Comic-Con: ‘Under The Dome’ Panel Offers Sneak Peek But No Real Spoilers

From the clips they showed today at Comic-Con, the second season of Under The Dome is about to get a lot harsher. Big Jim is on the warpath, Barbie is on the move and what’s underneath Chester’s Mill might turn out to be as deadly as the dome that’s over top of it. ”No one is safe under the dome,” said executive produce Neal Baer today about whether more characters would die on the CBS summer drama.

“We kept the body count down for the beginning of the season so we can rev it up towards the end,” Baer added during today’s panel discussion. “There are no set rules,” the EP also remarked about whether killed-off characters could come back.

A five-minute clip of Episode 7 was shown during the panel, hinting with Mike Vogel’s character Dale “Barbie” Barbara falling into a deep cavern that the dome may prove not to so impregnable. “One of our characters might get out of the dome this season, literally,” said Baer. “We just finished shooting last week and we know the ending but we won’t tell you.” The episode airs August 11.

After the video played, Vogel joked with a series of goodbyes to his fellow panelists and the crowd, but it seems unlikely the lead will be one of the departed. He revealed later that more of the character’s background, secrets and why he really joined the military will be unveiled further into the season.

Baer and Vogel were joined on the panel today in a nearly standing-room-only Ballroom 20 by cast members Dean Norris, Rachelle Lefevre, Alexander Koch, Colin Ford and Eddie Cahill. This is UTD’s second visit to the geekfest. The Steven Spielberg-produced series based on the writings of Stephen King made a big splash with its debut last year. A smash hit for CBS when it premiered last summer, it was renewed for a 13-episode second season in July 2013. Although the series returned down this season, it has proven a strong DVR draw.

“We’ve set it up so we can keep going because we have a lot of stories to tell,” said Baer of the series being planned for at least three to five seasons. Calling the series “a parable for our times,” Baer also noted that “we’ve gone bit beyond the book,” in reference to King’s novel. “We talk to Steven all the time and he reads every script and loves it when we kill a character,” Baer said of the author’s involvement, “and you can’t forget Steven and his people at Amblin.” Norris, who plays the evil Big Jim, told the crowd he loved King’s direct involvement with UTD the TV show. “It’s great to see him on the set and its great to know he was a voice and is guiding the show,” the former Breaking Bad actor said.

Kevin Frazier, co-host of The Insider, moderated the panel, which ended with a trailer for Spielberg’s other CBS series, Extant starring Halle Berry. Maybe that will be here next year.