‘iZombie’ Season 2: Rose McIver and David Anders Interview

iZombie David Anders Rose McIver
David Anders and Rose McIver from ‘iZombie’ at the 2015 San Diego Comic Con (Photo by Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)

Immediately after our interview at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con with the lovely Rose McIver from The CW’s iZombie, a fellow journalist turned to me and asked if I’d ever dreamed I’d be interviewing someone and asking what their favorite brain was to eat. Obviously, the answer’s no because, as far as I can determine, we are not currently in the middle of a real zombie apocalypse. Still, it was an appropriate question for the star of The CW’s breakout zom-com.

Laughing, McIver replied, “Can I tell you how weird it is after work going to the supermarket on the phone and being like, ‘Oh, this brain that I ate today…’ People look at me and it takes me a while before, ‘Right, that sounded insane.”

“I think [with] each brain there’s different perks. Sometimes it’s the skills. It’s like the things that she gets to do are really interesting,” continued McIver. “Sometimes it’s like when she was an alcoholic and exploring those tendencies much more psychologically. There are different kinds of benefits to each. I know that this season I’ve been told a couple of brains I’m having, and I got told to pick my guitar back up and how was my singing voice.”

McIver also discussed her character Liv Moore’s life prior to her transition to zombiehood. “Well I think when we first see Liv in flashbacks, we only really get a glimpse of who she was. We get told about it and we start to understand through her various relationships who she was, but to be honest, I think she was kind of boring in comparison,” offered McIver. “Things were too good in her life.”

The new Liv is a lot braver than her pre-zombie self says McIver. “She has a self-awareness and a cynicism that I find just kind of endearing and funny. And I think especially now that she’s lost loved ones in season one, we watched her realize what’s at stake and I think she’s really got a stronger will and is more courageous.”

By the end of season one, nearly everyone close to her had learned she’s a zombie. Moving forward, many of those she loves will feel betrayed including Peyton [played by Aly Michalka] and Major [played by Robert Buckley]. “It definitely lends itself to some conflict and some interesting relationship dynamics,” said McIver. “But at the same time, it must be liberating to not have that secret from people.”

Also back for season two is David Anders who plays one of the main villains in the series, Blaine DeBeers. Anders is looking forward to what’s in store for Blaine over the course of the second season. “I think your goal as an actor is to diversify your portfolio from part to part to part,” explained Anders. “Although I’ve played bad guys for most of my career, I’d like to think I’ve played different bad guys. And this second season is going to be fun for me to play with because we’re humanizing him – quite literally. We’re going to meet some of the DeBeers clan, maybe. We will find out how Blaine became Blaine.”

Watch the full interviews for more on what to expect from season two: