iZombie Has Only Scratched The Surface

When and if a zombie apocalypse begins, there’s one man you might not want to partner up with on your quest for survival. “I like a warm shower and I like to take a poo in a nice toilet – I’m not doing it in the forest; I’m not about that life, man,” begins iZombie star Rahul Kohli.

The affable British actor is all about creature comforts and after setting up a sweet home theatre system earlier that day, he’s just returned from dinner with co-star Malcolm Goodwin (Clive Babineaux), who would be “the best” under Walking Dead conditions. “It looks like a PR stunt when we go, ‘Oh, we’re on this show and we’re best friends off screen,’ but with iZombie it’s true. I think everyone is close.”

iZombie and The Walking Dead are miles apart, but Kohli’s quick to draw some comparisons as the Rob Thomas hit series enters its fourth season. “One of the reasons you connect with The Walking Dead is you don't follow the story of the zombies, you follow the story of the humans because that’s what you immediately align yourself with,” he tells.

While the show follows zombie Liv Moore, a lot of fans have connected to Kohli’s adorable and “unfiltered” character, Dr Ravi Chakrabarti, because he’s a human. “He represents the audience – he always has,” Kohli says. “Liv’s a zombie and to a certain degree, despite the fact that you follow her journey and see the world through her eyes, the fact that she starts the show as a zombie, there’s already a disconnect with the audience.

“Ravi’s the first human who discovers her secret and you kind of realise the extent of her zombiism through his eyes. I think the audience immediately connects with that.”

Season three ended with Liv scratching Ravi as part of his ongoing efforts to find a cure. “With the cliffhanger, I’m still protecting that for viewers for when they finally get to see the premiere. There’s a scenario that a lot of people hadn’t thought could happen and it’s the road we take and I was very happy with the decision that Rob and everyone made.

“I was protective of [Ravi's] human status because of that relationship with the audience,” he says. “Clive and Ravi, in my opinion, should always remain human, because you need that.”

The other big developed in season three was the zombie virus being made public, which Kohli says will make for a refreshing change of pace moving forward.

“A lot of shows, when they reach that middle ground or middle period, in an effort to keep things moving need to change things to point where it’s no longer recognisable as the show you fell in love with in the first place,” he tells.

“iZombie still keeps its DNA. If you look at the [season four] trailer, it looks like nothing’s really changed, but it really has; the world has changed, the rules have changed.”

The rules have definitely changed for Ravi, with the aforementioned trailer teasing a nude scene for Kohli. “That put a damper on things,” he laughs. “When we got picked up for season four, I was partying in LA and having a good time and spending my season money.

“I got a phone call from my producer going, ‘Yo, in episode one, you’re nude. And not just topless, the full Monty.’ And they told me that in June, which ruined my summer. I think I was eating a burger when I got the phone call and I remember sliding it away half eaten.”