San Diego Comic-Con was crazy for most everyone involved, but for the cast of iZombie — who’ve just recently finished their first season of brain-eating and ass-kicking — it was a real trip. With so much left hanging in the balance of the finale, we were keen to get more information on how the show will evolve in season two.
As it turns out? A lot of stuff is going to happen…but no one can really tell us anything about it. No, not even the sneakiest of peeks in regards to the supposed zombie cure, whether Liv’s brother lives or dies — zilch. Still! That doesn’t mean we didn’t get a few kernels of goodness from the cast and crew.
When it comes to Malcolm Goodwin’s character, detective Clive Babineaux, don’t expect enlightenment any time soon. “It’s kinda like Lois Lane not knowing that Clark Kent is Superman and all he does is wear the glasses, and we go, ‘That’s Superman!'” the actor explained. “So I think they’ll play that as long as it works and I think once it starts to become stale or whatever, then I think I’ll get involved in the zombie world, you know, finally.”
But for now? That’s not his role. “See, Clive represents us: everybody in the real world, you know? … He probably watches The Walking Dead for real when he goes home, so there’s no way he’s gonna think that there’s a zombie world. These aren’t the zombies you see on TV or in pop culture — this is a functioning zombie who can speak and talk and think, so that’s why it’s not as obvious as it would be.”
It does sound like Goodwin’s more than ready to get in on the zombie games when the time comes though, adding, “Dude, that’d be a lot of fun.”
As for Liv Moore’s other ally, Dr. Ravi? Well, actor Rahul Kohli stated he’s purposefully avoiding spoilers heading into season two’s production, but he doubts it’ll all be smooth sailing now that his so-called zombie cure has disappeared. And he’s probably not going to be all that happy with Liv on that front, either.
“The reason he didn’t want her to use the cure is because it killed the last round. It works, but only to a certain degree. It’s not a perfected cure and that’s why he insisted that it wasn’t ready for human testing. But she went ahead and did it anyway, so he does have two new guinea pigs in Blaine and Major. [But] it’s not gonna be cut-and-dry and it’s not as simple as, ‘Oh, it worked! Great!’ I think there’s gonna be a lot of twists and turns with that.”
With Blaine (played by David Anders) seemingly on the non-zombified path now that Liv’s cursed him with a cure, things are certainly likely to change for our big bad. “Blaine is going to be dealing with his newfound humanity. So, although he’s cured — there might be some side effects. It’s not a perfect cure. It’s not a failsafe, er, uh, I don’t know what I’m saying anymore. Um, yeah. I don’t know! There’s so much I wanna tell you! But there’s so little I can tell you, so.”
“I think there might be some heart-to-hearts that he and Liv have,” he added. “‘Cause there might be some teaming up that happens between Blaine and Liv, so she’s going to have to get over her hatred. And he’s gonna have to do some apologizing. And some tap dancing to win her over.”
Now that he’s no longer a zombie — will he have to find a new line of work or will delivering brains to the undead still play into his world? “He’s going to find a different vocation, but brains might still be a part of it. He might find his way into an old vocation of his, too. He can’t get out of the criminal element — it’s too engrained in him at this point.”
Rose McIver’s only wish for next season? That Liv finds a bit more romantic stability. “Hopefully in season 2, Liv gets some gains, you know? Some things start working out; she’s unlucky in love so far, so it’d be nice for her to have a better run with that. I’ve been told a couple of the brains I’ll get to eat and there’s some good stuff. I’ve been told to get my guitar back out, so I know there’s a bit of musical stuff happening for the first few episodes.”
But we got, perhaps, the most insight from the series’ co-creator Diane Ruggiero, who told us that, “Season 2 is gonna pick up 3 months [after the finale], and we’ll find out more about the fallout from how we ended and how relationships have changed and where Liv is at now after [her] life kind of blew up. There’s still a lot of awesome, cool, dark things to come from Blaine and a lot of fun, different brains — there’s still an overall story that we’ll have.”
Those of you hoping for clues for next season’s bigger mystery? Start you re-watch now, folks, because according to Ruggiero, we’ve already seen her (yes her). “There’s someone that we met briefly in last season that will be coming back this season, but I can’t tell you who it is. That’s so annoying, I know, I’m sorry. But, you’ve seen her before. Ooh, oops! I shouldn’t have said that.”
But the co-creator is perhaps most excited for the return of the seemingly unhinged Vaughn Du Clark. “We’ll have more Max Rager, so more Steven Weber. He’s delightful. Isn’t he delightful? I love him. Like you see the person and you’re like, ‘I’m excited to see you! Are you gonna cut me?'”
Ruggerio even dished on the first time she met the esteemed Weber, recounting the time she fell on her face trying to impress him — literally. “I fell into a succulent plant once, when I was with him. He was a friend of a friend and we were walking to a concert and I was chatting and trying to sound cool and funny and I literally just fell off the side of the road into a giant Jade plant. And it was this hugely embarrassing moment and of course the first thing, when I met him this time, I was like, ‘Hi, I fell into a jade plant once while trying to impress you.’ He still was not impressed, which I found odd – you’d think, by now, that would be a wildly impressive story, but…”
Don’t think for a second that anyone on the series is safe, though — when it comes to iZombie, character safety bets are off, mostly because you audience folk are just too smart now. “You have to do that, because if you make it too safe then there’s never any jeopardy and you’re never worried for anybody,” explained Ruggerio.
“I think people are so savvy, with like, ‘Oh she’s seven out of thirteen! She’s fine!’ You know? People know that now. Like, ‘Kit Harington’s hair is long! He must still on Game of Thrones!’ Which, by the way, I’m still confused about. … I don’t know, but I’m concerned. He better come back. I know I’m supposed to be talking about iZombie, but, I can’t help it.”
What did you think of the first season of iZombie? Let’s hear it in the comments. And be sure to peep the rest of our Comic-Con coverage for more insight from your favorites.
—
Alicia Lutes is the Associate Editor of The Nerdist. Find her on Twitter @alicialutes.
IMAGES: The CW; Movie Boozer
