CusickGallery.net: Henry Ian Cusick

The 100 are coming to Comic-Con next week, as the pilot to the new CW series makes its debut, at a panel that includes cast members and producers from the series.

The 100 takes place 97 years after nuclear armageddon decimated Earth and left the planet unlivable. Only 4000 humans are left, living onboard a series of interlocked space stations referred to as the Ark. With dwindling resources, some horrifically strict laws have been put into place. Isaiah Washington plays the leader of the surviving humans, Chancellor Jaha, and explains, “Those who are naughty, they get executed. If they do things that will endanger the ship or hurt the remaining people on the Ark, I have to make some very tough decisions.”

The title of the series comes from the 100 juvenile delinquents –- in a world where it’s all too easy to be branded a criminal — used as guinea pigs and sent to the surface of the Earth to see if the planet is livable again. As Washington puts it, “If they survive, they become heroes. If they don’t, we were going to execute them anyway.”

Establishing her importance among the 100 is Clarke, played by Australian actress Eliza Taylor. “My character, Clarke, is very headstrong. She’s a natural born leader. Her parents are doctors, so she has a real medical sense and she kind of take the lead in all the scenarios on Earth, where they need to find food and water.”

We also quickly get to know Octavia, played by Marie Avgeropoulos (Fringe, Cult) who notes her character’s crime was simply existing. “She was born kind of in blasphemy. You’re only allowed one child on the Ark and since I was the second, my mother was executed when I was discovered.”

The 100 panel will take place on Friday, July 19th at San Diego Comic-Con in Room 6BCF. The entire pilot will be shown and I’m happy to say I’ll be moderating the panel for the exciting series, which will include cast members Eliza Taylor, Thomas McDonell, Marie Avgeropoulos and Henry Ian Cusick and executive producers Matthew Miller (Chuck, Human Target) and Jason Rothenberg.

Cusick, known to Lost fans for his role as Desmond, plays another higher-up on the Ark. As Washington explained, “A lot of our dynamics are very interesting. A lot of power playing is going on. Henry’s character pretty much wants my position. I can’t tell you what the pilot is about, but it opens up pretty strong in terms of establishing who these characters are, what they’re about and what they want.”

As for the 100, down on Earth, the younger cast members were excited to play characters who have literally never seen the Earth before. “It’s so cool,” said Taylor. “It makes you look at the world in a way you never would have before. The places that we shot, the locations, look completely prehistoric and untouched. So it was really fascinating. It was very easy to see the world through those eyes when we were shooting in these incredible places, trudging through the forest, swinging over rivers.”