iZombie: The Show That Made Eating Brains Surprisingly Charming

Like vampires, zombies never really go out of style, but the walking dead got a particularly big moment in the 2010s. The decade saw the rise of AMC’s zombie blockbuster The Walking Dead (2010–2022) and Netflix’s offbeat horror-comedy series The Santa Clarita Diet (2017–2018). Sandwiched in the middle is iZombie, a crime-solving, undead-drama-with-a-heart combo that aired for five seasons on The CW.

iZombie was never a huge blockbuster, but it did find its cult following among those who stumbled upon the show and got hooked on its catchy writing, heartfelt performances, and refreshingly original take on the zombie genre. Created by Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright and loosely based on the Vertigo comic book series by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred, iZombie changed much of the original plot and character details from the source material, but retained the beating undead heart at its center.

The comic series revolved around Gwen Dylan, a zombie living and working as a gravedigger in Eugene, Oregon. Gwen’s brain meals keep her undead body breathing and give her 30 days of memories and personality before she reverts to her dim-witted zombie state. The comics gave her an unlikely crew: a dead body hanging out with a ghost and a were-terrier. That supernatural support group helped Gwen with friendships and identity questions while the story delivered laughs and a slight spooky supernatural edge.

The show chose a new heroine, a direction, and a city. In the television series, iZombie, Liv Moore (Rose McIver, a.k.a. another zombie girl with a vegetable-related name) is a type-A, overachieving medical school student whose carefully constructed life implodes when she is scratched by a zombie while crashing a botched boat party (a new designer drug named Utopium mixed with a high-test energy drink called Max Rager is to blame). Liv wakes up in the morning, decomposing and unconscious in a body bag, officially one of the undead herself.

Liv ends her engagement with human fiancé Major (Robert Buckley), emotionally disconnects from roommate Peyton (Aly Michalka), and accepts an ME job, allowing her quiet access to brains. Her secret is quickly discovered by Ravi (Rahul Kohli), her dimpled, sweet-natured, and very slightly socially awkward boss, a once-prominent CDC scientist on sabbatical now helping at the ME as he searches for the ultimate zombie cure.

But Liv’s new zombie life takes an interesting turn: she eats the brain of a victim and discovers the memories and personality traits of the recently deceased person remain with her. She can shake them off at will, but it opens a literal buffet of personas for McIver to play. The show offered her a never-ending lineup of tragic characters to kill and then eat, providing Liv an excuse to soak in the newest brain and its memories. McIver had some fun choices along the way, from domme to curmudgeon to romance novelist to magician to pub trivia expert hitman.

The brainLiv also unlocked clues to solve the victims’ murders, which landed Liv working with Det. Clive Babineaux (Malcolm Goodwin), a charming cop who (at least at first) takes her for a psychically gifted murder-solving medium. The mix of supernatural, cringe comedy, and crime procedural is fun, but Ravi’s delight in Liv’s weirder personality-swapping evenings and shoulder-shaking indignation at her most bland brain choices (oh, hi there, PhD scientist brain, Liv’s only zombie-persona dupe and Ravi’s only “not funny” quip across the series) make him her secret partner, as Liv juggles the demands of zombies, a constant human companion (Peyton, who is eventually fired as Liv’s roommate), and possible human boyfriend (Clive).

Brains, Villains, and Heartfelt Goodbyes

Like all good shows, iZombie had a villain, or two, and Blaine DeBeers (David Anders) fit the bill as the show’s primary antagonist. Blaine was a suave, handsome, utterly amoral zombie who got rich by trafficking Utopium brains in various body bags to the yuppies who came to depend on the designer drug to quell their oombie appetites. Blaine graduated from a wannabe bad-boy Utopium dealer with dodgy tattoo sleeves to a full-on international brain smuggler, with a bustling business of wealthy clients coming to him for regular deliveries.

Blaine was a fun nemesis with a well-deserved spot as a secret “favorite” villain. Anders brought a suave, sociopathic menace to the role with his daddy issues, royally pampered sneer, and sadistic sense of charm. (Shout out to Blaine’s two loyal lackeys, Jawn and Julius, too, for adding another compelling, dual-dimension trio to the show’s capable antagonist cast.)

Another bright spot in the show’s side cast includes Jessica Harmon as Clive’s eventual partner, FBI agent Dale Brazzio and Bryce Hodgson’s hilarious season-one appearance as Scott E., which was so popular, the show’s writers later had Brazzio encounter his and Clive’s dead twin brothers, so that Scott’s character could be resurrected as twin brother Don E., Blaine’s steadfast helper and enabler. Plus, notable guest stars like Daran Norris as sleazy weatherman Johnny Frost, Steven Weber as Max Rager founder Vaughan Du Clark, and Lapp as zombie Duu Clark daughter Rita added a series-spanning secondary villain and one-offs with impact.

Season 1’s “Flight of the Living Dead” has stuck with fans in particular, where Liv eats her carefree, free-spirited former sorority sister Holly (Tasya Teles), who is killed in a skydiving “accident.” Holly’s carefree, danger-loving energy lifts Lip and gives her a lighter approach to life, in ways big and small. It’s one of the series’ key turning points for Liv and a high point of her emotional journey, one of many ways iZombie showed that the true heart of the show was about rediscovering our humanity in the strangest of places.

Sure, the show had zombies, murder, and some zombie gore. But it also had soul.