iZombie just concluded its third season with a pretty big change to its status quo. I reviewed the finale here, and I did a brief email interview with co-creator Rob Thomas about why they made the change and what the show is now, coming up just as soon as we watch some TV while my clothes dry…
What were your expectations of the series’ likelihood for renewal when you came up with this ending, and how much have you guys talked through what a post D-Day world is like, and what the show is now?
The writing staff has talked about Season 4 being the season where we launched into a post D-Day universe for a long time — maybe since season one.
Admittedly, we might’ve thought we’d be 60 episodes into the series rather than rather than 45. We didn’t know we’d be doing these 13-episode seasons, but this has been the plan. We didn’t arrive at it, because we thought we might be cancelled, and we thought we’d go out with a bang. We’ve felt confident there was going to be a season 4 for a long time.
There will still be a case of the week in post D-Day Seattle though things will work a bit differently. There will be a detective at Fillmore Graves who handles murder cases when the victim is a zombie, but the Seattle PD will handle all murdered human cases. Also, every Seattle homicide detective will get to work with a zombie helper. Clive won’t be the only one with the benefit of a partner with visions. Chase Graves will be trying very hard to make the trains run on time in the walled city of Seattle. He promised the citizens that mail would be delivered, garbage would be collected, etc.
Despite his best efforts, the crime rate is going to go up significantly. Clive and Liv will have their hands full with murder cases.
Season 4 will ask the question of whether humans and zombies can live side by side when humans know of zombies’ existence. It will come as no surprise that it will be a very bumpy road.
Will terminally ill people be flocking to Seattle to be scratched?
Much will be made of people flocking to Seattle to be scratched because they’re ill or just plain old. Chase Graves will have to put an end to zombies scratching humans as they are barely receiving enough brains from their fellow Americans to feed the zombies they already have. An underground railroad of sorts will spring up that will sneak humans into Seattle hoping to be scratched. If these humans trust the wrong people, they’re liable to be served up at Blaine’s upscale cemetery-to-table restaurant, Romero’s.
Did you feel the old incarnation of the show had run its course?
I like telling seasons as though each one is a book in an anthology series. I feel like I could have had more episodes in any given season, but I’m giddy about the upcoming season. I’ve been eager to get here. I feel like there’s a fun story everywhere I look in this new version of Seattle.
Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@uproxx.com