Rose McIver seems far too beautiful to be a zombie, and yet she may very well get to play one on TV, as she's been cast in the lead role of Diane Ruggiero and Rob Thomas' pilot adaptation of DC Comics' iZombie. McIver, whom you may recognize for playing Tinker Bell in Once Upon a Time or Vivien Scully in Masters of Sex, is the latest to join the potential series, which would center on a young woman/zombie who takes a job at a coroner's office where she'll have plenty of access to the brains she needs to eat to maintain her humanity.
When we spoke to Veronica Mars creator/director Rob Thomas last week about the feature sequel to his beloved-but-cancelled UPN/CW series, he tipped us off that his iZombie pilot had indeed secured its lead, but he wasn't able to give us any specifics at that time. But word is out today, as Deadline reports that McIver is officially on board to play the role of Olivia "Liv" Moore, the med student-turned-zombie whose steady diet of brains leads her to gaining employment at a coroner's office where she reluctantly feeds on the corpses' brains. As a side effect to that diet includes inheriting the brains' memories, she eventually ends up helping out her medical examiner boss and a police detective solve crimes based on the information she gets.
As mentioned, McIvor's past credits include Once Upon a Time and Masters of Sex. As for what's coming up, as we reported previously, she's set to play the lead role of Cathy in Lifetime's Flowers in the Attic sequel, Petals on the Wind. I'm especially excited to see how she tackles that role, especially if it means seeing her vengeful side. And now we might get to see her zombie side, should things work out for iZombie!
McIver joins previously cast Malcolm Goodwin, Alexandra Krosney and David Anders, as well as One Tree Hill's Robert Buckley. And Deadline recently reported that Nora Dunn had signed on to play a series regular as Eva Moore, a hospital administrator and Liv's mother. So it seems the cast for this pilot is shaping up nicely.
When I talked to Rob Thomas last week, he told me he was "thrilled" about the casting for the lead, and mentioned that he's also directing the pilot. It would be very exciting to have a series from Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero on the network, especially in the wake of the big screen Veronica Mars comeback. But it will be up against other pilots in contention at the CW. Thomas did note that CW may be in the market for a show like this, however, saying "They really want another strong female lead on the network and I think iZombie will give them that. I hope."
We hope too!
