We know you've been dying to get a glimpse of the Shadow World, so ahead of its big debut at New York Comic Con, MTV News is bringing you this sneak peek from the "Shadowhunters" set in Toronto.

We chatted with the stars of ABC Family's (soon to be known as Freeform) anticipated new series "Shadowhunters" about how the upcoming television show differs from its source material, Cassandra Clare's bestselling "Mortal Instruments" series. Instead of adopting a "Game of Thrones" formula, in which they adapt one book per season, "Shadowhunters" is changing things up for "TMI" fans.

"The book has already been told," Alberto Rosende (Simon), whose read the "Mortal Instruments" series, told MTV News. "That's already been laid out. We now have the opportunity to go into the book and explore possibilities that the book didn't. We get to see the world in a new way, and we get to show the fans in a deeper sense because now everything gets to come to life, and you get to investigate these parts that maybe Cassandra Clare didn't have time to."

"The first book is not the first season," Matthew Daddario (Alec) confirmed. "The first season covers more."

For "Shadowhunters," it's all about building the characters and their relationships with one another, and we're not just talking about ships and parabatai.

"It's very clear in the show that relationships are the most important thing," Katherine McNamara (Clary) said. "The emotional journeys of the characters are what drives everything else."

But these are still the same characters you know and love. Jace is snarky and sarcastic, while plucky protagonist Clary is still as brave and strong-willed as you know her to be, regardless of how you feel about her hair. Izzy is feisty and strong; her brother Alec is still the beautifully tortured soul you fell in love with on the page. And Simon? Well, he's till a bit of dork -- a cool, rock 'n' roll dork, that is.

"Character-wise, we've kept everyone fairly close," Dominic Sherwood (Jace) told us. "The story is very similar, but we're changing how we get to places -- so the journey is a little different."

"I think that's so vital for something like this, to keep it fresh," he added, "otherwise everyone who's read the end of the sixth book will know exactly what happens."