More Z's are coming to Syfy.
The network announced that it has renewed its very own post-apocalyptic zombie drama "Z Nation" for a second season for debut in 2015.
The renewal was announced via the show's Twitter account Monday, Oct. 20: "BREAKING: Ready for more z's?! #ZNation has been picked up for a 2nd season on #Syfy!"
While there is no word yet on how many episodes have been ordered, it is safe to assume that the upcoming season will also have 13 episodes just like the first one.
The Karl Schaefer and Craig Engler-created series, which kicked off on Sept. 12, is averaging just under 1.5 million viewers and a 0.5 rating among adults 18-49 in live-plus-same-day showings, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Z Nation" is the most watched show on Syfy in its 10: 00 p.m. slot and the second best among the key demo, according to Deadline.
The first season of the show was filmed in Spokane, Wash., but Rich Cowan of North by Northwest Productions cannot say yet whether Season 2 will also be filmed in the same city as contracts are still pending, the Associated Press reported.
Filming of the first 13 episodes of the show created around 200 full-time jobs in the city, and cast hundreds of Spokane residents as extras, mostly zombies.
From the same production company that brings "Sharknado," The Asylum, the series follows a story of a band of survivors trekking across the country three years after a zombie virus broke out. They must transport the only known human that seems to have survived a bite from the undead from New York to California, where the last functioning viral lab is based.
"Z Nation" has been inevitably compared to AMC's mega hit post-apocalyptic series "The Walking Dead" since it came into the limelight a few months ago. But if there is one element that "Z Nation" has that the comics-based show doesn't have, it is humor.
In a phone interview with The Seattle Times' Rob Owen, Schaefer, who also serves as executive producer and showrunner for the series, said that unlike "The Walking Dead," his zombie apocalypse show has some humor in it, and immediately presented a potential cure to the outbreak.
"We're trying to put the fun back in zombies," Schaefer said. "Our characters aren't afraid of zombies and they're not just waiting to die. Their goal isn't just to survive. They have a mission."
And though humor is a distinct element of the show, Schaefer insisted that The Asylum's "Z Nation," is a real show and not another mockbuster, which the production company is best known for.
"One of the first things I said was I wanted to make a real show, not a mockbuster," Schaefer said. "This is not that kind of wacky, Saturday night Syfy movie craziness. It's not cheesy at all."
"Z Nation" stars Harold Perrineau, Tom Everett Scott, DJ Qualls, Michael Welch, Anastasia Baranova, Russell Hodgkinson and Kellita Smith.
