As someone who hates zombies and all things horror, I found that this was a strange show to become addicted to. However, “iZombie” is an interesting twist on a few rather played-out genres. As a former actress and current acting enthusiast, I must say that Rose McIver’s performance as protagonist Liz Moore is spectacular.
Mostly, Liv Moore is a typical girl. She is a driven and successful resident in a big Seattle hospital with a perfect boyfriend (Robert Buckley) — in an abs, disposition, general attractiveness, owning a house and being a good person kind of way — and a gorgeous best friend. So basically, Liv is what we and our parents all dream of us becoming.
Then, Liv gets turned into a zombie at a crazy boat party that she didn’t want to go to in the first place. Lesson number one of “iZombie”: don’t do drugs, kids. Suddenly, her boyfriend is out of the picture (because “zombism” is contagious) and her medical residency is gone (for obvious reasons). Once everything else she has ever had is suddenly out of the picture, her best friend (Aly Michalka) thinks Liv’s lost it. This downturn might sound depressing, especially as Liv suddenly has to work in a morgue to earn a living and access a steady supply of brains to eat, but her new boss is an adorable British doctor (Rahul Kohli) and a super cool guy. Plus, the show is a comedy so it can’t get too dark.
To Binge or Not to Binge
If a zombie cop show sounds unappetizing to you, think again. “iZombie” is definitely worth a binge. The show features four seasons of increasingly dramatic humor and a pretty decent storyline as well. Besides, it’s a CW show, so the actors are beautiful.
In the series, it turns out when zombies eat brains, they get visions of their victims’ memories. Liv uses them to solve murders. There’s just one little side effect — she also takes on the victims’ personalities. Watching McIver play everything from a womanizer to a punk to an agoraphobic super-hacker is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. There are lots of action scenes and a few love triangles along with some good old mythical detective work. It’s everything you could ask for in a popular TV show about zombies, cops and self-imposed abstinence.
Best Episode: “Salvation Army” Season 2, Episode 19
I really like this episode because it satisfies so many loose ends and overdone plot points. It features a badass woman and an epic party. This is also one of the goriest episodes in the series, but I didn’t mind it too much. I also really love Isobel, a character who shows up in season four, so any of her episodes are also the best in my opinion.
Similar Shows: “Santa Clarita Diet,” “Riverdale” and “The 100.” If you like “The Vampire Diaries,” you will also probably like this show.
Trigger Warnings: Well, the zombies do eat brains so there is some bloodshed. Also, some of the “devolved” zombies are kind of scary. On the whole, I don’t think that this show is particularly rife with triggers and most of the violence is pretty tame. The series is rated TV-14.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (It gets a little dry in season four, but Isobel is in it, so watch it anyway)
“iZombie”
Available to stream on Netflix
58 episodes, Approximately 44 hours