Summary

One in a series of seminars presented as part of The Paley Center for Media’s 30th William S. Paley Television Festival in Los Angeles. The festival celebrates the excellence and diversity of American television and is dedicated to television’s creative community. This PALEYFEST 2013 seminar honors “The Tomorrow People,” a remake of the British science-fiction series of the same name about a group of young people with extraordinary powers, representing the next stage in human evolution. Host Rene Reyes (director of public programs, The Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles) offers opening comments before introducing the pilot of “The Tomorrow People,” screened in its entirety. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 111865). Rob Moynihan (Los Angeles correspondent, “TV Guide Magazine”) moderates the following panelists: executive producer and director Danny Cannon; executive producers Phil Klemmer, Greg Berlanti, and Julie Plec; and cast member Robbie Amell (Stephen Jameson), and Mark Pellegrino (Jedikiah Price). The panelists touch on such topics as: the decision to remake the original British “Tomorrow People” show and the initial development of the show; the vast differences between the 2013 series and the 1970’s original; the casting of Amell and his relation to Stephen Amell, cast member of the CW show “Arrow”; comparisons between the show and the “Matrix” films; how the producers plan to construct the “mythology” of the show; the complicated relationships that will emerge as the show progresses; the nature of the superhuman abilities portrayed on the show; insights into the show’s production process, particularly involving the stunt work; potential plot developments for the show’s first season; and possible crossovers between “The Tomorrow People” and “Arrow.” Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics among others: the limitations of visual effects on television shows such as “The Tomorrow People”; Pellegrino’s previous roles on television shows such as “Lost” and “Being Human”; a plot element involving the eponymous characters’ physical inability to kill; the show’s incidental music; and shooting locations and settings on display in the show, as well as the show’s aesthetic.