SYFY just released the trailer for their new zombie series Day of the Dead, which they profess is "the ultimate love letter to the godfather of zombies, George A. Romero." And while both the series and the iconic horror film share the same name, that may be the only thing they both have in common. Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas serve as the showrunners and writers for the series, with The Void's Steven Kostanski directing the first four episodes. The trailer for the series dropped today during the show’s Comic-Con@Home panel, which featured Elinoff, Thomas and director Steven Kostanski, as well as stars Keenan Tracey and Natalie Malaika.
The Day of the Dead series follows six strangers as they attempt to survive the first 24 hours of a zombie invasion. It is inspired by Romero's film of the same name, which is the third installation in his Night of the Living Dead series, and follows survivors of a zombie apocalypse sheltering in an underground bunker in Florida. The panel for the series was titled “Day of the Dead: Adapting a Legend," and discussed how the show pays homage to Romero's classic film. In addition to Tracey and Malaika, the series stars Daniel Doheny, Kristy Dinsmore and newcomer Morgan Holmstrom.
The trailer does suggest a little dissonance between what is marketed as a remake of Romero's film, and a completely different series. While Romero's Day of the Dead focused on the claustrophobia of its premise and the breakdown of communication, SYFY's Day of the Dead seems to opt more for B-movie gore and humor. Not to say that this makes it any less appealing, zombie fans should still appreciate and enjoy the mounds of blood and situational gags that this more light-hearted take provides.
Additionally, the trailer suggests some emotional moments are also in store, as there will likely be a "found family" narrative to tie our characters together. The filmmakers also very much understand what type of story and tone they are employing, setting up a lot of badass action sequences against what looks like The Walking Dead zombie rejects.
SYFY has announced that Day of the Dead will premiere sometime in October, which no concrete date yet set. Check out the first trailer below.