‘iZombie’ charms with undead-procedural mix

UNDEAD “psychic” Liv (Rose McIver) and her boss Dr. Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli)

Inspired by the DC comic book of the same title, “iZombie” is about an ex-medical student who adjusts to life as an undead being while keeping her transformation and proclivities a secret.

Olivia “Liv” Moore (Rose McIver), a promising young woman, attends a boat party that goes terribly awry—zombies disrupt the revelry, resulting in a huge body count. Liv, attacked by one, later revives, but finds that she’s been transformed into a creature that hungers for human brains.

Now looking odd to friends and relatives, the former brunette has bleached hair and really pale skin, and works at a morgue. She steals brains from corpses for survival, until she is confronted by her fascinated boss (Rahul Kohli), who offers to help her find a cure.

In the comic book, the zombie protagonist worked as an undertaker, who often met up with friends, a ghost from the 1960s and a geeky werewolf. The show reimagines the concept—sans ghost and dog boy—into a police procedural, with weekly murder mysteries that Liv helps solve.

Like in the comics, consuming the brains of the departed (usually a victim) gives Liv access to memories, and makes her temporarily imbibe their quirks and talents.

She assists a newly transferred detective, Clive Babineaux (Malcolm Goodwin), who is unaware of her true nature, and believes that she has psychic abilities.

Developed by “Veronica Mars” collaborators Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright, “iZombie” is its own entity, with a spunky enough protagonist. The character is no Veronica Mars, not in the more inherently proactive and heroic sense. But the detective work is familiar territory that it, and viewers, can latch on to.

McIver helps that process; we see only the go-getter, sprightly side of Liv briefly, prezombie existence. But undead Liv is, as intended, dazed, giddy, somber in an emo way, curious—not in that order, but she’s always interesting.

The program also has its own version of zombie mythology, lighter than most takes on the genre. So, it’s no “The Walking Dead”—it’s not bound to get that heavy or depressing, despite the regular tackling of death, and mainly because it’s meant to be darkly comic.

Keeping things unpredictable is the presence of another zombie, the savage Blaine (David Anders from “Alias,” “The Vampire Diaries”). His bad-boy vibe is similar to that of the vampire Spike from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” He also sports a Billy Idol-esque look, augmenting the element of danger that rightly keeps Liv unsettled. (“Veronica” had a bad boy that the titular character was drawn to, so we’ll see how that formula develops here.)

The monster-procedural mix works, although it’s too early to be truly invested. Still, it’s a delight to just watch the mysteries unfold, while a bigger, character-centric one brews in the periphery. Thomas and company know a thing or two about mind-blowing payoffs, so a more affecting puzzle is something to look forward to.

(“iZombie” airs Wednesdays, 9 p.m., on Warner TV.)

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