WonderCon 2016: Interviews with the Cast and Producers of ‘iZombie’

Last year’s WonderCon was the first time we got to chat with the iZombie cast and producers. The show was only just starting to make its way into our un-dead hearts then. Now with their second season coming to a close and a third season already underway, what can we expect from the brainy show, you ask?

Well, we asked the cast and producers, Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright, to see what they had to say about everything from upcoming/potential brains, their excitement for a season three, and that Ravi/Peyton/Blaine love triangle.
Rose McIver (Olivia ‘Liv’ Moore):

First up: the leading zombie herself. She spoke of not having to wear the zombie wig and look “normal” in 2.15: “He Blinded Me… with Science”. Turns out spray tan was needed in the process. It’s okay, Rose: same. And if you guys loved Liv’s “normal Rose look”, you’re going to love the potential brain that’ll have Rose use her natural New Zealand accent. Executive producer Rob Thomas has ideas! Her favorite brain this season was definitely either the magician brain or the erotica librarian brain. McIver teased the-then upcoming episode, 2.16: “Pour Some Sugar, Zombie.” “So, you’re playing like an aggressive, sassy stripper. And white trash….so basically channel me,” Rose relates what executive producer Diane Ruggiero-Wright said in regards to the stripper brain. Lastly, Rose shares her excitement for iZombie‘s third season renewal and explains the story of how panicked she was when receiving the news.

Alyson Michalka-Ringer (Peyton Charles):

Words can not express how excited I am that we finally got to interview my favorite character, Peyton Charles. Both this character and actress are such treasures. Alyson explains the ‘Livton’ roommate situation. The girls are back living together and at the time, we were so curious as to how! Well, it wasn’t that hard to figure out, seeing how Gilda/Rita isn’t taking up space in Liv’s apartment anymore. Peyton didn’t mind sleeping on the boy’s couch, Michalka guesses. Which is a great transition into Peyton’s relationship quandary. “Obviously, I know that Blaine’s a shady dude and he’s done some bad stuff, doing some bad stuff. But I can’t help but be physically attracted to him and find him mysterious,” Aly states about Peyton’s attraction to Blaine.

But of course Pavi’s (Peyton and Ravi) relationship is “based on a real friendship”. How Alyson explained it was like: the pair is a comfort for one another. They get each other so well and can vent/rant when they’ve had a crappy day, etc. That my friends, is why I’m a Peyton/Ravi fan, through and through. Remember the Blaine/Peyton hookup? Alyson teased at the time, that that moment will certainly have ramifications for her.

Executive Producer, Rob Thomas:

Guest stars and more guest stars! Executive producer Rob Thomas teases the upcoming guests to appear on the rest of the season. The one he was most looking forward for us to see: the other Rob Thomas. Both Rob Thomas’ have constantly been getting tweets meant for the other person or just misidentified in general. I know I was confused when I first thought Rob Thomas the musician also created TV shows. As iZombie‘s Rob Thomas explains, the other Rob Thomas took the guest spot role right away and is actually a huge fan of the show! I mean, fellow Rob Thomas’ have to support each other’s work, right? And for all your Minor fans, Rob reminds us that Minor is very much alive and happy with a new family.

Rahul Kohli (Ravi Chakrabarti):

Seeing how Rahul is a huge Star Wars fan, we just had to ask if Rob Thomas and the other iZombie writers sneak all those references in just for him; they do! Cast him in a Star Wars film already! Similar with Alyson Michalka’s interview and David Ander’s, Rahul speaks about where Ravi’s love life stands. “I don’t think it’s over for Ravi and Peyton,” he states. But of course the Ravi/Peyton/Blaine love triangle causes various issues and brings new elements to the show. Speaking of Blaine, with him having taken the cure he is considered almost like a new guinea pig. Better than the rats that Rahul is deathly afraid of (he’s working on it). He also considers Ravi to be the supporting character of the show. “He’s there for Peyton, he’s there for Liv. I don’t think he has many personal goals, that’s why we don’t really delve into him as a character,” Kohli explains. I’m a strong believer in character development/depth for every character, regardless of screen-time or main/supporting status. Let’s hope this occurs more in season three.

Malcolm Goodwin (Clive Babineaux):

“I think it’s gonna rock his world,” Goodwin says in regards to Clive eventually finding out about the zombie world. “That means there’s a vampire world, a werewolf world…” he continues. But finding out that Liv is also a zombie? That’s a bit of a different story. Malcolm predicts he’ll see a different side of Liv obviously, but it’ll just be something he’ll have to get used to. Clive believes in psychics, I think he can handle zombies, too. How Malcolm wants Clive to find out about Team Z? In the biggest high stakes situation possible.

David Anders (Blaine “DeBeers” McDonough):

We asked David Anders if Blaine sees himself as villain or a victim. “He had a rough go of it. He was a rich kid, but he also was a tortured rich kid,” Anders notes. He believes Blaine sees himself as a little of both. With Blaine taking the cure, it’ll affect his entire being. Definitely. David gives some insight on that “buried alive” look Blaine was rocking in episodes prior. It wasn’t the warmest, that’s for sure. When asked if Blaine has any sort of control over the zombie population, Anders mentioned he does – but not to the degree like in the season finale.

Robert Buckley (Major Lilywhite):

The first question Robert was asked was of course about Minor, the basset hound. How is he? Will we see him again? Robert explains his hesitations with the episode when he first heard about it. Major (not the character) press was needed to be done by Rob Thomas once that episode aired, to emphasis that the dog was totally fine and loved elsewhere. When Buckley was asked about guest stars, he adorably flags down someone to make sure he’s allowed to mention certain names, and he can. He explains how the other Rob Thomas was so knowledgeable of the show and was asking some serious iZombie questions. And Buckley has a huge man-crush on Steven Weber (Vaughn Du Clark), just throwing that out there.

Executive Producer, Diane Ruggiero-Wright:

Diane’s interviews are always hilarious. She goes into detail about the-then upcoming brains we could expect (she definitely related to the trash-talking stripper. But not in the stripper sense) and spoils a bit more than she should with one of them. What was interesting about her interview is she brings up a valid point. Everyone thought (myself included) that iZombie was going to get a full 22 episode order for the second season. However, iZombie’s second season only had 19 episodes, thus cutting 3 episodes worth of story. Wonder why Liv’s family wasn’t mentioned since early season 2? This predicament is why. Don’t worry, the Moore family members are bound to make an appearance come Season 3.

TV shows usually always release some new information or spoilers during conventions. For iZombie, it was a highlight reel of all the episodes that had aired this season at the time (up to 2.15). The highlight reel can be viewed below.

Hope everyone enjoyed that epic iZombie 2-hour season two finale on Tuesday, April 12th!
Our beloved brain-and-vision filled show will return to our TV screens in October.