WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST TWO EPISODES OF KINGS OF CON
"Rob and Rich are super famous... 13 weekends a year."
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Rob Benedict and Richard Speight, Jr., two actors alumni of The CW's mega hit Supernatural, spend weekends a year at fan conventions entertaining thousands while having a blast doing it. Out of the many years these conventions have been going on, the show itself has just hit 12 years, many stories have come to the surface from backstage antics that happen.
Well, Rob and Rich decided to make a webseries about it.
Written by Rob and Rich, directed by Rich, Kings of Con- premieres every Tuesday on Comic-Con HQ. Every Tuesday at 10PM eastern, Kings of Conversation occurs on the Kings of Con Facebook page, an after show hosted by Rob and Rich to reflect on that week's episode.
Crowd funded, it's a love letter to the fans. Not a documentary, it's a single camera comedy done quite well. Rob and Rich play fictionalized versions of themselves.
This past Tuesday, November 15th, the first two episodes premiered on Comic-Con HQ's website for all subscribers to see. In a nutshell?
I loved it.
Here's my review:
Kings of Con: Episode 1- Whippany, NJ
I really appreciate the warning message before every episode, even if it's just for thing's like language and too much skin.
Rob: "I'm an actor, I went to acting school, for acting, and I haven't acted in five, plus years."
The episode starts out with Rich pulling up to Rob's house, ready to pick him up for another convention. Rob, fresh from being served his first divorce papers, he's sulking and doesn't want to go. His career is "in the shitter" as he puts it.
It becomes clear quickly that Rich is the one who, well, likes to have a lot of fun. To get Rob to come, he quickly lists the pluses of going- girls being one of them.
Rob's moping, wondering what happened to his career. With one naked Rob out of the way, they head off to the convention.
We see the first of the many guest stars to come, Rob's band Louden Swain. Gotta say, was really happy that guitarist Billy Moran got a line. Love the band, and I love the fact that they are being included in the show. Cons aren't the same without them.
It's karaoke night time, a tradition at the SPN conventions, and we see another one of the major guest stars, current General Hospital star Matt Cohen. Matt and Rob have a run in in the bathroom, and you see the fun loving Matt is playing an asshole.
And I found it kinda awesome.
On a professional level, I loved the fact that I could see Matt, who's extremely kind and loving in real life, pull off the asshole vibe. Major props to him.
Rich: "Oh you brought your penis! That's cool!"
I gotta admit, I had to pause the episode for a moment because I was laughing so hard. This is the exact kind of humor I was expecting from the two men and I was loving every second of it.
Sitting in a bar, Rich tells Rob that he needs to get his confidence back, and shows him a group of fans staring at them, pointing out a fan cosplaying as Rob's character. Richard walks over to them, beckoning Rob to follow. With a moment of preparation, Rob's over there with them.
The camera cuts to the next morning, Rob's passed out on the floor of his hotel room. Waking up, suddenly a butt is pressed to his face and it is implied/revealed that Rob had slept with the fan cosplaying as his character.
Rob: "Oh f***"
And the screen cuts to black.
I thought episode one was hilarious, and the exact humor I was expecting from Mr. Speight and Benedict. With an easy concept to follow, it starts off the 10 episode series fantastically. Even someone who isn't in tune with the fan convention world would find it funny and be able to follow it, and I believe that was part of the goal.
Goal Achieved.
Kings of Con: Episode 2- Whippany, NJ- Still Whipping
Episode two.
Episode two starts where the first left off. Rob sits in the hotel restaurant waiting for the fan that he had had the night with. She comes, still in her cosplay, beard in all.
After a highly awkward conversation, Rich comes up and saves him allowing him to leave.
Rob has broken the number one rule of conventions- never get involved with a fan. However, here's the part that I really love.
The fan, to put it into terms, doesn't care.
Rich: "This woman just slept with her TV hero. She's gonna be out there everywhere spreading this news to the four winds."
The fan does the exact opposite, and I love it. This is a props to the writing of these two gentlemen. Throughout the entire press that Rob and Richard have done for the series, they have made it extremely clear that they are the punchline of the joke, never the fans. Doing this ensures they never offend any fans.
As a fan, it's extremely appreciated.
So, the fan isn't the one going after Rob after the night spent; tables have turned and Rob goes after her.
Ah, awkward, desperate Robbie. You just wanna wrap him in a blanket and keep him safe, you feel so bad for him. It even goes as far as Rob having an "emotional meltdown speech" to the fan while she's sitting in the audience of one of his panels.
Great writing, great acting, and I'm loving every minute of it.
Episode 2 just continues being just as great as episode one. The comedy in the writing is excellently consistent; each episode is really well written.
I've seen Kings of Con become a passion project for the two men over the last year or so, and it's really shown through the first two episodes. Rob and Rich know what they are doing, and I can't wait for more.
As I write this, episodes 1 and 2 of Kings of Con are available to watch for free on the Comic-Con HQ YouTube channel.
Click here for episode 1
Click here for episode 2
But make sure to click here to subscribe to Comic-Con HQ so you can check out the series as it premieres week by week! Make sure to check out Kings of Conversation on the Kings of Con Facebook page at 10PM Eastern Time! Trust me, you'll enjoy it just as must as I do.
Rob Benedict's Twitter: @RobBenedict
Richard Speight, Jr.'s Twitter: @dicksp8jr
Kings of Con's Twitter: @KingsOfCon
