Syfy Orders Zombie Series from ‘Sharknado’ Producers

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Syfy has given a series order to “Z Nation,” an action-horror series set in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, Variety has learned.

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The 13-episode series produced by The Asylum (“Sharknado”) is set three years after a zombie virus gutted the country. It follows a team of everyday heroes tasked with taking the only known survivor of the plague from New York to California, where the last functioning viral lab waits for his blood. But things aren’t as easy as they seem: Although the antibodies the survivor carries are the world’s last (and best) hope for a vaccine, he also hides a dark secret that threatens them all.

The show is executive produced by “Eureka” creator Karl Schaefer.

“‘Z Nation’ will take viewers where no zombie has gone before,” says Schaefer, who will also serve as showrunner. The show, he continues, adds “a sense of hope to the horror of the apocalypse –- our everyday heroes take the fight to the zombies. It’ll be an epic journey unlike anything you’ve seen before.”

This series order is the most recent in a string of projects for the NBCUniversal network. Other deals include a series adaptation of the Bruce Willis-Brad Pitt movie “12 Monkeys” and the drama series “Olympus” from Robert Halmi Sr.

“’Z Nation’ is a unique new journey into the long established zombie genre,” Chris Regina, Syfy’s SVP of programming. “Instead of existential despair, the series offers hope that somehow, some way, humanity will not only survive, but triumph. In producing their first ever weekly series, our long-time partners The Asylum have created a different way of telling an iconic story.”

“Z Nation” will premiere in this fall. Dynamic Television will handle international rights.