iZombie (stylized as iZOMBiE) is an American horror comedy-drama television series that aired on The CW from March 17, 2015 to August 1, 2019.
Summary[]
Seattle medical resident Olivia "Liv" Moore is turned into a zombie while attending a boat party. She abandons her career and breaks up with her fiancé, much to the disappointment and puzzlement of her family. She discovers that if she does not periodically satisfy her new appetite for brains, she starts turning into a stereotypical zombie, stupid and homicidal, so she takes a job at the King Countymorgue and eats the brains of the bodies she autopsies. Her secret is guessed by her boss, Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti. Ravi soon becomes Liv's friend and confidant, and as a scientist, he is intrigued by her condition.
Whenever Liv eats a dead person's brain, she temporarily inherits some of their personality traits and experiences flashbacks of their life. Those visions are generally triggered by sights (events or objects) or sounds (repeated sentences). In the case of murder victims, the flashbacks offer clues about their killers. Liv uses this new ability to help Police Detective Clive Babineaux solve the crimes, passing herself off as a psychic, while Ravi works to develop a cure for Liv's affliction in the hope that one day she will be able to resume her former life.
Cast[]
Main[]
- Rose McIver as Olivia "Liv" Moore
- Malcolm Goodwin as Clive Babineaux
- Rahul Kohli as Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti
- Robert Buckley as Major Lilywhite
- David Anders as Blaine "DeBeers" McDonough
- Aly Michalka as Peyton Charles (recurring seasons 1–2; main season 3)
Season overview[]
- Main article: List of iZombie episodes
| Season | No. of episodes | Originally aired | Time slot | Average ratings | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Rating (18-49) |
Viewers (millions) | |||
| 1 | 13 | March 17, 2015 | June 9, 2015 | Tuesdays 9/8c | 0.7 | 1.76[1] |
| 2 | 19 | October 6, 2015 | April 12, 2016 | 0.5 | 1.33[2] | |
| 3 | 13 | April 4, 2017 | June 27, 2017 | 0.3 | 0.87[3] | |
| 4 | 13 | February 26, 2018 | May 28, 2018 | Mondays 9/8c | 0.2 | 0.76[4] |
| 5 | 13 | May 2, 2019 | August 1, 2019 | Thursdays 8/7c | 0.65[5] | |
Production[]
Development[]
Thomas was approached by Warner Brothers to develop the show while he was editing the film version of Veronica Mars. At first he refused, but Warner Brothers was insistent, and he eventually took the job. Prior to iZombie, Thomas was attempting to pitch his own zombie television series; when AMC picked up The Walking Dead, it was "so similar to what we were doing, it just killed that project," according to Thomas.
The opening credits for the series are drawn by Michael Allred, the main artist and co-creator of the original comic book. The show's theme tune is "Stop, I'm Already Dead" by Deadboy & the Elephantmen.
On October 5, 2015, The CW ordered five additional scripts for the second season, and on November 23, 2015, the network ordered six additional episodes into production, bringing the season order to 19 episodes.
On May 11, 2018, it was renewed for a fifth season, then creator and executive producer announced that it would end after five seasons on May 17, 2018.
Casting[]
Alexandra Krosney originally played the part of Peyton Charles. After the show was ordered to series, she was replaced by Aly Michalka, and the role was changed from regular cast to recurring. Michalka was later promoted to series regular for the show's third season. Nora Dunn was initially attached to play Liv's mother; this was changed when it was realized that her character was going to play a smaller role than initially envisioned. She was replaced by Molly Hagan. Thomas has stated that this move was a financial decision.
On May 22, 2016, it was announced that Aly Michalka was promoted to series regular for season three. On July 21, 2017, it was announced that Robert Knepper was promoted to series regular for season four.