Season 4 of The CW’s non-superhero comic book adaptation iZombie is almost here, and while there are certainly some political overtones in the new storyline, series lead Rose McIver says it’s funnier than the previous season. If you’ve checked out the preview for upcoming season, you’ll know things are a little different for the human/zombie population in Seattle; namely, the city has been walled off from the rest of the country and it’s being referred to as New Seattle.


That is just one of many changes headed the series’ way as Liv, Clive, Ravi, and Major deal with the new world order. Although such a scenario might not seem like a hotbed of comedic opportunities, it sounds as though the writers’ room has taken full advantage of the narrative opportunities, using laughter as a way to enhance the ramifications of everything that’s going on.


McIver shared her insights into the tone of season 4 during a set visit late last year, and she thinks that when the drama becomes stronger, so too do the opportunities for comedy. As she puts it, being able to laugh at something difficult is essentially a way to cope with the weight of the situation. McIver said:

“Weirdly I think it’s funnier than season prior, I really do. I think that they’ve just kind of heightened the contrast a bit. It’s strong drama and strong comedy. I believe we have in those grave situations you have to have a sense of humor about things because how else do you get through? So we feel like this season you can look forward to Major on wresting brain and Liv on romantic comedy brain at the same time, so there’s plenty of humor that finds its way through and I think that it’s some of the funniest writing that I’ve experienced in the show.

As with season’s past, much of that comedy will come from Liv being on one particular brain or another. Each season has seen the writers’ room attempting to outdo the previous in terms of putting McIver and the other zombie characters on the show (particularly Robert Buckley) fun challenges in terms of the personas they must take on in addition to the character they’re playing. As McIver mentioned, Liv will be on rom-com brain, which gives the show plenty of opportunities to switch things up and and really go for some laughs by including classic romantic comedy tropes in the episode.

“I watched a lot of Bridget Jones and Notting Hill and all the classics. It’s one of my favorites. It’s a two-parter episode so we get a lot of it. But the devices that provides are really, really, funny like we see things in slow motion and we have the fans in the face and we have Liv reacting to things in a way that’s certainly doesn’t fly with the people around her, as often is the case. It will certainly remind people of the comedy that we’re capable of on this show.”

So even though iZombie is setting the stage for a different season that’s sure to bring plenty of drama — and maybe even different drama than fans of the show are used to — deep down it’s still the same brain-munching comedy it always has been.