The Canceled Zombieland: The Series Episode You Can Watch For Free
Originally, the movie Zombieland was supposed to be a pilot for a TV series, but at the time, zombies on TV didn’t seem like the direction pop culture should be going. The TV series was scrapped, then reworked and expanded into a full-length feature film. To say it was the right move is an understatement. Zombieland was a hit at the box office, taking in more than $100 million and a sequel to boot.
Of course, it made sense that after the success of the flick, Zombieland: The Series would get some renewed legs and a television show could be added to the franchise. That makes sense, right? That’s how these things often go in Hollywood.
Well, the Zombieland: The Series pilot did film, and a whole cast, and crew were assembled. But that was it. Amazon, who had greenlit the project, took one look at the show, saw some of the fan reaction and basically said, “No thanks.
Thankfully, because the internet exists and all things end up living out there one way of the other, we still have a way to watch the Zombieland: The Series pilot in its half-hour of, well whatever it is. It’s on the GoldDustMovies YouTube page to check out. It’s a little grainy, but it’s what we’ve got to work with.
The weird thing about Zombieland: The Series is that instead of creating a new set of characters for the show, they just recast the movie characters with new actors and actresses. Kirk Ward takes over for Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee, Jesse Eisenberg is replaced as Columbus by Tyler Ross. Maiara Walsh is Wichita/Krista (was Emma Stone) and Izabela Vidovic as Little Rock (was Abigail Breslin)
Zombieland: The Series has the same ironic sense of humor as its feature film counterpart and wanted to push the romance between Columbus and Wichita forward. It also tried to be sweeter version of the movie as its four main characters grow together as a family in a post-apocalyptic zombie world. Essentially, they were replicating the movie and capitalizing on the zombie craze pushed forward by The Walking Dead.
But Zombieland: The Series wasn’t meant to be. Fans, correctly, pushed back hard against the show, not loving that it was trying to be the movie (with characters and all) without having any of the same people back. And it wasn’t able to capture the same level of comedy and hijinks from that big screen first look. Essentially, if you saw and loved the movie, it was going to be hard to love the show.
Frankly, the creators should have been able to see that coming with Zombieland: The Series. We get to see what they made of it. But it’s hard to be impressed with what ended up happening.
