''V Wars'' is a 2019 American science fiction

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

streaming television series based on the anthology series of the same name and comic book by

Jonathan Maberry Jonathan Maberry (born May 18, 1958) is an American suspense author, anthology editor, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. He was named one of the Today's Top Ten Horror Writers. ...

. The series stars

Ian Somerhalder Ian Joseph Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama ''Lost'', Damon Salvatore in The CW's supernatural drama ''The Vampire Diaries'', and Dr. Luther Swann in Netflix's sci ...

Adrian Holmes Adrian Holmes (born March 31, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his work on the Bravo television series '' 19-2'', for which he won a Canadian Screen Award in 2017. He is also known for playing the role of Uncle Phil in the ''Fresh Pr ...

, Jacky Lai, Kyle Breitkopf, Peter Outerbridge, Kimberly-Sue Murray and

Sydney Meyer Sydney M. Meyer (born 15 September 1995) is a Canadian actress. She starred in the Netflix series ''V Wars'' and Shudder’s '' Slasher: Flesh & Blood''. Her other television work includes the third season of the Freeform series ''Shadowhunters ...

. It premiered on Netflix on December 5, 2019. The series was canceled after one season, in March 2020.

Synopsis

''V Wars'' follows the story of the physician/scientist Dr. Luther Swann, and his best friend Michael Fayne, as they face the evolving crisis of a deadly outbreak that fractures society into opposing factions, potentially escalating to a future war between humans and vampires. The outbreak is caused by an ancient biological infectious agent, a prion, that turns humans into vampires, released from ice by climate change. In the conflict, the vampire faction, called Blood, is opposed by the elements of the government, such as Calix Niklos ( Peter Outerbridge) who plots with anti Blood senator Smythe ( Ted Atherton).

Cast and characters

Main

as Dr. Luther Swann *

as Michael Fayne * Laura Vandervoort as Mila Dubov *Kimberly-Sue Murray as Danika Dubov *

as Ava O'Malley * Michael Greyeyes as Jimmy Saint *Jacky Lai as Kaylee Vo * Kyle Breitkopf as Desmond "Dez" Swann * Peter Outerbridge as Calix Niklos * Kandyse McClure as Claire O'Hagan

Recurring

Emmanuel Kabongo Emmanuel Kabongo (born December 25, 1986) is a Canadian actor and producer. Born and raised in Zaire before it became the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kabongo immigrated to Canada with his family in the 1990s. He began his acting career as ...

as Jack Fields * Jessica Harmon as Jess Swann * Greg Bryk as Bobby *Teddy Moynihan as Jergen Weber * Ted Atherton as Elegabulus *Jonathan Higgins as General Aldous May *Samantha Liana Cole as Theresa * Laura de Carteret as Senator Sasha Giroux *Bo Martyn as Detective Elysse Chambers * Nikki Reed as Rachel Swann

Episodes

Production

Development

On April 16, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. The series was created by William Laurin and Glenn Davis, who are credited as the showrunners and executive producers of the series. Additional executive producers were set to include Brad Turner, Eric Birnberg, Thomas Walden, David Ozer, Ted Adams and James Gibb. Production companies involved with the series include High Park Entertainment and IDW Entertainment. Netflix canceled the series after one season, on March 30, 2020.

Casting

In April 2018,

was cast in the role of Dr. Luther Swann. In June 2018,

, Jacky Lai and Peter Outerbridge joined the main cast. In July 2018, Laura Vandervoort, Kyle Breitkopf and Kimberly-Sue Murray were cast in the series.

Filming

Principal photography began in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

and Cambridge, Ontario in the end of June 2018. Principal photography wrapped in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in October 2018.

Releases

Anthology series

There have been four anthologies, edited by Jonathan Maberry and published by

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...

, in the ''V Wars'' series. Notable authors who contributed short stories to the series include Maberry, Jennifer Brozek, Larry Correia,

Keith R. A. DeCandido Keith Robert Andreassi DeCandido (born April 18, 1969) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and musician, who works on comic books, novels, role-playing games and video games, including numerous media tie-in books for properties such ...

, John Everson, Gregory Frost, Nancy Holder, Jeff Mariotte,

Joe McKinney Joseph Anthony McKinney (born 12 May 1967) is an Irish stage, film and television actor and voice-over artist. Rathfarnham-born McKinney trained and worked as a hairdresser for four years, before joining fringe theatre. He trained at Inchicore ...

James A. Moore James Arthur Moore is an American Horror fiction, horror novelist and short story writer. In 2003, he was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel, "Best Novel" for his book ''Serenity Falls''. In 2006, the novell ...

, Yvonne Navarro,

Scott Nicholson Scott Nicholson (born 1963) is an American author specializing in horror or thrillers, often set in rural Appalachia. His debut, ''The Red Church'', was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award. ''Thank you for the Flowers'' The anthology ''Tha ...

, Weston Ochse,

Jeremy Robinson Jeremy Robinson (born October 22, 1974), also known as Jeremy Bishop, Jeremiah Knight, and other pen names, is an author of sixty novels and novellas. He is known for mixing elements of science, history, and mythology. Many of his novels have b ...

, Scott Sigler,

John Skipp John Skipp is a splatterpunk horror and fantasy author and anthology editor, as well as a songwriter, screenwriter, film director, and film producer. He collaborated with Craig Spector on multiple novels, and has also collaborated with Marc Lev ...

, and Tim Waggoner. *''V Wars'' (May 2012, ) *''V Wars: Blood and Fire'' (July 2014, ) *''V Wars: Night Terrors'' (March 2015, ) *''V Wars: Shockwaves'' (August 2016, )

Comic series

The ''V Wars'' comics series was released in 11 issues by IDW from April 2014 through March 2015. They have been collected in the following volumes: *''V Wars: Crimson Queen'' (October 2014, ) *''V Wars: All of Us Monsters'' (May 2015, ) An omnibus volume containing all 11 issues was also released: *''V Wars: The Graphic Novel Collection'' (May 2019, )

TV series

On November 19, 2019, the official trailer for the series was released by Netflix. The series was released on December 5, 2019.

Reception

Critical reviews are mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a critic approval rating of 56%, with an average rating of 6.73/10, based on nine reviews. Isaac Feldberg at '' The Boston Globe'' enjoyed it, calling it "unabashedly silly...a fun, freaky B-movie stretched out to series’ length". '' The Sydney Morning Herald'' reviewer, Brad Newsome, was less kind in calling it a "a frustrating thing" that doesn't deliver on its promises. Andrew Dex at ''

Starburst MicroPro International Corporation was an American software company founded in 1978 in San Rafael, California. They are best known as the publisher of WordStar, a popular early word processor for personal computers. History Founding and early su ...

'' criticized the weak character development and mix of seemingly-unrelated side characters while also praising the growing strength of the series by the end of the season. In her review for ''Film Inquiry'', Stephanie Archer stated "the series left much to be desired" and that there was "an immediate disconnect with Dr. Swann, played by Somerhalder". Vincent Schilling of '' Indian Country Today'', on the other hand, praised the casting of Somerhalder and Michael Greyeyes, stating he was "hooked from the beginning". He goes on to say that the "show is a blast". Dustin Rowles at ''Pajiba'' described the series as "very low-rent", "poorly written", and "humorless". Mikel Zorilla of the Spanish-language web magazine ''Espinof'' criticized the series' lack of focus, saying it had potential but failed to do anything to stand out. '' WhatCulture'' described the series "a thrilling well-paced ride... nddamn good fun that compels you to keep watching" despite "moments that temporarily draw focus from the plot and leave you scratching your head".

References

External links

* * {{IDW Publishing 2010s American drama television series 2010s American supernatural television series 2010s American horror television series 2010s American science fiction television series 2019 American television series debuts 2019 American television series endings American horror fiction television series American thriller television series Serial drama television series Television shows based on comics IDW Publishing adaptations English-language Netflix original programming Television shows filmed in Toronto Television shows filmed in Greater Sudbury Vampires in television Apocalyptic television series Dark fantasy television series American action television series Television shows set in the United States Dark fantasy web series Thriller web series Horror fiction web series