iZombie is finally back on The CW tonight at 9p and they are going to have a lot of fun this season.
One of the things that make this Zombie Cop Procedural so much fun is all the personalities that Liv becomes when she eats a brain. Throughout the first season, she has eaten a whole lot of interesting brains like a racist old man, an actor, a Frat brother, a rich bitch and this season she has over 30 brains to choose from.
Recently at The CW TCA Winter Press Day, Rose McIver, who plays Liv, revealed how she finds out what characters they are going to give her each week. She said, “I’m genuinely terrified knowing what brains I might not have a clue how to perform.” Then she continued, “And I remember, this season, I went into the writers’ room before we started, and they said, ‘Okay. We’ve got a list of, like, 35 brains. You are allowed to veto one.’ And they were, like, just everything that you could imagine and terrifying, like, all sorts of adventurous, scary things.”
What is the brain she vetoed? She refused to be the crazy cat lady. Why? She explained, “I’m a dog person. I’ll say that. And they found out that it would be a great prank to play on me to pretend that there was this brain that I would have to eat where I was interacting with, like, seven cats, in a bedroom. Anyway, that was the one that I was, like, ‘Absolutely not. Let’s get rid of that.'” Pussy!
Therefore, we will not be seeing that one, but what will be seeing? She told me, “I do a conspiracy theorist brain. That was a lot of fun, sticking gum on the cameras on computers and suspicious of everybody. I do the Dominatrix, which is a lot of fun. The hot mess brain is kind of like a train wreck, a train wreck style but with a little less liaison.” She also says she will be, “The gossip….I do a gossip which is very compromising and it’s all sorts of people in all sorts of situations.”
There is one pair of brains, Liv gets to share with her former lover, Major (Robert Buckley). She revealed, “We’ve got the father/daughter brain was a lot of fun, so she’s like kind of a Tim from Home Improvement.” What about Buckley? He says he eats, “the brains of the 14 year daughter.” How did he react to that, “So they had told me in the off season, ‘We have a great episode for you. It’s perfect for you.’ So, as an actor, that’s ‘What is it? Is it going to be, like, a cage fighter? A Lothario?’ They are, like, “No, no. It’s, for you, a 14-year-old, bitchy, teenage girl.’” I can see him nailing that brain perfectly. He also disclosed that he would be eating more brains this season, so we will see him taking on more characters than just a 14-year-old teenager.
While I am sure Buckley learned a lot to play that part, what did McIver learn to play one of her many alter egos for an episode? She divulged that, “Playing guitar last season in the Country Music brain was a lot of fun.” Then she explained why, “I played a little when I was a kid. My brother’s a really talented guitarist and when I had to pick that up again it was sort of inspiring. I found myself plucking away and finding it a bit of a stress relief. There are all kinds of things that I wouldn’t have necessary explored that I get to with the show.” She also especially felt a connection with the Dungeon & Dragons brain she downs this season because it gave her a whole new insight into them. She was surprised to find out how much fun she had playing that one.
We learn something new about her acting range each week, and how the Emmy voters ignore her is beyond me. She is one of the greatest character actresses on television these days. It is like she is doing Orphan Black every week and doing it just as well as Tatiana Maslany if not better because she is always changing it up.
If you have been missing out on iZombie for the last two seasons, then binge watch it on Netflix to catch up on the show. Once you do, then watch all the new episodes on The CW. It is the best show you are not watching.
