Originally conceived as a television series, the popular Zombieland movie has become just that. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (the original writers) unleash an excellent pilot on Amazon Prime, where any viewer can stream the episode and decide its fate.
For those of you wondering what sort of plot the series follows, it sort of takes off from the movie, and the new family of survivors decide it’s time to make their family into a village. Of course, finding other survivors leads to hilarious results. Though, don’t confuse this for a straight up sitcom or even slapstick. It follows more along the lines of a Scrubs-like dramedy, and seamlessly blends humor, drama, and even a little bit of suspense.
On the whole, it keeps all the elements that made the movie great, such as the narrations and semi-omniscient references to other places in the country, and makes for such a promising series to watch. Even if the series doesn’t make it, I suggest you watch the pilot anyway, if only to catch a glimpse of Tallahassee’s hilarious backstory.
I, for one, want to see more.
Was it the best pilot I’ve ever seen? No. But it certainly isn’t the worst, nor was it the mediocre-est. It was a good pilot, and I only say good instead of excellent, because it had two downsides: pacing and lack of Woody Harrelson.
That being said, both issues are forgivable. After all, for the former, it’s hard to write a pilot that tells the audience everything they need to know to get them up to speed (after all, the movie was released four years ago), and introduce a new plot. It’s even harder to do that in 26 minutes. As for the latter, the lack of Woody is just something to get used to. The new Tallahassee (Kirk Ward) is good, and he has his own sort of macho take on the dry Tallahassee of the movie that is more humorous and enjoyable if you forget about Woody’s portrayal. Honestly, if people give this series a chance, I think we’ll forget the greats, like Aaron Eisenberg and Emma Stone, that played in the original movie and learn to embrace the new actors, all of whom really deliver every scene with all the comedy and drama that is necessary.
Whether or not the viewers of Amazon Prime will agree is anyone’s guess. It’s hard to know without knowing exactly what sort of shows stream the most on the website. But knowing what I know about Amazon Prime users, I think there is a good chance that this show will get a full series.
If you’d like to watch the pilot and make up your own mind, you may do so here, for free.
