It’s a big day of announcements for The CW network announcing not only renewals for superhero favourites ARROW and THE FLASH, but a release date and trailer for the long gestating iZOMBIE adaptation and a brand new web series based on DC Comics’ VIXEN.
VIXEN, based on the character that first appeared in Action Comics #521 in 1981, will be an animated series set in the same universe as Arrow and The Flash. Created for The CW Seed, the network’s digital platform, it will be produced by Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim.
Created by the legendary Gerry Conway and Curt Swan, Vixen is the alter ego of Mari Jiwe McCabe, who grew up in a small African village, she gains the ability to access the powers of animals when she inherits her family’s Tantu Totem. In the comic, she’s had affiliations with the Justice League, Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey, making her an easy candidate for the CW television universe.
Two promotional images can be seen below. Details can be found at the excellent KSiteTV. The series will debut in the US Fall season.
iZOMBIE was first announced back in November 2013, and now The CW has not only released a new trailer for the show, but announced a release date of 17 March.
Starring Rose McIver as Olivia “Liv” Moore, a medical resident who unexpectedly becomes a zombie. From producers Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright., the team behind Veronica Mars, its premise is simple: when Liv eats a brain, she gains insight into their death. Cue the Scooby gang. It also stars Malcolm Goodwin as Clive Babineaux, Rahul Kohli as Dr. Chakrabarti, Robert Buckley as Majoy Lilywhite and David Anders as Blaine DeBeers.
The original iZOMBIE comic, from writer Chris Robertson and artist Mike Allred, ran from 2010 to 2012. The series took a darkly comic tone to its horror concept, which followed the adventures of regular girl Gwendolyn Price. Regular in every way, that is, except for her need to eat a human brain once a month to maintain her intelligence. In doing so, she gained the ability to see the deceased’s memories, which made it a bit of a murder mystery series sometimes. With ready made sidekicks of a 1960s ghost and a werewolf, the potential for a television series is a…no brainer.
Last but in now way least, The CW has officially (and rather unsurprisingly) announced that ARROW will be returning for a fourth season in October 2015, while THE FLASH will join it for a second run. In a statement released today, CW president Mark Pedowitz said: “By picking up these shows now, our executive producers can start planning next season’s storylines, and rolling these shows out throughout next season guarantees The CW will have more proven original series for our fall, midseason and summer 2016 lineups.”
