iZombie is coming back to the CW on April 4th after a one-year break. I thought it would be good to review the show’s two past seasons before the third premieres next week. Let’s get into it!

So, the show stars Rose McIver as Olivia “Liv” Moore, an ex-medical student, who, after a crazy boat party, wakes up (in a body bag) and finds she has been turned into a zombie. She now works at the morgue to gain access to brains. However, when she eats them, she gains the person’s characteristics, in addition to seeing visions that help her solve the person’s murder.

This is one of my favorite shows right now. It’s funny, well-written, and a unique comic adaptation. While other shows like The Flash and Arrow are almost direct adaptations from their source material, iZombie‘s main character is actually not the comics’ protagonist. Even if they had kept the comics’ main hero, I don’t think it would’ve been as appealing. I’ve read the iZombie comics, and they certainly aren’t as good as the show. Liv Moore is a charming protagonist, and the side characters like Clive Babineaux, the homicide detective Liv works with, and Ravi, the head medical examiner, are very three-dimensional and fun to watch. You can also get behind them more than some of the others.

Now, before I jump into completely raving about how great this show is, I would like to express one problem I have with it. Now, the problem I have can generally be expected from every CW show. However, it’s hard for me to love the show with all my heart when during some parts, it transforms into more like a soap opera, which affects some episodes’ pacing, making it feel sluggish occasionally. However, if you’re into the supernatural case-of-the-week shows like Grimm, then you should definitely check this one out.

The acting is done really well, and the chemistry between actors is great. Rose McIver is perfect as the main protagonist. Rahul Kohli is hilarious as Ravi, and Malcolm Goodwin is also very good as Clive. The way the show handles zombieism is very unique. Like I mentioned before, Liv gets visions and gains the victim’s personality traits when she consumes a brain. Even the multiple ways she eats her brains are fun to see, whether they’re mixed in with noodles or salad. It’s hilariously fun to watch, as gross as it is.

I do think that Season 2 is a tiny bit better than Season 1. Season 2 has a new and more intriguing storyline, but it still has a new brain every week for Liv to chow down on. It also builds on its characters better than Season 1’s efforts. Unfortunately, it still has the same issues as its predecessor, mainly relating to the abundance of unneeded romantic subplots. It definitely drags the story down a lot. That being said, everything else about Season 2 is great. The writing is much better than Season 1, and the horror-comedy aspect works a lot more. I won’t spoil anything, but the finale for Season 2 is just great. It’s emotional, action-packed, and funny, and leads us perfectly into what will be Season 3.

The story is also very good in both seasons, thanks to this being a very open-ended program. Unlike other DC shows like Gotham, The Flash, and Arrow, this is not a story known to the public. Those shows need to stick to their characters’ origins, for fear the fans will come running. This show, however,  can do whatever they want, and it works extremely well for that reason. While the episodes always end with a cliffhanger, and that definitely makes the show feel a bit stretched, it certainly keeps me engaged, even when re-watching episodes.

Overall, iZombie is a great show. It’s currently on Netflix, and I highly recommend you watch it. It has flaws, but it’s still a funny, interesting, and unique series. I’m giving the first and second seasons both an A-.

iZombie: Season 1 stars Rose McIver, Malcolm Goodwin, Rahul Kohli, Robert Buckley, David Anders, Aly Michalka.