By Lacy Baugher for Sci-Fi on June 6th, 2013

Zombie Drama In the Flesh Gets Second Season, BBC America Premiere

Luke Newberry as Kieran (Photo: © BBC, Des Willie)
Luke Newberry as Kieran (Photo: © BBC, Des Willie)
BBC Three’s odd little zombie drama In the Flesh comes to the US starting tonight (June 6) on BBC America, which is airing the series as a special event over three consecutive nights this weekend.

Yes, zombies are basically the new vampires. With the massive success of AMC’s The Walking Dead and upcoming summer blockbuster World War Z about to hit theaters any day now, you can’t turn around without tripping over a member of the undead. So, it’s not really that surprising that even British telly wants to get in on the whole post-apocalyptic zombie thing. What makes In the Flesh stand out, however, is its unexpected premise.

The drama tells the story of 18-year-old Kieran, who is suffering from Partially Deceased Syndrome – also known as PDS or basically, being a zombie.  Thanks to the magic of modern medicine, Kieran’s zombie condition has been successfully treated enough to allow him back out into society and so he must return home  to his small Northern village and face the things he did as a mindless monster.  He also has to deal with the small problem that he kind of wanted to be dead in the first place.

Get a sneak peek at the first episode below - it gives you a good feeling for how different the tone of this particular show seems to be and makes you curious to see more.

By tackling the whole zombie thing from the angle of a member of the undead, it actually becomes kind of compelling. It’s certainly an unexpected twist on the genre – the recent film Warm Bodies sort of played around with similar themes, but that was a comedy and this is clearly meant to be a much more serious take on how society would have to reconfigure itself if the dead suddenly started walking, could remember who they were, and actually felt bad about the whole eating brains thing.  The show’s concept is interesting because of the human element, not the zombie one.

Interesting enough, apparently, to merit a second season! Writer Dominic Mitchell announced via Twitter that In the Flesh will be be back for Series 2, which will film later this year and transmit in 2014. Given that there was only a couple months lag time between the UK and US airings of Series 1, Americans should probably expect to see Series 2 sometime next year as well. (Hurrah!)

Thoughts? Are you curious about this show or are you just about all zombie-d out? 

By Lacy Baugher for Sci-Fi on June 6th, 2013
Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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