Usually, zombies are faceless (sometimes literally) creatures who want nothing more than to eat the skin off your bones, and then maybe suck on your bones for a bit. In 1985, however, George Romero gave us Bub, a cuddly zombie who wanted nothing more than to call his auntie in Day of the Dead, the grand finale of the zombie trilogy. And now, in the very near future, we’re going to be seeing a new version of the semi-intelligent zombie on the small screen over on Syfy.
The adaptation is coming to us from Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, who had such a good pitch that Syfy is skipping the pilot and giving the show a direct 10-episode order, shooting for a 2021 release. Cartel Entertainment and HiTide Studios are set to produce the series and given that the latter company was also responsible for the recent Creepshow on Shudder, fans can take solace in the fact that this project will probably be a whole lot better than those direct-to-video “remakes” that the franchise has seen lately.
It should be noted that the rough synopsis we have differs from the plot of the film. While the movie follows a group of military men and some civilian scientists hiding out in an underground bunker many moons after the initial zombie outbreak, this upcoming show is going to follow a group of six survivors who have to make it through the first day of the pandemonium. Which, uh, doesn’t that sound more like Dawn of the Dead than Day of the Dead? I’m all for more zombie antics but, ya know, maybe not in the name of gutting a classic.
Also, Syfy ain’t exactly known for, perhaps, top-tier TV. The guys behind the show don’t seem to have a lot of experience, either. Elinoff, per his IMDb, is mostly known for working on children’s series, specifically writing stuff for Disney’s TV channel. And Scott Thomas doesn’t even have a profile on the site. My fingers are crossed, but I feel like this Day of the Dead adaptation needs a Bub Salute for luck.