From Medical Student to Zombie Detective: The Evolution of Liv Moore

Zombies are never truly trendy, but they had a golden age on TV during the 2010s. In the decade, audiences saw the evolution of AMC’s massive hit series The Walking Dead (2010–2022) and Netflix’s deadpan horror-comedy Santa Clarita Diet (2017–2018). Somewhere between those was iZombie, an undead procedural from The CW.

For five seasons, viewers followed Rose McIver’s Liv Moore, who devoured human brains to experience other people’s personalities and solve crimes. While never a breakout hit, the series developed a cult following for its clever plotting, quirky humor, emotional heft, and the undead performance of its leading lady.

Based on the Vertigo comic book series by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred, iZombie had a loose connection to its graphic source material and reinvented its mythology almost entirely while maintaining an affinity for its dead characters.

Liv’s comic book alter-ego was Gwen Dylan, a zombie gravedigger who ate brains every 30 days to remember her past life. The comic series introduced the girl to a ghost and a were-terrier who became her adopted family. The television series gave her a different name (Liv is short for life, and Moore rhymes with “dead,” hence it) and a life story in a very different setting.

Liv is a type-A med school nerd and regular person until a nightmarish boat party (triggered by a bad batch of designer drug Utopium mixed with an energy drink called Max Rager) forces her to join the ranks of the undead. After being scratched by an attacking zombie and waking up in a body bag, she wakes up a new girl with a new life—Liv is no longer engaged to her human fiancé Major (Robert Buckley), does not hang out with her roommate Peyton (Aly Michalka), and starts working at the medical examiner’s office for its strategic access to fresh brains.

Liv’s secret is eventually discovered by Ravi (Rahul Kohli), her officious, empathy-deficient boss who was previously a CDC scientist obsessed with finding a cure for the zombie virus. (Liv also knows the secret, but she’s a zombie and tells no one else.) An unexpected side effect of Liv’s brain-devouring is that she retains the memories and personality traits of the person whose brain she ate. This is just as well, because one of the brains she ingests just happens to be a murder victim, and her new cop allies need all the help they can get to figure out whodunnit.

As a bonus, these new personalities allow McIver to flex her acting chops. Each brain comes with its backstory, which Liv remembers down to the intimate details. One day, she’s the sassy dominatrix Mona May with an attitude, the next she’s a hot-tempered Polish grump. Liv has also eaten a romance novelist, a teenage burn victim, a magician, a government agent, a long-distance runner, and an actual werewolf. Her brain of the week also happens to be a brain fetishist and poet.

Liv’s many brain adventures, both the culinary and the crime-solving variety, pair her up with Det. Clive Babineaux (Malcolm Goodwin). Clive is convinced she’s psychic and often tries to match her aloof personality, though the two strike up an effective partnership. Ravi offers comic support to Liv in the way only a former CDC scientist can, as he tries to both root Liv out as a zombie and secretly revel in her “quirkier” personalities. (The only exception may be a PhD scientist brain, who he admits outright was a total pain in the ass.)

Brains, Bad Guys, and Bittersweet Goodbyes

iZombie’s primary antagonist (the show had many bad guys) was Blaine DeBeers (David Anders), the douchey, entitled, sociopathic cause of the biggest brain Liv could’ve hoped for. Blaine goes from distributing bad batches of Utopium to operating a zombie brain-trafficking ring as he curates a clientele of zombies from the upper class who can afford his services. A combination of posh snarl, evil intellectual, daddy issues, and a hint of boy band looks made him a total villain to root against.

Liv and Co. had an array of colorful supporting players as well. Jessica Harmon’s Dale Brazzio joined the show as Clive’s FBI sidekick, while Bryce Hodgson’s Season 1 comedic performance as Scott E. was so strong, the show found a way to bring the actor back as his identical twin, Don E., as a loyal sidekick to Blaine. Daran Norris’ sleazy local weatherman Johnny Frost and Steven Weber’s Max Rager CEO Vaughan Du Clark (and his zombie daughter Rita played by Leanne Lapp) also brought memorable roles both as guests and season-long threats.

The problem, unfortunately, was that iZombie lost its steam a little too soon. It was cancelled by The CW and quietly wrapped up its final season too quickly, and even its finale disappointed with a lack of proper goodbyes. However, while the series should have lasted a little while longer (eight seasons or so with a satisfying endgame finale), iZombie also got many things right: embracing the absurd, puns (Major Lillywhite, the name of the bar where Ravi and Liv worked is The Scratching Post, and his dog is “Minor”), and a diet made entirely of brains from hush puppies to stir-fry to protein shakes.

One episode in particular that’s still fondly remembered by fans is season two’s “Flight of the Living Dead,” which involves Liv eating the brain of her free-spirited, thrill-seeking former sorority sister Holly (Tasya Teles), who tragically dies after a skydiving accident. Holly’s spirit and attitude startle Liv from her otherwise fussy, fearful routine, and are a crossroads for Liv in her emotional arc. It’s one of the many reasons iZombie was, in many ways, the heart of the matter.