What would you do if you were suddenly turned into a zombie? But there’s a catch: the people around you are still, well, people, and you’re left wondering what your present and future actually look like. You now have a horrifying secret that you don’t want to share with your partner, family, or friends, and you don’t want them to be in danger. And the regular pressures of daily life seem stressful…
That’s the premise of a TV series that aired on The CW for five seasons from 2015 to 2019, and it’s one of the strangest and most entertaining shows I’ve ever seen. Co-created by Diane Ruggiero-Wright and Rob Thomas, who also created Veronica Mars (one of my favorite 2000s shows), iZombie is an underrated show that is so much funnier and smarter than many others.
‘iZombie’ Is a Perfect Thriller Series That Deserves More Attention
iZombie follows Olivia Moore (Rose McIver), whose life ends when she realizes she’s a zombie after going to a party on a boat. I think this is when her life truly begins, though… just in a different way from what she expected. Liv starts working in a coroner’s office and realizes she has a unique power: if she eats someone’s brain, she can learn more about them, which allows her to become a huge help for the Seattle Police Department. This also solves the problem of how she can eat brains and also hide what’s going on with her.
Yes, the premise is weird, and the show gets even weirder. Each time Liv eats someone’s brain, she essentially becomes them, whether she suddenly acts like a parental figure or starts painting. In Season 4, Episode 7, “Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Brain” (great title), she eats the brain of a serial dater and becomes flirtatious. These plotlines allow the show to keep its light-hearted tone while also asking questions about growth, change, resilience, adaptation, and identity. When Liv stops acting like someone else and returns to her regular self, does she want to keep any of those traits, and does she think about herself differently?
When I discovered iZombie several years ago, I binge-watched it quickly, and I would suggest trying to get through Season 1 in a weekend. (It’s only 13 episodes, after all.) No offense to the beloved post-apocalyptic series The Walking Dead, but it’s nice to see a zombie series where one character interacts with humans and tries to move between two worlds. Sure, most episodes feel familiar as Liv works on new cases, but her journey is so fascinating that it never feels stale.
iZombie focuses on Liv’s clever character arc throughout all five seasons as she wonders if she can really handle this big change. Although Liv is great, my favorite character is Ravi Chakrabarti, a medical examiner played by Rahul Kohli, who appears in several of Mike Flanagan’s Netflix thriller series. Liv and Ravi have a sweet friendship, and their witty dynamic is fun to watch.
By the time you get to the fifth and final season, you’ll be impressed by how iZombie manages to keep up its unique premise and remain fascinating. The main storyline completely changes, which some might find frustrating since it’s easy to become attached to the fun formula of the first four seasons. However, I thought this shift was a good thing, considering how dull some shows become at the end. And, without any spoilers, I’ll say that the story goes in a direction that makes total sense.
If you start iZombie this weekend, I can say you’ll definitely become invested quickly, and in just a few weekends, you’ll be all caught up with Liv’s journey and thinking about what you would do in this strange situation.
- Release Date
-
2015 – 2019-00-00
- Network
-
The CW
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
