iZombie Casts Rose McIver As Series Lead
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With the popularity of zombies across pop culture at the moment, it’s no wonder that The CW is getting in on the game with the upcoming series iZombie. Based on the popular comic book of the same name from Vertigo Comics, iZombie is being brought to life by writer/producer Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars).
As reported on ScreenCrush, Warner Bros. and The CW cast Rose McIver as Olivia “Liv” Moore for the show’s lead. McIver’s character is a med student who turns into a zombie, then takes a job in a coroner’s office to gain access to brains, so she can maintain her humanity and sanity. In the comic book series, the protagonist’s name is Gwendolyn “Gwen” Price. She is playing the same character, but they changed her name for some reason.
Rose McIver has a recurring role on Showtime’s Masters of Sex, and also appeared on ABC’s Once Upon a Time as Tinker Bell. The New Zealand-born McIver had a main role as Summer Landsdown on Power Rangers RPM back in 2009. She also made a guest appearance on the syndicated fantasy TV show Legend of the Seeker. McIver’s movie roles include The Lovely Bones, The Piano, and Brightest Star.
iZombie will also include a crime procedural aspect, because the memories from the corpses she snacks on haunt Liv’s mind after she consumes them. She will team up with her medical-examiner boss and a police detective, played by Malcolm Goodwin, to solve homicide cases. Once the cases are solved, Liv is at peace…at least until she has to eat another corpse’s brain again. [It’s a hell of a way to clear cold cases. – Ed.] Alexandra Krosney plays Liv’s unsuspecting best friend and roommate, while David Anders plays the series’ villain, a wealthy man who gets in over his head with the drug trade.
Rob Thomas will direct iZombie‘s pilot, while his Veronica Mars co-writer Diane Ruggiero will serve as the show’s executive producer with Danielle Stokdyk and Dan Etheridge, both of whom have worked with Thomas in the past. While Rob Thomas has built a cult following thanks to Veronica Mars and Party Down, he has yet to find success as a mainstream TV writer and producer. Maybe iZombie will be just what he needs.
The CW and iZombie will join the glut of other networks jumping on the zombie bandwagon, including NBC’s Babylon Fields, A&E’s remake of the hit French drama The Returned, and ABC’s mid-season replacement series Resurrection, which is receiving good buzz. And of course there’s always The Walking Dead.
Assuming it gets picked up, it’s likely that iZombie will premiere in The CW’s fall lineup later this year.
