Premiering Tuesday, June 30 on CBS, Zoo is described as a global thriller about a wave of violent animal attacks against humans sweeping the planet.
The series stars James Wolk as Jackson Oz, a young renegade American zoologist who spends his days running safaris in the wilds of Africa with his best friend Abraham (Nonso Anozie), who has a deep understanding of wildlife. Shortly after the attacks begin, Oz begins to see a link between the strange animal attacks and his late father’s controversial theories about impending threats to the human race. In Los Angeles, news reporter Jamie Campbell (Kristen Connolly) is intent on being the first to break the story behind the mysterious animal behavior, and seeks the expertise of Mitch Morgan (Revolution’s Billy Burke), an off-kilter veterinarian, who prefers the company of animals over people. As the assaults occurring worldwide become more cunning, coordinated and ferocious, Oz and the others are thrust into the race to unlock the mystery of the pandemic before there’s no place left for people to hide.
The show also stars Nora Arnezeder stars as Chloe Tousignant, a French investigator Oz meets in Africa.
“Zoo originated in the mind of the incredibly fertile mind of James Patterson,” Executive Producer Jeff Pinkner said at a CBS Summer press event last week. “And it is essentially the story — if you imagine Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and you use the landscape of the entire world and the entire animal kingdom, the animals have decided no more, they’ve had enough, it’s time to fight back. And a team of five people come to suspect what might be happening and go on a journey around the world to try and find out what is happening with the animals, why and potentially how to stop it or reverse it. And we have a remarkable cast and a remarkable godfather and benefactor in Mr. Patterson,” he continued.
“People always say ‘the book is better than the movie’ and the screenwriters say ‘well, we only had two hours’,” the author, James Patterson, added to the conversation. “In this case, they have 13 hours so there’s no excuses. But in this case, the series is going to be better than the book,” he promised, to which the producer promised that the show will follow “the spirit of the book” and then “go on an adventure.”
You can see a first look sneak peek of the new series below. Below the preview, we have a gallery of images of the show’s cast.
ZOO
ZOO, a new drama based on the #1 bestselling novel by James Patterson, will premiere Tuesday, June 30 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT). In the series, a wave of violent animal attacks against humans begin taking place across the globe. As the assaults become more cunning, coordinated and ferocious, a young renegade biologist (James Wolk) is thrust into the race to unlock the pandemic's mystery before there's no place left for people to hide. Pictured (L-R) Kristen Connolly as Jamie and Billy Burke as Mitch Photo: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/CBS © 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
