"Firefly" stars Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion have been attending sci-fi conventions for more than a decade and have come across a cast of characters perfectly suited for a TV show.
Tudyk created a comedy series called "Con Man" which is set in the world of these conventions. The show centers on his character, Wray Nerely, an actor who starred on an ill-fated sci-fi show called "Spectrum," which gained cult status after it was cancelled (just like "Firefly").
In order to create such a niche series, the two actors have decided to partner with their fans rather than a TV network given their past experiences (Fox cancelled "Firefly" after 14 episodes). They launched an Indiegogo campaign on March 10 and reached their initial goal of $425,000 in less than a day.
"The series is a light-hearted take on the personalities, luminaries and characters in the sci-fi community we are privileged to call ourselves members," Tudyk wrote on the Indiegogo page. "'Con Man' is a way to share some of the surreal occurrences we have had, while telling the story of a guy learning to love and embrace his fans."
On the show, Wray is a regular on the sci-fi circuit, traveling to conventions, comic book stores and other pop culture events, while his friend and former co-star Jack Moore (Fillion) enjoys A-list movie stardom. Tudyk and Fillion's characters on the fictional show "Spectrum" parallel their characters, the pilot Wash and Captain Malcolm Reynolds on "Firefly."
Fans can donate any amount of money to help produce at least three 10-minute episodes, but the campaign also offers incentives for donating more. Rewards include "Con Man" posters, autographed photos of Wray and Jack from "Spectrum" (which Tudyk and Fillion will sign as their characters or their real names) and set visits. The actors along with producer P.J. Haarsma have also teamed up with the app Hang W/ to provide live and archived on-set and behind-the-scenes content to applicable backers.
The campaign is well on its way to bringing in enough money to produce more than three episodes, although Tudyk has capped the total at 12 (a similar season order for shows on Netflix or Amazon). They also encourage fans to share the campaign across social media.
Tudyk also reached out to friends such as Seth Green, Felicia Day, Gina Torres (who played his wife on "Firefly") and "Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn to guest star once filming begins. He did not announce when production would start.
