It’s my hometown convention, and it’s getting bigger and bigger and outgrowing its home more and more each year, and ReedPOP experiments with new ideas (the Queue Hall is making its debut this year, with the entire idea that it’ll be easier for people to get into panels on the Jacob Javits Center’s Main Stage, a pretty huge room. I attended one panel so far this year, and it was there, and I got in, so, I have no real idea if the new concept is working) and does a hell of a job putting on a great show. I will always love this con.

It’s an odd thing, going to a con in the city in which I live, because friends go– but there’s a definite chance I’ll never see them. There are times we’re definitely in the same room, whether it be a Main Stage panel or the show floor, but we’d never know unless we intentionally find one another.

It probably happened today, during the only panel I really got to attend on day one of four, the Bob’s Burgers panel. The fantastic kick-off to the weekend had series creator Loren Bouchard moderating and participating on the panel itself, with cast members H. Jon Benjamin, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman,  John Roberts, Larry Murphy, and Bobby Tisdale. No Dan Mintz this year, but we did get a seven or eight foot tall Tina sitting on stage throughout the panel. It was the same as the one in these photos from the show’s premiere party via the official Tumblr.

We were treated to three clips from upcoming episodes, in varying stages of finished. One starred Bob and a blonde-haired Linda, who, as described by Loren Bouchard, accidentally made herself that way when attempting to get rid of gray hairs. Linda decides to embrace her new hairstyle, trying to seduce Bob while he’s working. The next, which was just storyboards and voice acting, included Bob going to a life drawing class where he’s seated in front of an easel and a nude Gretchen (the old woman who runs the art store in the neighborhood– you may remember her from the episode where Gayle has her paintings of animals’ butts up all over the restaurant, and the episode wherein Bob is mixed up in a hostage situation, saying the fish Tina drew on the burger delivery to the bank wasn’t a fish or a rocket, but a penis). The third stars the kids, who are tasked with buying Bob some black garlic while he’s in the middle of a cooking competition from a local organic food market named FigJam’s, a place the three were banned from after trying to buy a dark chocolate bar with chili and bacon flakes that wound up being $13.

The Q&A session had some highlights and some good news for those who love the original music the show has all the time (and who doesn’t, really?). Loren explained that the soundtrack people have been asking for is basically finished, they’re just hunting for a means of distribution. So, hopefully, we get to hear it soon.

For those interested in the improvisational parts of the show, the cast says that when it comes to that, it’s pretty much 95% script, and about 5% ad-lib. Loren doesn’t want to go in and expect the cast to just improvise everything, because it’s a difficult craft and he’d feel bad. He also says, for those trying to write their own animated show: cast first, write second. Once you have your voices down, at least in your head, the material comes easier. Also, he remarked that the first pitch of the show was “a family who runs a restaurant, and who are cannibals.” This came from a question about whether or not he ever felt pressure to be “relevant” or topical, or anything like Family Guy.

A couple of big highlights from the fans during the panel: there were two guys cosplaying Jimmy Pesto Jr. who were at the Q&A mic. One was asked to dance, so he did his best version of Jimmy’s weird dance where he essentially just rubs his arms and shoulders and sways around. The other came up with a friend dressed as Tina, and stayed behind her the entire time she asked her question, doing the same dance. It was pretty dang funny.

One moment I really liked was late in the Q&A session, a very young kid named Judah came to the mic to ask a question and when he said his name, Jon Benjamin asked him what his last name was. This ended up being a bit– Judah is Jon’s son, Jon remarking “I have a son named Judah! He looks a lot like you.”

The show will cover the usual bases this season in terms of holidays: their next new episode will be their Halloween special, and there will, of course, like always, be a Thanksgiving episode and Christmas episode as well. The Thanksgiving ones are always season highlights, so look forward to that. The Christmas one will star Bill Hader as Bob’s estranged father when Linda tries to get them together for the holidays. Jordan Peele and Keegan Michael Key of Comedy Central’s Key and Peele will guest this season as well. [Source: New York Daily News]

The first day of the con was a strong one, and I definitely spent too much of my money already, but that’s alright. What’s the convention for if not buying stuff you don’t need and attending fun panels?

Friday, the convention kicks into gear with the first of two Adult Swim panel blocks, including the Jack McBrayer/Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Rick and Morty, and Robot Chicken panels, and the Archer panel, so if you’re there, get to the Queue Hall and get your wristbands early. If you aren’t, [adult swim] Central will be your eyes and ears.

Con-goers, we’ll see you bright and early Friday.

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.