Zombie Blues. The Depressing Rise of the Living Dead in Contemporary Television

Abstract

This article analyses one of the most notorious TV trends in the last several years –the zombie–, and how its evolution is related not only to the usual dynamics that is a feature of every artisitic genre, but also to the “affective turn” that contemporary society is experiencing. In order to analyse this cultural phenomena, firstly we will explore the metaphorical condition that traditionally has been associated with zombie narratives since George A. Romero’s reinvention of the genre. Next, we will study –by taking a close look at some examples– the causes for the ongoing humanization the living dead have gone through both in cinema and television. Lastly, we will scrutinize three recent TV shows dealing with the zombie myth from stylistic, thematic and innovative ideological perspectives: In the Flesh (BBC Three, 2013-14), Les Revenants (Canal Plus France, 2012-15) and iZombie (The CW, 2015-).