As much as I enjoy many zombie movies and TV shows, zombies have always struck me as slightly less versatile onscreen monsters, with a single primary function of shambling — or, sometimes, running — mindlessly after people in order to eat their brains and/or other organs. So it’s particularly refreshing when a show like “iZombie” comes along, finding a fresh take on the familiar beats of zombie storytelling. There are plenty of references to zombie classics, from “Night of the Living Dead” to “28 Days Later,” but the series forges its own unique path in the zombie subgenre.
The supernatural drama created by “Veronica Mars” veterans Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright aired for five seasons on The CW from 2015-2019, but never quite achieved the same level of fan following as other CW genre shows. It’s been available on various streaming platforms since then, and as of this month, all five seasons of “iZombie” are streaming onPrime Video.
One other advantage for the potential rediscovery of “iZombie” is star Rose McIver’s breakout role on another, much more popular supernatural series, CBS’ “Ghosts.” She brings the same likable presence and slightly snarky demeanor to her portrayal of assistant medical examiner Liv Moore, who uses her zombie abilities to help solve crimes in her Seattle hometown.
‘iZombie’ creates its own unique zombie mythos
Although it’s based on a Vertigo comic book series by writer Chris Roberson and artist Mike Allred, “iZombie” takes very little from itsmas and Ruggiero-Wright’s many amusing pun-based monikers. Liv is a promising medical resident with a picture-perfect relationship with her hunky fiancé Major Lillywhite (Robert Buckley) when an ill-fated night out at a boat party ends in her becoming one of the undead
Liv isn’t a grunting, stumbling corpse, though; she’s essentially still herself, just with paler skin, white hair and almost no resting heart rate. Oh, and she also has a craving to eat brains, without which she’ll degenerate further into a more stereotypical zombie. As is often the case for network TV shows, “iZombie” grafts its high-concept premise onto a crime procedural, as Liv quits her hospital job to go work in the police morgue alongside Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli). She discovers that eating brains not only gives her sustenance, but also provides visions from the dead person’s life, which helps in finding out information about murder victims.
Liv teams up with police detective Clive Babineaux (Malcolm Goodwin) to aid in his investigations, at first claiming to be psychic before eventually letting him in on her zombie secret. Initially, Liv and fellow boat party victim Blaine DeBeers (David Anders) seem to be the only surviving zombies in Seattle, but “iZombie” eventually builds out an entire zombie subculture, with the effects of brain-eating as a central facet.
Along with the dead person’s memories, zombies also absorb some of the victim’s personality, giving McIver the chance to play everything from a hockey bro to a dominatrix over the course of the series.
‘iZombie’ mixes quirky characters with sci-fi ambition
Blaine is just one of many memorable villains that Liv contends with across five seasons of “iZombie,” and guest stars including Steven Weber, Robert Knepper and Jason Dohring of “Veronica Mars” make strong impressions as devious antagonists. Liv also builds a makeshift team/family of allies as more characters learn about her zombie nature.
Although she breaks up with Major when she first becomes undead, he’s quickly drawn back into various zombie conspiracies, as is Liv’s best friend and roommate, lawyer Peyton Charles (Aly Michalka). Recurring characters like vain TV weatherman Johnny Frost (Daran Norris) and smarmy defense attorney Brandt Stone (Ken Marino) give the show a comfortable, lived-in feel as Liv navigates her new existence.
In its later seasons, “iZombie” gets a little too ambitious, turning Seattle into a dystopian zombie enclave ruled by the private military contractor Fillmore Graves, and the budget doesn’t always match up to the grand storytelling ambitions. Even so, the creators mostly maintain the episodic procedural structure amid the increasing serialization, giving Liv the chance to adopt more offbeat personalities and bring justice to more murdered people.
McIver takes on every new persona with enthusiasm and skill, showcasing her wide range as a comedic actor while also giving her chances for dramatic depth as the stakes rise for Liv and her friends. Throughout the series, Thomas, Ruggiero-Wright and their collaborators stretch the boundaries of the zombie concept, never falling back on the obvious clichés.
As someone who’s seen seemingly every type of zombie story, I find that consistently delightful, even more so as zombies retain their hold on horror pop culture, rarely doing more than what’s expected of them.
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