Z Nation

Premise

Z Nation begins three years into a zombie apocalypse caused by a virus that has already killed most humans. In the days just before society fell apart, Alvin Bernard Murphy was one of three inmates at Portsmouth Naval Prison in Kittery, Maine, who were participants in a government-approved experiment. Each inmate was given a different test vaccine, however Murphy was the only one to survive the vaccine injection. After the Prison falls to the zombies, the head of the experiment and her staff evacuate and leave Murphy behind. As such he is bitten multiple times and is the only known survivor of a zombie bite who did not turn into a zombie. His blood contains antibodies that are humankind's last and best hope for a vaccine. However, he seems to be mutating into some form of hybrid between zombie and human—his skin is shedding and his body turning blue, and he seems to be able to control and even mesmerize certain types of zombies that he encounters; yet he has not turned into a full zombie and still maintains control of himself.

The series revolves around his travels with a small group of survivors being led through the apocalypse by Lieutenant Roberta Warren and Simon "Citizen Z" Cruller, an NSA hacker with nearly unlimited radio and computer access. The group must transport Murphy from New York to the world's last known functioning Centers for Disease Control research lab in California. However, Murphy harbors a dark secret about his condition that threatens them all.

Cast and characters

Kellita Smith as Lieutenant Roberta Warren. Lieutenant Warren is a survivor of the zombie apocalypse. An ex-National Guard member activated out of Missouri, she is a member of the Westward-bound survivor group, and a former member of the Blue Sky Camp survivor group in New York. Like many other survivors of the zombie apocalypse, Warren lost nearly everything and everyone that mattered to her. She becomes the leader of the survivor group after the death of Garnett. In Season 4, she wakes up in Zona after being treated from being hit with a ricocheting bullet that passed through Murphy. After the chaos caused by the failing vaccine made from Murphy's blood among the Zona Citizens, she, along with Murphy, escapes and reunites with the group. In season 5, she becomes a talker after dying from blood loss after the drone she was trapped in crash-landed in the season 4 finale. However, unlike any of the talkers, she does not crave brains, presumably due to Murphy's blood in her system.

DJ Qualls as Private First Class Simon "Citizen Z" Cruller Citizen Z, a former hacker, was working at the NSA's Northern Light listening post in the Arctic Circle. After a doomed rescue mission flight out of Northern Light, he becomes the facilities' sole surviving employee and uses his high-tech equipment to assist the group in its journey to California. He also runs a radio broadcast for other survivors, informing people to take cover when there is a threat of inescapable disaster-level weather or zombie hordes. He was slowly going insane from loneliness, until he rescued a sled dog named Pup which became his companion for the rest of the season. In the Season 1 finale, Murphy triggered a security protocol which unleashed nuclear missiles targeted at every military base and laboratory in the country, including Camp Northern Light. At the end of season 2, Citizen Z decides to leave Northern Light when he realizes that the post's computer systems and equipment have sustained too much damage for him to repair alone. He leaves on foot with Pup, pulling a dog sled, in subzero temperatures. Near death, he is rescued by Kaya, an Inuk girl, and her surviving family members. They return to Camp Northern Light for the remaining resources, and repair the equipment making it operational again. He and Kaya form a relationship, which results in her becoming pregnant. He leaves in a plane and meets the survivor group in person to inform them that Lucy had been kidnapped by The Man, but later returns. He joins the team in Newmerica in Season 5.

Keith Allan as Alvin Bernard Murphy Alvin Murphy is a resentful and frail former convict who becomes the only known survivor of zombie bites after being part of a scientific experiment. The Westward-bound survivor group is tasked with transporting him to a government laboratory in California, as his apparent immunity is believed to be the sole solution to the ZN1 virus. Over time, Murphy's appearance changes, and he becomes part-zombie. He can communicate with zombies, develops feelings for them and can make them do his bidding. He also develops a special gift: after biting a person or exposing them to his saliva or blood, he can direct them using telepathy. In Season 3, after finding out the survivors at Zona want to use him only for themselves, he escapes after biting Dr. Merch and several military personnel, as well as 10K and decides to make the human race into zombie-human hybrids (known as the "Blends") which is under his control. In season 4, he is cured at Zona but loses his special abilities. He later regains his abilities when he was bitten by Lucy to save his life after being bitten by a zombie. In the series finale, he finally learns the cure for the zombie virus after eating Sun Mei's brain, but leaves it ambiguous if he'll use it for good or not.

Production

Z Nation is produced by Go2 Digital Media for The Asylum. On June 29, 2014, it was announced that the filming of 13 episodes for the first season of the series was underway. On October 12, 2014, Syfy announced that it had ordered a second season of Z Nation. Schaefer and Engler have described Z Nation as an attempt to "put the fun back into zombies", criticizing shows like The Walking Dead for being too serious. Z Nation's first season had a budget of less than $700,000 per episode.

Release

Broadcast

Z Nation was distributed internationally by Dynamic Television. The series premiered on Syfy in Australia on April 1, 2015, and was watched by 26,000 viewers. The United Kingdom premiere aired on Freeview channel Pick on July 21, 2015.

Home media

Season 1 was released on DVD on February 10, 2015, by Syfy in association with Universal Home Entertainment. It was also issued on iTunes, with episodes running approximately 41–43 minutes each. The following seasons were all released to Amazon in DVD form, with Season 2 on March 1, 2016, Season 3 on March 14, 2017, Season 4 on January 22, 2018, and Season 5 on January 21, 2019.

Netflix acquired the worldwide distribution rights in 2015 with all 5 seasons available until the shows removal; On January 27, 2023 for Netflix US, November 20, 2024 for Netflix UK, and January 31, 2025 for Netflix Japan.

Reception

The first season of Z Nation received mixed reviews from professional television critics. Its aggregate score on Metacritic is 48 out of 100 based on reviews from 11 critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the show a rating of 45%, based on reviews from 20 critics, with the site's consensus stating "Although it's hampered by an overcrowded narrative, Z Nation manages to muster up some fun scares without taking itself too seriously."

Chris Carabott of IGN noted that the show "continues to set itself apart in campy and inventive ways." Brian Moylan of The Guardian called Z Nation scary "in the same vague way as that talking green blob is in the Mucinex commercials" and concluded that viewers would hate all the characters, but that "Citizen Z (DJ Qualls) is especially horrible." Merrill Barr of Forbes magazine said the show had a high entertainment value.

In its first season, Z Nation averaged 1.42 million viewers per episode, including a .48 rating in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic.

Connection to other films and television

Sharknado films

The film Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, released in July 2015, featured a cameo appearance by Smith as Sgt. Warren. In a first-season episode of Z Nation, "Home Sweet Zombie" (2014), upon viewing a tornado carrying and tossing zombies, Warren remarks, "They ain't sharks!"

Additionally, the 2017 film Sharknado 5: Global Swarming featured a cameo appearance by Hodgkinson as Doc.

Companion prequel series

On July 19, 2018, it was reported that Netflix had given an eight-episode straight-to-series order for Black Summer, a prequel series set within the Z Nation universe. Actress Jaime King was set to star in the series, created by Schaefer and John Hyams. At the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con, Schaefer noted that "Black Summer is before the apocalypse got weird and was just scary." He also said that the drama series is not intended to be the funny version of The Walking Dead that Z Nation is, but instead would be a more traditional take on zombie lore. In November 2019, Netflix renewed the series for a second eight-episode season, set simultaneously with the first season of Z Nation.

In April 2023, it was confirmed that Black Summer was cancelled and will not return for a third season.

Potential revival

On March 12, 2024, the official Twitter account for The Asylum made a post regarding the show: "[s]orry folks. We took a brief break. But now that we're back... #ZNation", along with a poster that stated that there would be a major announcement "soon." It is unclear whether a possible return of Z Nation would be a continuation of the plot of the fifth season, or a full reboot of the series. However, this may have been a reference to the series returning to multiple streaming platforms. Additionally, in a social media post in August 2025 featuring a short animated video, lead actor Keith Allan pitched an animated sequel concept titled Z Nation: Reborn with the main cast returning to voice the characters, asking fans to sign a petition and demonstrate a demand for its development.