OMFGTV sat down with the cast of iZombie at San Diego Comic-Con to discuss the dramatically different world season four brings to the table and how each of their characters fit into this “New Seattle”.
The new chapter of The CW’s undead zombie dramedy picks up three months after the season three finale where the whole world learned that zombies walked among them. The city of Seattle, newly dubbed New Seattle, has been walled off to create a zombie city and there is unrest on both sides.
Robert Buckley, who plays Major Lilywhite, talks about the mounting tension and where it would find Major. “The humans are untrusting of the zombies; The zombies are untrusting of the humans,” he tells us. “I think it’s a very volatile situation. I think we’re going to find Major firmly committed to Filmore Graves and their cause.” What that choice bodes for his relationships with Liv and his other friends, only time will tell.
Another person finding themselves torn between both sides is Peyton, played by Aly Michalka. “So many people have now fled the city at this point that there’s really no one there to prosecute some of these criminals,” Michalka says. “Obviously she took the job with Baracus and she will still be juggling that but also the same time dealing with these cases that are zombie versus human crimes.” She also confirms that there will definitely be more of Peyton in the workplace and out in the field helping with cases this season.
In the police world, many things change but some will stay the same. Clive and Liv will continue to work together as partners, but now that the undead cat is out of the bag, Clive isn’t the only detective with a zombie partner. Malcolm Goodwin, the actor behind Clive, shares that “Everyone realizes that I haven’t been solving these crimes by myself. I’ve been doing it with the assistance of a zombie. So now everyone has to work with a zombie to solve human cases.” It won’t be all fun and games as Goodwin teases that “Clive, he has a lot of adapting to do this season.”
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Also forever in Liv’s corner is Ravi, played by Rahul Kohli. While Liv suddenly finds herself thrust into the spotlight as a bit of a folk legend, she will always have Ravi by her side. By not conforming to what zombie society expects her to do, “Liv is kind of sparking her own sort of rebellion and what I do know is that Ravi is firmly with her,” Kohli says.
With the cliffhanger at the end of season three as to if Ravi is a zombie or not, Kohli will always be a fan of human Ravi. “I love playing the human. I kind of take pride in that. As much as the story is through [Liv’s] eyes, Ravi’s kind of like the audience.
Liv herself is going to be working hard to figure out where she fits in a society where zombies are out and about but at her core she is still the strong willed Liv we have followed for three seasons now. Rose McIver talks about the new landscape and that while Liv is going to integrate into this new society, “she isn’t going to dye her hair and try and fit in just to appease the masses.”
We may even be seeing some old familiar faces as McIver teases Liv’s reconnection with her mom and brother. “Very early on we see her family,” McIver says. “Liv is somebody who’s so compassionate and caring and I just don’t buy that she would just check out of people’s lives. I understand why she’s felt the need to have some distance but I think it’ll be great to reintroduce them into the story.”
The show will still follow a brain of the week style, as confirmed by executive producer Diane Ruggiero. Some of the early brains and brains she and McIver are the most excited about include a “crotchety old dowager” as McIver described her, a hockey player, a diehard Seattle Seahawks fan, and the one that they both painted in vivid detail, a woman whose life revolves around romantic comedies. Ruggiero describes her as “a rom-com obsessed lady who I hope only wears turtlenecks and has a really fabulous kitchen. Only wears off-white.” McIver adds “lots of She’s All That montages.”
The main arc of the season itself will follow the political unrest of a city that has zombies trapped inside, running on limited brain supply, and terminally ill humans outside, desperately trying to get in to be scratched, and therefore technically cured of their ailment. But in case that’s not enough, Ruggiero adds that there is plenty of conflict to keep you stressed. “We have Blaine (David Anders), running the brain black market, we have Angus (newly series regular Robert Knepper), we have ‘what the hell is Filmore Graves up to’, and then this other major political unrest. We have a lot going on. There are evil balls in the air.”
To find out what New Seattle has in store, tune in to iZombie, Monday nights at 9pm on The CW.