https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pkJo_0Vv8A Zoo roars on to the small screen tonight at 9p and you don’t want to miss this CBS drama that will make you look at your pet differently. Ever since the dawn of time, man has locked up animals and now they have had enough. Starting tonight, James Patterson’s book comes to life as the animals rebel against their captivators.
The series starts off with a lion attack at a Zoo in LA that leaves several people dead. Jamie (Kristen Connolly) is a newspaper reporter who has a conspiracy blog on the side. She is convinced that the lion attack is related to the food and she is using her investigative skills to find out if that is the culprit. She winds up getting in touch with Mitch Morgan (Billy Burke), who performed the autopsy on the lions and knows a lot about animals. He knows there’s something going on here and now the two of them are trying to figure what is.
Over in Africa, Jackson Oz (James Wolk) is a Safari Tour Guide in Botswana. He knows the animals there, and they are not acting like they normally do. So his friend, Abraham (Nonso Anozie) and him try to find out what is happening. They go to a nearby camp and no one is there. The two of them discover a video that shows that they might’ve been under an animal attack. Just as the video finishes, they hear the roar of the King of the Jungle. As they try to avoid the attack, Chloe (Nora Arnezeder), a tourist and the surviving member of the original attack, looks to them for protection. Now they are running for their lives in an open area.
Jackson is an American Zoologist and he has animals in blood because his dad studied them. In fact, everyone thought that his dad was insane because he predicted exactly what is happening now. Jackson needs to finds his father’s research and stop the attacks before we become an endangered species.
Zoo is thrilling drama that is a perfect way to spend your Tuesdays this summer. You just might not want your pet in the same room with you as you watch it. On that note, does anyone want my cat?
You know the series is excellent when the man who wrote the book praises it. A few weeks ago at the CBS Studios’ Summer Press Day, James Patterson talked about the show. He said, “People always say the book is better than the movie and the screenwriters say well, we only had two hours. In this case, they have 13 hours so there’s no excuses.†Then he added, “But in this case, the series is going to be better than the book.†How did he come up with the idea for the book? He explained, “I kept seeing stories about odd behavior around the world, alligators in Florida and crocodiles doing weird things in Africa and remember the story about the fish jumping into the boats in Michigan. And that sort of spurred me into, okay, why is this going on and is there a novel here, is there something kind of cool.â€
There was something cool about that concept, and the book he wrote from it went to sell millions of copies. Not only that, as we know, Zoo has been turned into a TV series. So tune in tonight and every Tuesday at 9p to see his chilling words come to life.
This Saturday, James Wolk and his longtime fiancee, Jae Lynch, said I do in Santa Monica in front of their family and friends.
A few weeks ago at the CBS Studios Summer Press Day, the star of CBS’ upcoming suspenseful drama, Zoo, talked about his then upcoming nuptials. He said that planning it up until that point had “been busy but good.” There was no fighting between the two of them over the planning because he let her do whatever she wanted. Looking at the brand new Mr & Mrs dancing during their big day, it is obvious he made the right choice by letting her Wolk, I mean work, her magic.
To see him in the much anticipated James Paterson’s Zoo, mark your calendars for June 30th at 9p because that is when it will come roaring on to our televisions.
BTW if you are looking for a truly excellent movie to watch on a lazy Saturday day, you must check out Front of the Class. The amazing heartfelt movie is about a teacher with Tourette’s Syndrome that no wants to hire. He is so brilliant in it, I can’t believe he didn’t at least get an Emmy nomination for it, even though he deserved the win.
On June 30th, James Patterson’s words from his critically acclaimed novel, Zoo, are going to come to life in a 13 episode event that should not be missed. On Monday, I attended the CBS Studios Summer Press Day and Patterson, the producers and the cast talked about the series that takes a look at what happens if the animals take back what is rightfully there’s.
When the producers were asked if animals will be vilified on the show, Scott Rosenberg answered what he wants the viewers to take away from it. He said, “Listen, we all love animals and nobody wants to create an environment that are anti-animal.” Then he added, “That said, in July, when mom, dad, Buddy and sis are sitting on the couch and they just finished watching episode five of Zoo and the dog is sitting over there, Skippy the Spaniel, we really want a place where, ‘So ma, it’s your turn to walk Skippy’; ‘I ain’t walking Skippy, you walk Skippy’. We really want, I keep saying this, we want the whole world to fear their Schnauzer, then we’ve done our job right.”
As someone who is already afraid of her cat, I am not sure how to handle what he said. Luckily, I spoke to Zoo’s star James Wolk, who has a dog, after the panel and I asked him if he is afraid of his four-legged friend since he started working on the show. He told me, “No! She’s too sweet. She’s such a wimp.” Then he added that 9 year old Flea (named after the bassist from Red Hot Chili Peppers), “Afraid of the dog, I can’t even tell the dog not to sleep in bed with me because she’s such a softie.”
Wolk also wanted to make it clear how the animals will most likely be perceived after the show debuts. He said, “We don’t vilify the animals. We really don’t. You’ll see when the show happens, there’s reason to be frightened of animals in the show, but they are not vilified. I think audiences, actually in part, will hope for their success.” Then he explained, “How we treat animals, we put them behind bars. It is a reminder that we need to treat the animal kingdom in our environment with respect. I think in that way the show is going to surprise people. It’s just not going to be animal attack of the week.”
So be prepared to be scared, surprised and excited for what happens next on Zoo starting June 30th on CBS.
Before James Wolk worked in advertising on The Crazy Ones, he was teacher in Front of the Class. How amazing was the 22 year old in that 2008 telemovie?
