How iZombie Made Role-Switching Feel Fresh Every Time

When it comes to zombies, the 2010s were a particularly big decade. The Walking Dead took up a massive amount of prime real estate on TV, and experimentation in the genre took place from the likes of Black Mirror, to zombie-oriented shows on The CW’s DarkU, to geek-favorite Nathan Fillion-hunts-zombies series iZombie, to a different Netflix zombie show in the horror-comedy The Santa Clarita Diet.

In many ways, iZombie could be put into the latter category, a supernatural procedural dramedy that ran for five seasons but was no Walking Dead. It didn’t quite hit a critical mass to become a mega-hit, but it was a big hit in the hearts of its fans. By the end, there was something of a built-in weekly viewership from the draw of the humor, the characters, and the strange mixture of weekly case-of-the-week procedural with the overall mythology of zombies.

Liv’s boss, Ravi Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli), quickly discovered her secret and was not only fascinated but determined to find a cure, having once been fired from the CDC for cautioning the risk of this kind of virus. Liv also worked with Detective Clive Babineaux (Malcolm Goodwin), who thinks Liv is psychic, when the truth is that whenever Liv eats a brain, she takes in a flash of memories of the victim, and she also takes on some of the victim’s personality traits in varying degrees. These traits ranged from the helpful (learning a foreign language from a brain) to the more difficult (arachnophobia), and as you might imagine, sometimes the brains proved incredibly useful in cracking open murder cases.

Brains, Villains, and Characters We’ll Never Forget

The most important thing in a television show is a good villain, and iZombie had a good one in the person of Blaine DeBeers (David Anders), who is the zombie who bit Liv at the party. Blaine was a drug dealer and a dealer of the tainted Utopium before he got started in brains, as he made a business out of infecting his high-paying clients, which at first helped with a customer base. He was not only suave and attractive but also ruthless and an emotionally damaged product of his family life. He is also a great foil to Liv, as he serves as a compelling villain, but sometimes a source of reluctant help or an ally.

A good amount of the humor in the show is in the details, such as Major’s last name being “Lillywhite,” Blaine’s butcher shop in the first season named “Meat Cute,” or the fact that Ravi and Major would eventually adopt a dog that they named “Minor.” One of the places in Seattle that the zombies went was a bar called “The Scratching Post.” Fans were also extremely into the dishes that Liv would whip up out of the brains she consumed. From the stir-fries, pizza roll medleys, and hush puppies that Liv would create to the more haute cuisine that Blaine would prepare with his gourmet dishes of gnocchi stuffed with medulla oblongata.

Many other colorful characters were introduced throughout the series, including Jessica Harmon’s Dale Bozzio, who moves from being an FBI investigator to Clive’s partner. Bryce Hodgson’s first appearance was as Scott E., a memorable patient in a mental hospital that Clive befriends, only for him to return several seasons later as his evil twin, Don E., who worked for Blaine’s operation. Guest stars, such as Daran Norris as sleazy weatherman Johnny Frost, or Steven Weber as the CEO of Max Rager, Vaughan du Clark, brought some other memorable performances. Rita (Leanne Lapp), who was Vaughan’s daughter, died in a very much on-brand way for the show in the season two finale, eating her father’s brains before she was killed for his murder.

One of the most enjoyable and consistent aspects of the show was Liv’s experiences and the change in her personality when she ate brains. From a dominatrix to an old man grump to a LARPing professor to a kids’ basketball coach, McIver played each new personality with verve, often for both comedy and dramatic effect. At other times, the influence from the brains was just for laughs, like when Lowell ate the brain of a gay man before going on a date with Liv, or when Liv, Blaine, and Don E. can bond about conspiracy theories after eating brains that caused paranoia.

One standout episode for me was “Flight of the Living Dead,” in which Liv ate the brain of her old adventurous sorority sister, Holly (Tasya Teles), who had died in a suspicious skydiving accident. The experience of being Holly, with all her spontaneity and zest for life, became a catalyst for Liv’s own need to reevaluate her safe and more careful approach to life after becoming a zombie.

The later seasons of iZombie did start to sag a bit in terms of narrative and pace, and the rushed finale is underwhelming compared to what came before. However, it was the strong characters, the creativity of the story, and just the overall charm of the show that have made it maintain a strong fan base over the years. It’s proof that even when the zombie market is at its densest, there’s still room for a quirky show mixing murder, puns, and hearts—and one brain at a time.