Kevin Smith has revealed that his upcoming reality series will celebrate "nerd or geek" culture.
Comic Book Men will premiere on AMC on Sunday (February 12), and will focus on Smith's comic book store in Red Bank, New Jersey, named Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash.
Speaking about the type of person the show is geared towards, he said: "We're pathetic! Look, one of the great things about the dudes in our world is that we are very self-aware. We're in on the joke.
"As a kid you're encouraged to be yourself, when what most of us really wanted to be was someone else - someone else much, much cooler! But that's all changed. Back in the day, we'd bristle at being called nerd or geek. Now we wear it like a badge of honour."
Smith explained that his staff at Secret Stash were not originally excited about filming a reality series, and described them as "geniuses".
"They didn't want to do a reality show. I had to back them into it. But now that we've seen it we're all wondering why we didn't do this sooner. These guys are geniuses. They walk to the beat of their own drums and have maintained who they are in the face of adversity, and that to me is heroic.
"There is nobody on TV more complex. You turn a camera on them and comedy happens, drama happens. This show didn't start out being about the Stash. We had planned to have a search to find the best, most interesting, most acerbic comic-book staff in North America. Until it was pointed out to me that it was all right under my nose."
On the show's scheduled timeslot, he told Fox News: "AMC has nuzzled us safe as kittens in the slot right after The Walking Dead and right before their talk show Talking Dead.
"That's our audience! So you will definitely see us promoting the Walking Dead comics in our store and on our show. We know how to kiss ass."
