Of the productions being filmed in Hartford these days, Royal Comics is the first to have nerd appeal.

Royal Comics is a homegrown web series written and directed by Helder Mira, who is a long-time city resident, currently living in the Asylum Hill neighborhood.

The series’ pilot will be premiering in September.

Mira says the original idea for Royal Comics began in 2002 “when some friends,” he says, “had an idea to do a sitcom for public access television.”

He was so into this idea that he “wrote a rough draft in a hotel room in New York instead of sight-seeing with some friends.”

What he came up with, though, did not mesh with what the group had in mind. It remained dormant until last year, when encouragement from friends pushed him to revisit it. Mira says, “I revised the script, trimming the fat, cutting unnecessary characters and impractical plot lines to make it work within a web series time frame and budget.”

After that phase, he said “there were a few table reads with actors who had committed for the roles and they gave story and character notes and script ideas to change or keep. Filming lasted four days over the last week in June.”

As for the actors, most of them are local. Mira says,

Vladimir Perez, Dan Russell, and Joe Leonardo are all members of Sea Tea Improv whom I had met and began collaborating with in the spring of 2010. […] When I began revising the script into it’s new version, I was writing with them in mind for the three principal characters of Mario (the editor-in-chief), Paul (the artist) and the intern/office monkey. They were cast because they fit the look and characters as I had been thinking of them.

The one actor who does not live in the area still has ties here. Mira explains:

Daina Schatz lives and acts in New York, but has roots in Hartford, being from West Hartford and having interned at Hartford Stage. When she and I met via a mutual friend, during a visit home, I almost immediately recognized the character of Deirdre (the writer and publisher of Royal Comics) and asked her to read for the part.

Thinking about the larger picture, Mira says the rest of the cast, “some of who would be returning characters in the long run,” include Julia Pistell and Greg Ludovici, both of Sea Tea Improv. Pistell and Ludovici have also performed with Hartford Children’s Theatre and HartBeat Ensemble.

Mira says, “the actors have actually driven the production; after reading the script, they got into their characters and committed to the story and project. It wouldn’t have been made without their dedication.”

When asked why he chose to set this series in Hartford, Mira replied, “Why not?”.  He elaborated:

Hartford has as many stories to tell as any other metropolitan area. And Hartford is as much a character as it is a setting. It was a publishing hub, attracting Mark Twain to move here. But it’s also an underdog story and the gang at Royal Comics are just that, underdogs trying to tell their stories and get their art out there.

And therein lies the appeal. For those dissatisfied with sitcoms about the bland, all-American types we try to avoid in real life, Royal Comics appeals to an audience who may more readily identify with artistic or creative characters.

The pilot will be released weekly, broken into five, five-minute chapters. Mira says that the pilot ends with a cliff hanger; currently he has enough material written to complete a twelve-episode season.

On August 26th there will be a sneak preview of the Royal Comics pilot. This fundraiser and wrap party will take place at La Paloma Sabanera at 6pm.

To watch a teaser trailer, click here.