Diksha Sundriyal
Created by Karl Schaefer and John Hyams, ‘Black Summer’ is an American web television drama series which serves as a companion prequel to the Syfy television series ‘Z Nation’. Set in the ‘Z Nation’ universe, the show is structured as a zombie apocalypse drama and follows a crack team of special forces as it fights for hope during the fallout.
The series is produced by ‘The Asylum’, the same production company behind ‘Z Nation’, and is written and directed primarily by John Hyams. Initial buzz around the series’ production began in 2018 when ‘Netflix’ announced it had given an 8-episode straight to series order for a spin-off to Syfy’s ‘Z Nation’, named ‘Black Summer’. Hyams and Schaefer, who had worked previously as show-runners for the original ‘Z Nation’, were brought on board to maintain the authenticity of the companion prequel.
Schaefer while speaking about the show at the 2018 San-Diego Comic-Con said that ” Black Summer is before the apocalypse got weird and scary”. While ‘Z Nation’ can be viewed as a comical take on the genre of zombie apocalypse dramas, the same cannot be said about its prequel according to producer Jodi Binstock, who stated that the series is “not tongue in cheek, its very serious; it’s as if the zombie apocalypse really happened in 2018 and explores what that would be for all of us.” Schaefer stated that the series is not episodic, but is instead an 8-hour “chunk” to work through.
After a 5-season run on Syfy, it was reported that the production of ‘Z Nation’ had not been renewed, leading to increased fan interest for its prequel. Though Syfy did not specify as to why they had dropped the series, David Michael Latt, the CEO of the show’s mother production company ‘The Asylum’, hinted over Twitter that it was probably due to diminishing ratings. Fans around the world are primarily relying on Netflix to watch ‘Z Nation’ with some even suggesting the streaming giant pick up the series as a Netflix Original for a 6th season to be simultaneously aired with the prequel ‘Black Summer’. An interesting idea if you ask me, since the two series, though set in different timelines, happen to share the same universe.
‘Black Summer’, after its launch, opened to favorable reviews. Now the question is, will there be a ‘Black Summer’ Season 2? Let’s find out.
Black Summer Cast: Who’s in it?
Former model Jaime King, who has previously appeared in films like ‘Sin City (2005)’ and ‘My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009)’, plays the central character Rose, a mother in a desperate search for her daughter. Justin Chu Cary appears as Julius James, a criminal who takes the identity of “Spears”, the name of the guard he killed.
Christine Lee stars as Ooh “Sun” Kyungsun, a Korean woman who is looking for her missing mother. Sal Velez Jr. plays William Velez, a pole lineman who has a sister and children in Texas. Kelsey Flower appears as Lance, a young survivor with no family.
In an inspiring casting decision by the showrunners, a deaf Syrian refugee, Mustafa Alabssi, plays the role of Ryan, a deaf survivor.
In the upcoming season 2, it has already been confirmed that almost the entire lead cast is returning to reprise their original roles. There has been no official news on new cast member additions yet. Bookmark this page for further updates.
Black Summer Plot: What is it about?
Set in the same universe as it’s predecessor ‘Z Nation’, this dark, gritty, survival television series is a must-see for post-apocalyptic, doomsday drama fans around the globe. The show revolves around a mother, Rose, (Jaime King) and her harrowing journey in the desperate search for her lost daughter, Anna, in the early and most horrific days of a zombie apocalypse fallout. Thrust into this hostile world, alongside a small group of American refugees, she takes some extra-ordinary decisions and demonstrates outstanding valor in her struggle for individual survival and in the search for her daughter.
Season 1 leaves a lot of open threads that can be explored further in ‘Black Summer’ season 2. First, we need an absolute confirmation that Rose did find Anna. Then, there are still a lot of people inside the city. What happens to them? We also don’t know what happened to Lance? He has been an odd-ball survivor throughout the series and we never see him die. And what about the city itself? Has it been declared a black zone?
Jamie King has also teased what could happen in season 2, saying, “What I can tease is that whatever you think is gonna happen, will not happen. It will always keep you on your toes.” She further added, “[It] really comes back to like very real human traits. Like, is the person egotistical? Do they have some kind of ulterior motive? What is in each character’s base psychology? …. That’s what’s so cool about it, is that it really becomes metaphorical to what life is like. Every time I read the script, I just never expected to read what I was going to read.”
Black Summer Season 2 Release Date: When does it premiere?
Black Summer season 1 premiered on April 11, 2019, on Netflix, comprising of a total of 8 episodes.
As far as the next season goes, here’s the good news. Netflix has already announced that the series is coming back in another installment, consisting of eight new episodes. We don’t have an official announcement on the release date yet. But if everything goes as planned, we expect ‘Black Summer’ season 2 to premiere sometime in April 2020. We will update this section as we learn more.
Black Summer Trailer:
While we wait for an update on ‘Black Summer’ season 2 release date, check out this season 1 trailer. If you haven’t seen the show yet, head over to Netflix.
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