Entertainment

Can Zombies Raise Careers From the Dead?

by Aly Semigran

Another day, another zombie. Okay, that's not traditionally how the saying goes, but at this point it might as well be. From The Walking Dead to World War Z, the undead have all but taken over our pop culture zeitgeist, and there seems to be no end in sight. (Hey, on the bright side, if the zombie apocalypse ever actually does unfold, we'll all be pretty well-versed on how to handle it at this point.) Now Syfy is getting in on zombie mania with Z Nation , a 13-episode action-horror series about the efforts to save humanity after the undead have ravaged the Earth. Hmm, sounds familiar, though Syfy's Senior VP of Programming Chris Regina assured The Hollywood Reporter that the show, which is set to debut this fall, will be different. "Z Nation will take viewers where no zombie has gone before...[There is] a sense of hope to the horror of the apocalypse."

But, here's how we know for sure that Z Nation will be different than doom-and-gloom zombie entertainment like, say, 28 Days Later: this saga is coming from the people that made Sharknado. Yes, the show is being produced by Asylum, the very same company that made the insta-classic known as Sharknado . Now, it doesn't seem like Z Nation will be as intentionally schlocky or hilariously horrible as Sharknado, but we are hoping like that modern masterpiece, it will give the spotlight to some D-listers like Ian Ziering and Tara Reid. Or, in this case, Z-listers. For all we know, the Z Nation could raise some careers from the dead. Here's our dream Z-list cast for the upcoming Syfy series.

Josh Server

Z Nation will need its own fearless, hunky leader (a la Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead) and, in honor of the Sharknado effect, it will also need to bring back a dreamboat from the '90s. All That's Josh Server, who turns 35 this month, checks off both of those boxes. His TV revival (he hasn't been seen on the small screen since 2007, which is unacceptable considering he was a Nickelodeon stand-out) would be, for lack of better phrasing, all that.

Amy Jo Johnson

Amy Jo Johnson, better known to everyone as The Pink Ranger, has been kicking butt since your childhood. If the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers actress, 43, (whose last full-time TV gig was on the Canadian police drama Flashpoint) can ward off a variety of robotic alien invaders while wearing a head-to-toe costume, fighting teems of zombies can't be that much of a challenge.

Jodie Resther

Jodie Resther (a.k.a. Kiki) wasn't afraid of the dark on Are You Afraid of the Dark?, nor was she afraid of vampires on Vampire High, so we think the 35-year-old (who now voices Francine on Arthur) could take on some zombies. I mean, we'd probably include the entire cast of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, but Jodie gets the edge because of her awesome fashion sense.

Salem the Cat

Every true post-world saga needs a pet, and if anything is going to survive the apocalypse, zombie or otherwise, it's going to be Sabrina the Teenage Witch's eternal, smart-alec kitty Salem Saberhagen.

Macaulay Culkin

Okay, so Macaulay Culkin isn't exactly on the Z-list, but if the Home Alone star (now 33-years-old) is willing to participate in a pizza-themed Velvet Underground tribute band, then why not a Syfy zombie-themed show? Plus, he's awfully good at stopping sticky and/or wet bandits, so how hard could stopping zombies be? At the very least, do a cameo, Mac.

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