Z Nation is a zombie TV show that aired for five seasons on Syfy which follows a group of survivors attempting to get the only known survivor of a zombie bite to a CDC lab in California.
The series starts out three years into the zombie apocalypse where most humans have been killed and groups of survivors have figured out how to live in this world. Just before the world fell apart prison inmate Alvin Murphy was injected with an experimental zombie vaccine after which he was bitten eight time and did not turn it is believed that his blood holds the cure and the last hope for humanity. The series as a hole revolves around Murphy’s travels and a group of survivors looking to get him to help save the world.
In season one we are introduced to the main group lead by Lt. Roberta Warren who’s main focus become getting Murphy to California and the CDC. Citizen Z a NSA agent stuck at the Northern Light post in the Arctic Circle who guides the group through their journey and tries to figure out why different people are after Murphy. “Doc” a counselor and recovering drug addict who is the groups medic even though he is not really a doctor. “10K” a young man who is an amazing sniper and has vowed to kill 10,000 zombies. Addy Carver a young woman with a talent with radio equipment and uses a customized metal bat known as the Z Whacker. The main group stays mostly the same thorough the entire series with a few new character being add and some lost in each season.
The series starts out very much like its supost to be a very fun campy take on zombies and ridding on the fame of the Walking Dead. Though the series is pretty reduclus in how far zombies are taken and some story elements it does deal with emotional and hard topics while also trying to be as entertaing as possible. I didn’t love every season or epsiode but overall its an enjoyable show. In the following paragraphs I will be giving a summary of each season which some spoliers will be included.
Season one is mostly just the group attempting to get Murphy to California and all the things and problems they encounter a long the way. Near the end of the season they met Dr. Kurian the creator of the zombie virus who wants to take Murphy with him and while Murphy escapes he triggers the launch of multiple nuclear weapons which turns this into a nuclear apocalypse not just a zombie one.
Season two starts with the group getting back together and attempting to find Murphy again. As the story progresses they run into a woman they had met before who is now pregnant with Murphy’s child. When the baby is born it becomes clear that because of the vaccine in Murphy’s blood and his mutation into a zombie/human hybrid that the baby is not fully human and Murphy finds a couple to leave the child, Lucy, with. At the end of the season they arrive in California and Murphy agrees to go to the CDC lab but not all is as it seems and Murphy has other plan for the future.
Season three is my least favorite of the entire series mostly because of 10K’s story line. This season starts with a two part movie episode introducing The Man, a villian, who will show up again and his connection to ZONA. However, the main story of season three is Murphy creating a cult of “blends” people who he has injected with his blood which he can then control, and Warren trying to figure out how they can stop Murphy and save humanity. Near the end they form a truce when they need to save Lucy from The Man and stop ZONA from getting her.
Season four starts two years after the end of season three where Warren was shot and infected by Murphy’s blood and they where both taken by ZONA. Warren and Murphy escape ZONA and meet back up with the rest of the group who are trying to get to Newmerica, a community that is trying to get the world back on track. However, Warren keeps having visions of the Black Rainbow and the destruction of the world so the group goes on a mission to stop it.
Season five is the last and at the moment final season of Z Nation. Following the ending of season four and the Black Rainbow, Doc, 10K, and Sarge, a newer member of the group, are leading other survivors to Newmerica while Murphy goes looking for Warren. The group meets up again after finding Newmerica and meeting George, an old friend of Warren’s. Because of the Black Rainbow the zombies don’t just walk some of them talk and understand what is going on. Which becomes the main conflict of the season what to do with the talkers and how will this change society going forward. The series ends with Murphy eating the brain of a scientist that figure out the cure and we are left to wonder what will happen next. There is enough loose ends for more season but Syfy did offically cancel the series and no one has pick it up.