iZombie series co-creator/executive producer Rob Thomas admits to being terrified anticipating the reaction of the creators of the comics to The CW series based on their work. Fortunately, Thomas soon learned there was nothing to fear as the reaction was positive to the TV adaptation of iZombie.
“We did not get any pushback [from DC], and if there’s an amazing element in all of this it’s how supportive and lovely the creators of the comic book have been to us,” said Thomas during our roundtable interview at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con. “They’ve been full-throated supporters.”
Explaining the reasoning behind some of the changes from the source material to the series, Thomas said going into the show, they knew they wanted to have a case of the week component to it.
“In the comic book, she works in a cemetery digging graves. That wouldn’t have given us a murdered body each week so we moved her to a police morgue is how we’re going to get that case of the week. They also have multiple monsters. They have ghosts and were-terriers and a whole bunch of different [monsters] and it really plays to the supernatural. True Blood, they had done the multiple monster thing and I was a little leery of going down that path,” explained Thomas. “And I will just say my own strange…I can’t even explain this. I like a lot of zombie stuff. I almost always like the ones that are a virus. I like fake science more than I like supernatural. I never know quite how to write supernatural because it feels like you could write a magic spell that makes everything go away and people well. I love Game of Thrones; I love the bits of magic that they have in it. And yet as a writer, it feels like a tool I don’t want to pull out of the tool box. Like, I will screw that up somehow. So, weirdly, fake science I’m on board for. Supernatural, I don’t quite know what to do with. So that was part of why I made that change.”
But there are obvious nods to the comic book including Rose McIver’s look and the opening titles of the show. “I was so pleased with how our main titles came out, that we could make that nod back to the source material. I couldn’t love our title sequence more than I do. I like our bits of comic book tie-in, even though I know we’ve strayed considerably from it.”
Asked how the approach to each episode has changed, Thomas replied, “There’s been an evolution. Our scripts are usually 55 pages and I would bet in early episodes 32, 33 of those pages were devoted to the case of the week, like the A story which we were really thinking about and focusing on. The evolution was to try to arc it back the other way where instead of three red herrings in a murder case we’re going to have two. We’re going to get that person to confess very quickly at the end of the episode because we want to move seven pages over from the A to the all of the cool zombie mythology and soap opera. I think at the end of the day that that mix has been better for us.”
“I think we also learned what the better brain types are for Liv to eat,” added Thomas. “There are certain things for an actress to play and hard for an actress to digest. Like, if Liv is on sociopath brain where she’s emotionally disconnected it’s hard to know has she stopped acting? Is she on the brain right now? Whereas if you ever get a cheerleader brain it’s big and loud and fun, and something to write jokes for. I think we’ve gotten a bit better at that learning what’s more fun on the screen for Rose to play and for us to write to.”
Could we see any Veronica Mars crossovers? Thomas said Kristen Bell is game to do an episode.
“I think somewhere down the line it will happen. We do have a Veronica Mars joke in episode one, so it’s like she’s there in spirit. But, yeah, in fact we originally went to Rico to play the head of Max Rager but he was too booked up for that. I couldn’t love Steven Weber more than I do so I’m really pleased. But we had originally gone to Rico [Colantoni] for that, but that will also happen. I’m eager to have a Jason Dohring storyline.
In the first episode of two season we have an actor named Adam Rose who probably did a half dozen Veronica Mars. He played Max who dated Mac in season three of Veronica Mars. And then we always love bringing Daran Norris back but we’re hurting our brain trying to think how can you bring the local weatherman into many stories. But we love having him on the screen as well. You will definitely see more of those.”
Watch the full interview with Rob Thomas on season two of iZombie:
