iZombie’s Worst Crime? That Rushed Series Finale

Zombies are never going to go out of style, but they certainly had their cultural heyday on TV in the 2010s. At the peak of the decade was AMC’s groundswell hit The Walking Dead (2010–2022), which spawned multiple prequels and spinoffs, while on the other end of the spectrum was Netflix’s brief but endearing horror-comedy The Santa Clarita Diet (2017–2018). In the middle was iZombie, a quirky mix of crime-solving, undead melodrama, and absurdist comedy that ran on The CW for five seasons.

It wasn’t a blockbuster, but the brain-munching show managed to find its niche in the zombie genre, and with good reason. It had clever writing, some sincere performances, and one of the freshest takes on zombies we had seen in quite some time. Created by Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright, it was loosely based on the Vertigo comic book series by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred but changed around a lot of the mythology, though they left the undead heart of the source material well enough alone.

The original comic series took place in Eugene, Oregon, following the story of Gwen Dylan, a zombie gravedigger. She can keep her memories for 30 days by eating brains, and she has a ghost and a were-terrier among her close group of friends who give her a supernatural take on friendship and self-discovery. But the series is quite different. It is still a supernatural take on friendship and self-discovery, just less supernatural and in Seattle. Its protagonist is Liv Moore—yes, the name was intentional—and she is played by New Zealand actress Rose McIver. Liv is the typical type-A med school student with all of her ducks in a row until one day she goes to a party on a boat where one of her friends overdoses on Utopium, a designer drug, combined with an energy drink called Max Rager.

Things spiral out of control and Liv is scratched by zombies, wakes up in a body bag (still alive), ends her relationship with her human fiancé, Major (Robert Buckley), her roommate Peyton (Aly Michalka), and in search of a steady supply of brains to keep her mind, begins working at the medical examiner’s office. It doesn’t take long for her to be discovered by her goofy yet kind-hearted boss, Ravi (Rahul Kohli), a former CDC scientist who has an obsession with discovering a cure for the zombie virus.

The best twist in the pilot is that Liv not only takes on the memories of people, she also takes on the personality of whoever’s brain she eats. This results in a constantly evolving array of people for McIver to play and give life to for weeks at a time. Whether she’s being a bossy dominatrix, a curmudgeonly old man, a sappy romance novelist, a lovable magician, or a pub trivia-loving hitman, Liv is sincere, lovable, and memorable.

The brains also give her clues to help solve crimes, which pairs her with Det. Clive Babineaux (Malcolm Goodwin), who, at least in the beginning, is a true believer and thinks Liv is psychic. Ravi is the sitcom-relief counterpart who scientifically rationalizes the supernatural as much as he can, providing comic relief in his lovable goofiness as he supports Liv through her insanity… except maybe for when she’s a PhD scientist brain; he couldn’t stand that one.

Brains, Bad Guys, and Bittersweet Goodbyes

Of course, every great show needs a worthy villain, and the iZombie found its match in Blaine DeBeers (David Anders)—the suave, slime-ball bad guy zombie who scratched Liv on the boat at that fateful party. Blaine goes from a small-time dealer of low-quality Utopium that got Liv infected to a full-fledged brain trafficker, recruiting a clientele of millionaires and aristocrats who have had to become undead and rely on his services to live.

He is a brash, blowhard with a multitude of daddy issues, an aristocratic sneer, and a twisted way of being charming. And just like Liv, the more we saw of him, the more we just could not look away. There were plenty of other great side characters as well that helped make the show sing. Jessica Harmon had great presence in the role of FBI agent Dale Brazzio, who eventually becomes Clive’s partner, and Bryce Hodgson’s great comedic performance in one episode in season one as Scott E. was so beloved, he was brought back as the twin brother, Don E., who became a loyal sidekick to Blaine. Guest spots like Daran Norris as sleazy weatherman Johnny Frost and Steven Weber as Max Rager CEO Vaughan Du Clark, along with his zombie daughter, Rita (Leanne Lapp), gave us some memorable one-offs and threats that stretched across multiple seasons.

The show had a great start and built a loyal following, but there was a bit of a fall-off in the last couple of seasons. It lost a bit of the juice in the final stretch, and the finale was one of the most divisive in recent memory, being really rushed and unsatisfying for fans in terms of an emotional send-off. Still, what the show did was a rarity: take the absurd and make it heartfelt. It had fun with the ridiculous, some great banter, and a lot of good puns (Major Lillywhite, The Scratching Post bar, and Ravi’s dog “Minor”), and even the actual dishes made with brains (stir-fry, hush puppies, protein shakes) were often as delightfully repulsive as could be.

Sure, the show had zombies. It had gore. It had murder. But it also had soul.