the aforementioned as well as countless others are amazing and talented people. Speaking of which, one in particular, Bob Pettitt (background designer for ATHF) has been posting a ton of BTS on his Twitter for ATHF. Wish someone would make an Art of book for it… I’d help write it. 😀

But that shouldn’t imply the fun is over! In addition to Adult Swim programming, I had the chance to speak with pretty much the ENTIRE cast (including the one and only, Christian Slater) of FX’s hit animated show, Archer. 

If you have 20 minutes of your time to spend watching me chat with the cast, it starts off slow and awkward (as per my usual), but gets better as time progresses. I should also caution, there’s an f-bomb or two.

I had a blast at NYCC as always, but the highlight of my weekend had to be after this interview, when Jessica Walter (voice of Malory Archer, also Lucile Bluth from Arrested Development) made a comment about my being the only person there to wear a tie and look sharp. I was sincerely humbled.

At any rate, I hope you all enjoied the NYCC coverage. If you haven’t seen the rest, I highly recommend checking out all of the videos on our YouTube channel.

Jack McBrayer and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog’s new sitcom was showed off. Rick & Morty had a panel that included some real not safe for work type jokes and Dan Harmon doing a spot-on Justin Roiland impression. Archer blew us away with a screening and some amazing chemistry from the cast. Robot Chicken was there too.

The Adult Swim block began with a panel for the upcoming Jack McBrayer and Triumph Show, which seemed to be the title. The traditional three-camera sitcom premieres January 29th and stars Jack as a former child star who was once on a show with a young puppy Triumph. After the show was canceled, the two split up and there was a bit of a downward spiral for the both of them, but now Jack lives with his mother and is a reformed, happy-go-lucky guy (kind of like the real-life McBrayer, who, from our seats, was small and obscured– we were sort of far back– but you could see that grin he wears constantly from miles and miles away). One day, Triumph tracks him down and begins corrupting adult Jack, who is happy enjoying his time at home doing his own thing, while Triumph is dead set on getting into showbiz however he can.

Alan Colmes of Fox News Channel’s Hannity and Colmes moderated the panel which starred McBrayer, Robert Smigel (who began the panel on his knees behind the panel table with the Triumph puppet, bashing-slash-good-naturedly-ribbing Fox News and Colmes, calling him “a very nice lizard person” at one point), and Blackwolf the Dragonmaster, New York’s unofficial wizard, who some might know from a classic Triumph segment from Conan O’Brien’s NBC show.

The show comes after a Conan bit from his current TBS show that starred the duo going to a Chicago hot dog stand and winding up in a war of words with the staff:

The panel discussed the show and its format a little: although it is a classic three-camera sitcom with a laugh track, they plan on including some man on the street bits, sort of like the ones that made Triumph famous, when they fit the context of the episode. We saw some quick clips, and one such instance was included where Triumph is hanging out with a paparazzi setting up to take a photo of disgraced ex-NBA owner Donald Sterling’s wife. We also saw some clips of guest stars that included ex-N*Sync member Joey Fatone, film critic Leonard Maltin, and Tay Zonday, the man who made the old internet favorite “Chocolate Rain” song and video. Al Sharpton also made an appearance in a segment where Triumph was on MSNBC, but I personally was unsure if he filmed for the show or if it was old footage reused for the bit.

If you live in New York City, by the way, keep an eye out if you want to attend a free (!) taping, because the show is taped in front of a live audience in the city right across from Madison Square Garden. They’ve done some tapings already, and when they did the tickets showed up on TheBlacklistUS.com, so perhaps watch there.

Next up, we got to the Rick & Morty panel, which was hilarious. Creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland sat on the panel with cast members Sarah Chalke and Chris Parnell and talked season 2 and much more.

Roiland and Harmon said that Rick & Morty merchandise is coming soon, hopefully and likely in 2015. Shirts might come first, but there’s stuff on the way– they couldn’t say exactly what, but they said it’s on its way. One thing they were able to discuss, though, was an upcoming comic book series from Oni Press coming up soon. A monthly Rick & Morty book is coming for you, and Roiland and Harmon had a lot of praise for the writers making it. They said that they’ve been looking at the storylines they’ve been coming up with while making season 2 of the show, and getting frustrated that they didn’t just do what the comic guys did. The stuff is that good.

We got some peeks and information about season 2. One clip we got to see, which was in animatic form, had the entire family sitting at the table for a meal, when Morty brings up that someone was found dead with two holes in their neck and their blood drained. Rick talks about how vampires are actually real, and that what happened is no surprise, and tells Summer that she can f-off when she asks him to help catch the offender. We also learned that the season will see an episode where Jerry and Beth go off-planet for couples counseling at Rick’s suggestion.

Two more things to look forward to in the season: more catchphrases for Rick (our second clip was a supercut of every one of these throughout the new season), and more Ball Fondlers.

The Robot Chicken panel concluded the Adult Swim block and had Seth Green, Matthew Senreich, Clare Grant, Breckin Meyer, and Macaulay Culkin on the panel. They talked their holiday special, which will air December 7th, and has the fantastic title “Robot Chicken Lots of Holidays But Don’t Worry Christmas is Still in There Too So Pull The Stick Out of Your Ass Fox Ne

They also talked an upcoming DVD release of just Robot Chicken Christmas specials that includes 6 specials, deleted scenes, and commentary, coming out November 18th. [Source: IGN]

Finally, the entire day concluded with the big one, the Archer panel. The entire cast– H. Jon Benjamin, Aisha Tyler, Lucky Yates, Judy Greer, Chris Parnell, Jessica Walter, and Amber Nash– were on the panel, along with creator Adam Reed and producer Matt Thompson. We were treated to a special video message from Sterling Archer and Pam, as they held a yard/garage sale on a boat of all of their Archer Vice clothes and props as they prepared to go back to their regular old secret agent gigs.

Following that, we were then shown the season premiere of the upcoming season 6, coming in January, which was fantastic. If you didn’t like the Archer Vice season, like me (Adam, Matt, and a few others on the panel mentioned the hate for the season, playfully asking those in the room to stand so security could kick them out right away), you’ll most likely really enjoy the premiere. It’s a return to the old secret agent stuff, and it has some really good jokes and some touching moments and Mallory loses her mind a bit. Oh, and there’s a toaster named Milton.

Talking about guests this season, Reed mentioned that Barry will return, so that means the return of Dave Willis. Fargo‘s Allison Tolman will appear, as will Kumail Nanjiani. Togo Igawa guests in the premiere, and Coby Bell will reprise his role as Conway Stern. Oh, and Ron Cadillac will return.

The panel was great because the cast is fantastic, especially together. Benjamin and Tyler stole the show, with some help from Lucky Yates and Reed. It wasn’t the only one taken over by amazing chemistry between people: Rick & Morty‘s panel was full of great stuff from the cast and especially Roiland and Harmon. The entire panel did a quick improv scene that was hilarious, and Harmon did some impressions of Justin Roiland as well as Rick and Morty, and they were all totally spot-on.

We’re halfway finished with New York Comic Con 2014, unfortunately. But, of course, we’ll make the most of it. The biggest, busiest day is Saturday, and it’ll include a Cartoon Network Halloween screening, including a peek at the upcoming miniseries Over The Garden Wall. Another Adult Swim panel block will bring us Black Dynamite, The Heart, She Holler, and Mike Tyson Mysteries. The Adult Swim boat party is tomorrow as well, so if you got your RSVP in for that, have fun (and tell us who the secret musical guest is!).

For those at the con, see you there. For those at home, check back for recaps and news and whatever else we can give you from New York Comic Con 2014.

Here are the nominees:

Outstanding Animated Program

Archer
FX Networks

Adam Reed, Executive Producer/Writer
Matt Thompson, Executive Producer
Bryan Fordney, Producer/Animation Director
Neal Holman, Producer
Eric Sims, Producer
Casey Willis, Producer

Bob’s Burgers
FOX
Loren Bouchard, Executive Producer
Jim Dauterive, Executive Producer
Dan Fybel, Co-Executive Producer
Rich Rinaldi, Co-Executive Producer
Greg Thompson, Co-Executive Producer
Jon Schroeder, Co-Executive Producer
Mark McJimsey, Supervising Producer/Animation Executive Producer
Nora Smith, Supervising Producer
Scott Jacobson, Producer
Joel Kuwahara, Animation Executive Producer
Scott Greenberg, Animation Executive Producer
Janelle Momary-Neely, Animation Producer
Holly Schlesinger, Writer
Brian LoSchiavo, Director
Bernard Derriman, Supervising Director
Randy Ludensky, Animation Timing Supervisor

Futurama
Comedy Central

Matt Groening, Executive Producer
David X. Cohen, Executive Producer
Ken Keeler, Executive Producer/Written by
Josh Weinstein, Co-Executive Producer
Eric Horsted, Co-Executive Producer
Dan Vebber, Co-Executive Producer
Michael Rowe, Co-Executive Producer
Patric M. Verrone, Co-Executive Producer
Lee Supercinski, Produced by
Claudia Katz, Produced by
Gregg Vanzo, Animation Executive Producer
Scott Vanzo, Director of Computer Graphics
Peter Avanzino, Supervising Director/Directed by
David D. Au, Assistant Director

Adventure Time
Cartoon Network

Pendleton Ward, Executive Producer/Story by
Fred Seibert, Executive Producer
Brian A. Miller, Executive Producer
Jennifer Pelphrey, Executive Producer
Curtis Lelash, Executive Producer
Rob Sorcher, Executive Producer
Adam Muto, Supervising Producer/Story by
Nick Jennings, Supervising Producer
Kevin Kolde, Supervising Producer
Kelly Crews, Producer
Tom Herpich, Written by/Story by
Steve Wolfhard, Written by/Story by
Kent Osborne, Story by
Patrick McHale, Story by
Nate Cash, Supervising Director
Don Judge, Timing Director
Phil Cummings, Sheet Timing
Michel Lyman, Sheet Timing
Helen Roh, Sheet Timing
Bonghui Han, Overseas Director
Regular Show
Cartoon Network

JG Quintel, Executive Producer/Directed by
Brian A. Miller, Executive Producer
Jennifer Pelphrey, Executive Producer
Curtis Lelash, Executive Producer
Rob Sorcher, Executive Producer
Mike Roth, Supervising Producer/Writer
Ryan Slater, Producer
Calvin Wong, Written by
Toby Jones, Written by
Matt Price, Writer
Michele Cavin, Writer
John Infantino, Supervising Director/Writer
Sean Szeles, Supervising Director/Writer
Robert Alvarez, Animation Director
Hwang Gi-Ho, Overseas Director
Robot Chicken
Cartoon Network

Seth Green, Executive Producer/Writer
Matthew Senreich, Executive Producer/Writer
John Harvatine IV, Executive Producer
Eric Towner, Executive Producer
Tom Root, Executive Producer/Head Writer
Doug Goldstein, Executive Producer/Head Writer
Keith Crofford, Executive Producer
Mike Lazzo, Executive Producer
Ollie Green, Producer
Janet Dimon, Supervising Producer
Matthew Beans, Writer
Hugh Davidson, Writer
Mike Fasolo, Writer
Breckin Meyer, Writer
Zeb Wells, Director/Writer

Childrens Hospital
Adult Swim

Rob Corddry, Executive Producer
Jonathan Stern, Executive Producer
David Wain, Executive Producer
Mike Lazzo, Executive Producer
Keith Crofford, Executive Producer
Ken Marino, Co-Executive Producer

Seth MacFarlane
Family Guy

Maurice LaMarche
Futurama

Seth Green
Robot Chicken

So congratulations to all of the nominees! We’re rooting for you guys.

And also a very special congratulations to Kate Mulgrew for her nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Even though she was actually nominated for her role as Red on Orange is the New Black, she’s still on an [AS] show and I personally just wanted to acknowledge her nomination. (For those who don’t know, she’s Kove on NTSF: SD: SUV)

So there you go. You can watch the Emmys on August 25th to find out the winners of each category. (Although let’s be honest–they usually skip over the animated categories.) You can see other stuff though.