One short season in and iZombie is finding its stride with its likable characters, snappy dialogue and perfect blend of emotional drama and levity. And last week’s San Diego Comic Con proved that iZombie has left its mark on fans as several iZombie cosplays flooded into Ballroom 20 to hear stories, spoilers, and fun facts from those that create and portray their beloved zombies.
Here’s what the iZombie panel didn’t tell you:
iZombie is Joss Whedon approved.
When talking about his inspirations for the show, Rob Thomas frequently mentions Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but it wasn’t until this Comic Con weekend that Rob got confirmation that Whedon watches his show. Rob shared, “What made my day today was Rahul Kohli ran into Joss Whedon last night and Joss said oh I love your show. He was such a supporter of Veronica Mars. I was really thrilled to hear he was watching iZombie.”
Everybody loves Blaine
© 2015, Kristen Coveleskie
David Anders’ Blaine may be the designated bad guy, but many of the questions were about his character. David attributes Blaine’s popularity to the dialogue. He commented, “I feel like Rob, Diane and the writers do a good job of writing him on the fence. He is twisting his mustache a lot but there’s something charming he does. You want to punch him. You want to kill this guy but you also kind of want to have a beer with him.”
The love goes both ways as Diane Ruggiero-Wright gushed about the actor saying, “Dave Anders is just so brilliant. I wanted to have edible sets behind him so he could reach out and just chew a piece of scenery… He’s such a fan favorite you just want to write more to him and see more of him. He’s like a goldfish in a bowl. Give him a room and he’ll keep growing and growing. The more you give him, the more you get to see him shine.”
Plus, for the upcoming season 2, Rob Thomas revealed there will be a lot more Blaine and Liv scenes as Blaine figures out how to keep his power with his renewed humanity.
© 2015, Kristen Coveleskie
Rose McIver’s multiple personalities
The fun for Rose is that she is not just playing Liv, but every week her character eats a new brain that comes with new personality traits and skill sets. Her favorite brain from last season was the gamer brain because that one was the most difficult. Teasing next season’s brains, Rose says she is dusting off her guitar skills, but has yet to be asked to use her native New Zealand accent. Perhaps the greatest challenge to this character is maintaining the “Liv-ness” throughout the various brain-induced qualities. Rose says that Liv still exists at the heart of every trait and skill induced by the various brains and hopes that comes across.
Clive Babineaux is to Lois Lane as Liv is to Superman
When asked if his detective character will uncover Liv’s secret any time soon, Malcolm Goodwin doesn’t think so. Although people really want to see how Clive will react, Malcolm likes keeping him in the dark. He goes on to compare Clive to Lois Lane with Liv being Superman. The audience knows Clark Kent is Superman but Lois doesn’t. Malcolm says that’s an important dynamic and they will play with it in that respect for as long as it works.
Rahul loves Ricky Gervais & James Bond
In discussing his character Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti, Rahul Kohli pointed out that it was important for Diane Ruggiero-Wright that Ravi not be a lazy stereotype. He is an Indian doctor who is a bit of a nerd, but he is also 6’4” with a British accent. He is going to get the girls. Although his character is largely created by the writers, Rahul did get one line. When the radio host is electrocuted, there’s a joke to which Ravi responds “shocking.” This was Rahul’s little homage to Sean Connery in Goldfinger.
Another of Rahul’s influences is Ricky Gervais. He was even an extra in UK’s The Office when he was younger. This was almost problematic in the beginning as Rahul reveals that while shooting the pilot he had to be reined in because he would just impersonate Ricky. He adds, “That’s the only way I knew how to be funny. I’d just copy what he does.”
Order Season One
Diane Ruggiero-Wright says there will be more zombies in season 2 and more people will find out about them, but it’s not yet a global thing. When Rob Thomas was asked about zombie-ism expanding into a wider spread epidemic, he said “If we do, it’d be more like a season 5 idea. We still have ideas we’re excited about for the next couple of seasons at least.” Although the future of the show may involve more zombies, unlike the comics, the mythology of the show won’t branch out to other types of supernatural creatures.
The zombie cure may come with some side effects
Perhaps the biggest hint as to what’s coming next season came when Rob Thomas hinted that the characters who received the zombie cure at the end of season 1 may not be completely back to normal. He says that by episode one they will reveal at least one side effect of the supposed cure, but there may be more coming as the season progresses.
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iZombie airs on the CW Tuesday night’s at 9|8c. Season 2 will premiere October 6, 2015.