Zombies confidently continue to capture the movie world. And in teleformatics they are already quite comfortable. The unprecedented popularity of The Walking Dead has given rise to a host of new zombie series, including the Z Nation project.
Four seasons
In light of recent trends, Syfy decided not to stand aside, on September 12, 2014, presenting to the audience a pilot episode of the series “Nation Z” (1). The pilot received favorable reviews from film critics, although many reviewers, which is logical and predictable, immediately began to compare the brainchild of Syfy with The Walking Dead. In fairness, it is worth noting that at first the novelty could not stand the comparison. It should be borne in mind that The Asylum products have their own specifics, and, accordingly, their target audience. The plot works on it, presenting the viewer not only drama, but also a specific fan service. The project harmoniously combines all the components: humor, cruelty with a demonstration of meat and blood, a variety of references and a friendly atmosphere, surprisingly adjacent to a hostile environment.
Season 1 of the series “Nation Z”, which launched in September 2014, consisted of 13 episodes. The second season came out exactly one year later - in the first autumn month of 2015, in September 2016, fans of the project met the third season, and a year later the company confirmed the forthcoming premiere of the 4th season.
Spawn of popularity
Created "Nation Z" in the zombie apocalypse genre. The TV show about the team of survivors, although it is considered to be a product of the success of the blockbuster War of the Worlds Z and the television hit The Walking Dead, as a result has healed its own life. The series turned out to be popular and interesting for many fans of the genre. The scope of the flagship projects of the channel AMC-project, no doubt, is not enough. But, as soon as the television movie went its own way, abandoning traditional genre cliches, a zest appeared in it that did not lose freshness for the fourth season. And most likely, the fifth is just around the corner.
Apocalyptic joyless future
The plot of the series "Nation Z" (season 1) begins the story with the fact that a wave of zombie virus swept across the planet. Most of the population became infected and died, some rebelled in the form of bloodthirsty dilapidated zombies. In the center of the plot is a group of survivors, united not by a herd of protective reflexes, but by a mission to save human civilization. They get Murphy - a prisoner who managed to survive after a series of trials of a vaccine against a zombie virus. The group was selected rather mottled, it included an ex-sergeant, a funny old man, a brutal mulatto armed with a sword, a young soldier sniper and a couple of heroes for every spectator's taste. The company is heading to California to deliver Murphy to a research center. Their efforts are coordinated by the mysterious citizen Z, who gives orders through the surviving means of communication.
Actors and characters 4 seasons
The main composition of the series "Nation Z" - actors Kellita Smith, DJ Qualls, Keith Allan, Russell Hodgkinson and Nat Zang.
- The American actress and comedian Kellita Smith in 2014 traded sitcoms for participation in the horror project of Carl Schäfer and never regretted it. The performer plays Roberta Warren - a lieutenant of the National Guard, who lives in New York before the onset of infection. The girl leads the group that took over the transportation of Murphy.
- The role of citizen Z, and more simply Simon Culler, was performed by DJ Qualls. Once working as a model with Calvin Klein, the actor did an excellent job with the role of a system operator of national security, by the will of fate left alone at a US research base in the Arctic. A computer genius tracks the movement of a team, orienting it on the ground and plotting a route.
- The image of humanity hope Alvin Bernard Murphy worthily managed to translate Keith Allan. The American screenwriter and actor played a difficult role. According to the author’s idea, his hero was bitten by zombies, but he managed to survive. Now the former convict needs to be subjected to a new research procedure, since his blood can become part of the vaccine against the zombie virus. For greater intrigue, the authors endowed the hero Allan with the ability to control some of the rebellious dead and people. As soon as he bites a gaping one, he immediately becomes his humble servant.
- Interest for the audience is Stephen Beck, aka Doc, in which actor Russell Hodgkinson reincarnated. In the past, a psychiatrist, before starting a zombie apocalypse, was a drug dealer in the group, holding the position of a physician. Sometimes he remembers how hippie was in his youth.
- The last of the characters to appear regularly over 4 seasons is Thomas Ten Thousand Pieces. The hero received his nickname because of the goal set for himself to exterminate 10,000 the walking dead. The young sniper was played by Nat Zang. By the way, Thomas was once bitten by Murphy.
Adjacent in the second season
The listed actors of the series “Nation Z” in the second season received reinforcements:
- Anastasia Baranova, famous for her role as Jennifer Loehr in the Scout Safari, this time tried on the image of the wanderer Addison Carver, a member of the Blue Sky camp.
- Michael Welsh, who played Mac Thompson, also a member of Blue Sky, did not really have time to draw the attention of the audience to his hero. The character dies immediately in the second series of the 2nd season.
- During the passage of the group through Philadelphia, the young Cassandra joins the team, the image of which was embodied by the incomparable Pisei Pao. The heroine was a former member of the cannibal sect. Murphy was bitten, served him, but after a change in behavior she was killed by Thomas, becoming one of 10 thousand.
- An interesting image was revealed to the fans by Matt Cedeno, in his performance the mercenary Javier Vazquez, aka Scorpio No. 2, is not only brutal, but also outwardly attractive. Police officer Javier worked undercover in the Zero cartel, after becoming infected, became a bounty hunter. He had to catch Murphy for his criminal authority, but, imbued with the idea of ​​saving humanity, he joined the team Warren. Roberta, he was killed when he lost his mind in the third season.
Shining in the 3rd and 4th seasons
The actors narrated the appearance of the narration of the 3rd and 4th seasons of the series “Nation Z”:
- Emilio Rivera, who played the cruel and dangerous bounty hunter Hector, nicknamed Scorpio No. 1. The character adjoins the group at the end of the 2nd season, but leaves the shadow of the main characters only in the 3rd. He is injured by a second mercenary, Vazquez, and the doctor administers an experimental vaccine to Hector.
- Sydney Wiengluang plays the role of Asian native Dr. Sun Mei, is part of the team in season 3.
- In the fourth season, the firepower of the team is enhanced by the arrival of experienced military sergeant Lilly performed by Grace Phipps.
- Actor Tom Everett Scott played the beloved Warren Charles Garnett, as befits a protagonist, dies, saving Murphy.
No less key characters of Z Nation
In terms of its presentation and atmosphere, the project is closest to the canonical zombie horror. The rebellious dead are not lost at all against the background of the problems of the surviving heroes. The creators, portraying their living dead, took a chance and significantly expanded their mythology, combining traditional elements with innovative delights. In the series there are standard slow-moving walking dead and more frisky zombies, the company listed sometimes consists of modified mutants that appeared as a result of radioactive killing.
In the second season of the series “Nation Z”, the actors involved in the production worked on the same site with George Martin, the creator of the cycle “Song of Ice and Fire”. The science fiction writer appeared in a cameo zombie version of his own person.
No whining and snot
In general, "Nation Z" is almost the same "The Walking Dead", only without the tedious clarification of relationships, suffering, in general, a continuous action game without snot and whining. In just one pilot episode, the characters in the show managed to exterminate as many zombies as the heroes of the AMC television hit did not manage to destroy for the entire season. If you compare two projects in terms of density of action and speed, “Nation Z” will definitely come out the winner.