The series follows the story of 17-year-old Canadian high school outcast Josh Wheeler, who is searching for his missing British girlfriend Sam Dean in post-apocalyptic Glendale, California. He is joined by a ragtag group of misfits, including 10-year-old pyromaniac Angelica and Josh's former high school bully Wesley, who is now a pacifist would-be samurai. Josh tries to survive amongst the hordes of Mad Max-style gangs, zombie-like creatures called Ghoulies, and everything else this brave new world throws at him.
Cast
Main
Colin Ford as Josh Wheeler: a Canadian lone survivor seeking his girlfriend Sam Dean in the post-apocalyptic landscape. Prior to the apocalypse he was a transfer student from Toronto in Glendale High
Alyvia Alyn Lind as Angelica Green: a 10 year old genius with mild pyromania who was babysat by Wheeler prior to the apocalypse.
Sophie Simnett as Samaira "Sam" Dean: A British student widely popular before the Apocalypse, she becomes the focus of Josh's search after the bombs fall and is his girlfriend.
Austin Crute as Wesley Fists: a gay self-styled rōnin seeking redemption for his past mistakes. Prior to the apocalypse he was quite antagonistic to Wheeler and was part of a jock group led by Hoyles and also was part of the football team.
Cody Kearsley as Turbo "Bro Jock" Pokaski: former quarterback and the unhinged leader of the Jocks during the Apocalypse. Prior to the apocalypse he was a member of the football team and Fists' boyfriend.
Mitchell Hoog as Nimrod: one of the Gamers and Aria's friend.
Meg Smith as Isis Goodman, the minor who hooks up with Jaden Hoyles in the bathroom.
Jordyn Aurora Aquino as a disciple of Kardashia who offers the jocks beer.
Episodes
Production
Development
Peyton started creating a series based on the graphic novel in 2012. He realised that the book had influences from Ferris Bueller. On July 26, 2018, Netflix announced an order for the production of a ten-episode first season. Aron Eli Coleite was set to serve as showrunner for the series. The series is created by Brad Peyton and Coleite who are credited as executive producers alongside Jeff Fierson. ASAP Entertainment will be involved in the production of the series. In September 2019, it was reported that the series was set to premiere on October 24, 2019. On December 16, 2019, Netflix cancelled the series after one season.
Casting
In October 2018, it was announced that Matthew Broderick would star in the series. In the same month, it was reported that Colin Ford, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Sophie Simnett, Austin Crute, Gregory Kasyan, Krysta Rodriguez, Cody Kearsley and Jeante Godlock joined the cast.
On September 16, 2019, a teaser trailer for the series was released. On October 7, 2019, Netflix released the official trailer for the series.
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 70% approval rating for the first season with an average rating of 6.98/10, based on 33 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Daybreak blend of soapy teen drama and post apocalyptic horror has some truly inspired moments, even if it feels like you've seen a few of them before." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
