To protect those she loves, she cuts herself off from them, breaking up with her dreamy fiance Major Lilywhite (Robert Buckley), distancing herself from best friend and roommate Peyton Charles (Aly Michalka), and even quitting her residency in favor of a job at the police morgue, where she'll have a constant supply of fresh brains which can keep the cravings under control so she can try to hold onto the shreds of her humanity. It's not long before her boss, Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli), figures out her secret and instead of revulsion towards her condition, he's actually excited about studying her in the hopes of finding a cure. The pair also discover a neat little side effect - Liv picks up traits and gets visions of the people whose brains she eats, so she and Ravi find themselves working with new homicide detective Clive Babineaux (Malcolm Goodwin) on murder cases under the guise that Liv is a psychic.
In addition to the murder-mystery-of-the-week, there is also the underlying story of what caused the zombie outbreak in the first place, along with what fellow zombie Blaine DeBeers (David Anders, Heroes, Once Upon a Time) has been up to since everything started. Blaine was a local drug dealer pushing a drug called Utopium who inadvertently turned Liv at the boat party all those months ago and since that time, he has developed a knack for using his zombie status to get very rich - he supplies fresh brains to the wealthy zombies of Seattle. Where he gets those brains is also a key mystery in the show and one that Major is intent on solving, since he is a social worker at a local teen shelter. As Major digs deeper, he places himself in dangerous situations, but also starts to question his own sanity at some of the things he's seen. Could zombies actually exist? If only Liv could tell him the truth...
While the premise is great and the storyline is intriguing, I think I enjoy watching Liv take on the personas of the people she is eating best of all. Whether it be a womanizing painter, a sociopathic hitman, a cruel talk show host, a thrill-seeking sorority girl, an agorophobic hacker, and even a pregnant woman, Rose McIver knocks it out of the park every time. However, the entire cast has fantastic chemistry and they are all wonderful. Ravi is completely lovable and adorable, while Blaine is equal parts despicable and charming. It's easy to see why Major is Liv's true love, even if she pushes him away, but she also finds some zombie romance along the way as well. Watching Clive try to find his way in the Homicide Division with the help of his pasty little "psychic" friend Liv is absolutely hysterical, but he plays the straight man pretty well. Liv's buddy, Peyton (Aly Michalka), is always there to support her and plays a big part in Liv coming to terms with rejoining society in the months following her transformation into the big Z.
Special features include a handful of deleted scenes and the iZombie 2014 Comic-Con Panel, which was great fun to watch. It's always cool to see the actors who play your favorite characters in their natural form, but Robert Buckley and his wry sense of humor amused me the most.
Personally, I'm a fan of the zombie genre, whether it's the comedic side like Shaun of the Dead or the drama behemoth that is The Walking Dead, but iZombie is a perfect mix of comedy and crime-solving. If you haven't yet had a chance to check out this fantastic show, do yourself a favor and binge-watch iZombie: The Complete First Season so you can be ready for the premiere of Season 2 in October.
