Based on the comic book of the same name, the quirky and deliciously fun CW series iZombie follows Olivia “Liv” Moore (Rose McIver), as she navigates her life as a newly turned zombie, who also happens to experience visions from the point of view of the person whose brain she consumes. Keeping her new life a secret from friends and family, she decides to pass herself off as psychic, in order to use her new ability to help investigate and solve crimes.
While at WonderCon to promote their freshman series, actors Rose McIver (“Liv Moore”), David Anders (“Blaine DeBeers”), Malcolm Goodwin (“Detective Clive Babineaux”) and Robert Buckley (“Major Lilywhite”) were joined by executive producers Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright to talk about using the comic books as a template and expanding from there, just how many zombies might be out there, what’s still to come this season, and having a rough plan in place already for Season 2 (the show has not officially been picked up yet). From those interviews, we’ve compiled 15 things you should know about iZombie.
- When asked about an exact zombie head count, EP Rob Thomas said, “You won’t find out how many zombies are out there, this season. You’ll know there are more. You will meet more zombies.”
- According to Thomas and EP Diane Ruggiero-Right, we’ll come a little bit closer to understanding what happened at the lake. We’ll also go down a path with Ravi developing a cure. We’ll learn more about Blaine’s business model, and how it’s connected to the people Major works with. And everything is building toward a showdown, by the end of the season.
- Thomas said, “Over the course of the season, the episodes become less case-of-the-week and more focused on the zombie mythology. We don’t throw out the case-of-the-week, but there is a shift to the zombie world.”
- Because the gelatin of the brains is so disgusting, Rose McIver said they have a spit bucket nearby for when she has to eat them.
- When asked what skills or traits she’d still love to explore, McIver said, “I’d quite like to take on a magician and learn some of those tricks. They’re so secretive. It would be great to get inside one of their heads. And I like the showmanship of it all. I think Liv would have a lot of fun with that.”
- Robert Buckley said that he was cautious about his role because he didn’t want to just be the guy who shows up for one or two scenes an episode, as the guy in love with Liv. But after talking to Rob Thomas, he was reassured that Major would have his own life, separate from Liv.
- Anders took a look at the comic books because the show uses it as a template, but his character does not appear in them. Instead, he was told Blaine was supposed to be a James Spader-type sleazeball from Pretty in Pink, but he read it more as James Spader in Less than Zero.
- Malcolm Goodwin was told that his character, Detective Clive Babineaux, should have a Cleavon Little/Shaft vibe. He also watched a lot of The First 48 episodes, to get a feel for the role.
- In regard to what’s coming up for Blaine, Anders said, “There’s some love in the air. As you know now, I’m a brains dealer, so you’ll se more of my operation and you’ll meet some of my zombie army. Just expect more.”
- McIver revealed that, in Episode 12, Liv eats two brains, and some very entertaining stuff happens, as a result.
- In regard to the show’s finale, Buckley said, “We had to add an extra day because there was just so much to it. Of all the shows that I’ve worked on, this is the best finale I’ve ever been a part of. Not lip service, but genuinely. They knock it out of the park and finish strong.”
iZombie airs on Tuesday nights on The CW.