The Big Hero 6 series is set to air, a few years after the 2014 film came out. It has been a long three years for executive producers Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle. “When you have an actual airdate after you’ve been working on it for three years, it’s, ‘Oh wow! People are actually gonna watch it!’ ” Schooley said.
Disney XD will preview two episodes Nov. 20 on its app and on-demand, after the one-hour movie Baymax Returns. The series officially starts early in 2018 and picks up where the movie left off, exploring the relationship of 14-year-old Hiro and robot Baymax, who Hiro believed was lost forever.
The show, like the movie, is set in the mashup metropolis of San Fransokyo. “The city was a character in the movie,” McCorkle said. “We get to explore more parts of the city.”
The voice cast includes Maya Rudolph, Ryan Potter and Scott Adsit, with Andy Richter in a recurring role as Globby. McCorkle described Globby as “the most incompetent pickpocket in the city.”
The producers rave about Richter. “Like the classic voiceover guys,” said Schooley, “he just gets it.”
McCorkle promises “a great catalog of villains” in Big Hero 6.
Also boasting of memorable villains is Frontier on Netflix. Season two of the series, which looks at the rough-and-tumble fur trade in the early 18th century, starts Nov. 24. Executive producer/director Brad Peyton said Frontier offers something no other series does: A close-up of working folks in the 1700s. “I decided to do it because there were no other shows set in that time period, unless they were about the upper-class and British royalty,” Peyton said. “We’re interested in exploring the working class.”
The show is shot in Newfound-land, not far from where Peyton grew up. “It’s weird having your aunts and uncles come by the set,” he shared.
Season one, he said, featured antagonist versus protagonist. Season two sees “the antagonists start to turn on each other.”
The new season also sees ruthless Declan Harp, played by Jason Momoa, evolve in his desire for vengeance, looking to form an alliance to take down rival Hudson’s Bay Company.
Peyton’s highlight of season two? “Two words: Jason Momoa,” he said. “He’s really enthusiastic about his character, and really goes the extra mile.”
He mentioned Momoa showing up one day, volunteering to start a scene from inside a frozen lake. “Jason has a real savagery and real charm that he brings to work every day,” Peyton said.
