James R | On 01, May 2016

Every month, we bring you the official list of what’s coming soon to Netflix UK – and every so often, there are last-minute acquisitions made by Netflix that aren’t announced in advance and give us all a nice surprise. Today, that surprise is better than most, as both seasons of iZombie arrive on Netflix UK (shout out to the eagle-eyed @PAULWILSON1000 for the spot, after Rahul Kohli announced it on Twitter).

The CW’s adaptation of the Vertigo comic book series was developed by Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright, of Veronica Mars fame. Starring Rose McIver and Malcolm Goodwin, it follows Olivia “Liv” Moore, a medical resident on the fast track to a perfect life… until she’s turned into a zombie. Now stuck between half-alive and undead, Liv transfers to the city morgue to reluctantly access the only thing that allows her to maintain her humanity – human brains. But there are side effects to Liv’s new diet. With each brain she consumes, she experiences flashes of the corpse’s memories – including, at times, clues as to how they were killed. Her boss, a brilliant but eccentric conspiracy theorist, encourages her to embrace this gift and to work with an eager, unproven homicide detective to help solve these murders. And, you know, get the voices in her head to shut up.

Zombies and crime-solving? If Veronica Mars’ pedigree in fusing teen drama and hard-boiled noir wasn’t a clue, iZombie is every bit a mash-up lover’s dream. Despite a warm reception and a swift renewal for a second season, though, the show aired in the US back in March 2015 and never found a UK home. October 2015’s second season came and went and still no British distributor, with UK broadcasters passing on the show at industry LA Screenings due to fears that it would be eclipsed by AMC’s undead titan, The Walking Dead.

To my fellow Brits…check your Netflix…there's an undead surprise apparently…#iZOMBIE

— Rahul Kohli (@RahulKohli13) May 1, 2016

The result left iZombie next to Agent Carter on the list of American series we couldn’t wait to have on our screens. Sure enough, just as Peggy eventually found a friend in FOX UK, which picked up the series last year – and then broadcast Season 2 this year, a few days after its US debut – The CW’s zombie show has finally been picked up in the UK by Netflix. It’s a slight blow to Amazon Prime Video, which, in the UK, has a deal with Warner Bros. for several DC Entertainment shows, such as Arrow (the first-run rights for which are owned by Sky 1), Constantine and Lucifer. iZombie joins a growing list of US TV shows snapped up by Netflix, including MTV’s Scream (which we broke the news of last year and will return for Season 2 this month) and ABC’s Once Upon a Time.

The good news is that The CW has already commissioned a third season of iZombie, so you can expect that to arrive on Netflix UK too, hot on the heels of its US release (whenever that turns out to be). For now, here’s the trailer for Season 1:

Season 1 and 2 of iZombie are available on Netflix UK, as part of an £9.99 monthly subscription.

Photo: The CW / Netflix

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