Z Nation is an American action/horror/comedy-drama/post-apocalyptic television series that aired on Syfy, created by Karl Schaefer and Craig Engler, and produced by The Asylum. The first season of 13 episodes premiered on September 12, 2014. Z Nation was filmed in the Spokane, Washington area. On June 16, 2016, Syfy announced that Z Nation third season would be preceded by a TV movie, set prior to the climax of season 2 and introducing central characters for the third season. However, the movie was instead presented as the first two episodes of the season, the two-part "No Mercy". On December 15, 2017, Syfy renewed the series for a fifth season, which premiered on October 5, 2018. On December 22, 2018, Syfy canceled the series after five seasons. The 68th and final episode aired on December 28, 2018, concluding the five-season series.
Premise
Z Nation begins three years into a zombie apocalypse caused by a virus that has already killed most humans. In the days just before society fell apart, Murphy was one of three inmates at Portsmouth Naval Prison in Kittery, Maine, who were unwilling participants in a government-approved experiment. Each inmate was given a different test vaccine. Murphy was the only one to survive the vaccine injection. He is the only known survivor of a zombie bite who did not turn into a zombie, and his blood contains antibodies that are mankind's last and best hope for a vaccine. However, he seems to be mutating into some form of hybrid between zombie and human—his skin is shedding and his body turning blue, and he seems to be able to control and even mesmerize certain types of zombies he encounters. Yet he has not turned into a full zombie and still maintains control of himself. The series revolves around his travels with a small group of survivors being led through the apocalypse by Simon "Citizen Z" Cruller, who watches the world from his multiple computers. The group is looking to use him to solve the zombie pandemic. The group must transport Murphy from New York to the world's last known functioning Centers for Disease Control research lab in California. However, Murphy harbors a dark secret about his condition that threatens them all.
Z Nation is produced by Go2 Digital Media for The Asylum. On June 29, 2014, it was announced that the filming of 13 episodes for the first season of the series was underway. On October 12, 2014, Syfy announced that it had ordered a second season of Z Nation. Schaefer and Engler have described Z Nation as an attempt to "put the fun back into zombies", criticizing shows like The Walking Dead for being too serious. Z Nations first season had a budget of less than $700,000 per episode.
Reception
The first season of Z Nation received mixed reviews from professional television critics. Its aggregate score on Metacritic is 48/100 based on reviews from 11 critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the show a rating of 45%, based on reviews from 20 critics, with the site's consensus stating "Although it's hampered by an overcrowded narrative, Z Nation manages to muster up some fun scares without taking itself too seriously." Chris Carabott of IGN noted that the show "continues to set itself apart in campy and inventive ways." Brian Moylan of The Guardian called Z Nation scary "in the same vague way as that talking green blob is in the Mucinex commercials" and concluded that viewers would hate all the characters, but that "Citizen Z is especially horrible." Merrill Barr of Forbes magazine said the show had a high entertainment value. In its first season, Z Nation averaged 1.42 million viewers per episode, including a.48 rating in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic.
Broadcast
Z Nation is distributed internationally by Dynamic Television. The series premiered on Syfy in Australia on April 1, 2015, and was watched by 26,000 viewers. The United Kingdom premiere aired on Freeview channel Pick on July 21, 2015.
The film ', released in July 2015, featured a cameo appearance by Smith as Sgt. Warren. In the first-season episode "Home Sweet Zombie", upon viewing a tornado carrying and tossing zombies, Warren remarks, "They ain't sharks!" The 2017 film ' featured a cameo appearance by Hodgkinson as Doc.
Companion prequel series
On July 19, 2018, it was reported that Netflix had given an eight-episode, straight-to-series order for Black Summer, a prequel series set within the Z Nation universe. Actress Jaime King was set to star in the series, created by Schaefer and John Hyams. At the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con, Schaefer noted that "Black Summer is before the apocalypse got weird and was just scary." He also said that the drama series is not intended to be the funny version of The Walking Dead that Z Nation is, but instead would be a more traditional take on zombie lore.
