''Zoo'' is an American drama television series based on the 2012 novel of the same name by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, the former also serving as an executive producer for the series, which stars

James Wolk James Wolk (born March 22, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the CBS comedy series ''The Crazy Ones'' (2013–2014), the AMC period drama series ''Mad Men'' (2013–2014), the CBS drama thriller series ''Zoo'' (2015 ...

, Kristen Connolly, Nonso Anozie,

Nora Arnezeder Nora Arnezeder (born 8 May 1989) is a French actress and singer. The recipient of a Lumières Award, she is an accomplished actress in the French film industry. Early life Arnezeder was born in Paris, France. Her father Wolfgang Arnezeder is Au ...

and Billy Burke as a group of varied professionals who investigate a mysterious outbreak of violent animal attacks upon humans all over the world. ''Zoo'' premiered on June 30, 2015, on CBS. CBS renewed the series for a third season in August 2016, which aired between June 29 and September 21, 2017. On October 23, 2017, CBS announced the series had been cancelled after three seasons.

Premise

Violent animal attacks upon humans are occurring all over the world. Jackson Oz, an American

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and his Kenyan friend, Abraham Kenyatta, a safari guide, as well as Jamie Campbell, a Los Angeles reporter, Mitch Morgan, a quirky veterinary pathologist, and a

French intelligence This is a list of current and former French intelligence agencies. Currently active *DGSE: Directorate-General for External Security – ''Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure''. It is the military foreign intelligence agency, whi ...

agent, Chloe Tousignant, all seek to investigate the mysterious

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

as the attacks become more coordinated and ferocious.

Cast

Main

as Jackson Oz, a zoologist * Kristen Connolly as Jamie Campbell, a journalist * Nonso Anozie as Abraham Kenyatta, a safari guide *

as Chloe Tousignant, a French intelligence investigator (seasons 1–2) * Billy Burke as Dr. Mitch Morgan, a veterinary pathologist *

Alyssa Diaz Alyssa Elaine Diaz (born September 7, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for her roles on television, such as Celia Ortega on the CBS daytime soap opera ''As the World Turns'', Jasmine on the ABC Family series ''The Nine Lives of Chloe K ...

as Dariela Marzan (seasons 2–3) * Josh Salatin as Logan Jones/Edward Collins (seasons 2–3) *

Gracie Dzienny Gracie Dzienny (born August 26, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Amanda McKay on Nickelodeon's ''Supah Ninjas'', as Greer Danville on ABC Family's ''Chasing Life'', and as Clementine Lewis on CBS' ''Zoo''. Early life D ...

as Clementine Lewis (guest season 2; main season 3)

Guest

Brian Tee , known professionally as Brian Tee, is a Japanese film and television actor. He is known for playing Dr. Ethan Choi on the NBC medical drama ''Chicago Med'' and its spin-offs, and has starred in such films as '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo D ...

as Philip Weber *

Tamara Tunie Tamara Tunie (born March 14, 1959) is an American film, stage, and television actress, director, and producer. She is best known for her roles as attorney Jessica Griffin on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' (1987–1995, 2000–2007, 2009 ...

as Brenda Montgomery * Tamlyn Tomita as Minako Oz *

Jay Paulson Joseph Andrew "Jay" Hughes Paulson is an American actor. Personal life Paulson was born in New York City, where he lived until 1984, when his father moved the family to Los Angeles. Paulson graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in History and is a li ...

as Leo Butler * James DuMont as Dr. Humbolt Swinney *

Simon Kassianides Simon Mario Kassianides is an English actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Early life Kassianides was born in London, of Greek Cypriot origin, the son of Helen and Mario Kassianides, both business owners. Kassianides has an older b ...

as Jean-Michel Lion * Scottie Thompson as Sheriff Rebecca Bowman * David Jensen as Victor Holman

Recurring

Ken Olin Kenneth Edward Olin (born July 30, 1954) is an American actor, television director, and producer. He is known for his role as Michael Steadman in the ABC drama series ''Thirtysomething'' (1987–1991), for which he received a Golden Globe Award ...

as Professor Robert Oz * Bess Armstrong as Dr. Elizabeth Oz * Benoit Cransac as Pascal * Henri Lubatti as Gaspard Alves * Marcus Hester as Evan Lee Hartley * Carl Lumbly as Thomas Delavenne *

Geoff Stults Geoffrey Manton Stults (born December 15, 1977) is an American actor. His first regular roles on television included '' 7th Heaven'', '' October Road'', and '' Happy Town''. He went on to star as Major Walter Sherman on '' The Finder'', Sgt. Pete ...

as FBI Agent Ben Shaffer *

Madison Wolfe Madison Wolfe (born October 16, 2002) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the adventure drama ''On the Road'' (2012) and her television debut in the HBO series ''True Detective'' (2014). She starred in the horror film ''The Conjur ...

as Young Clementine Lewis (seasons 1–2) *

Anastasia Griffith Anastasia Griffith (born 23 March 1978) is a British actress known for her roles on the FX legal drama ''Damages'' and the NBC medical series ''Trauma''. She has also acted in films and a video game. Early life and education Born in Paris, Fra ...

as Audra Lewis * Gonzalo Menendez as Gustavo Silva * Michael Scott as Enzo * Yvonne Welch as Gabriela Machado *

Steven Culp Steven Bradford Culp (born December 3, 1955) is an American actor. Culp appeared in films '' Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'' (1993), ''James and the Giant Peach'' (1996), ''The Emperor's Club'' (2002), and most notably in the 2000 politica ...

as Clayton Burke *

Xander Berkeley Alexander Harper Berkeley (born December 16, 1955) is an American actor and voice actor. Since beginning his career in the early 1980s, he has appeared in over 200 film and television projects. His film roles include '' Terminator 2: Judgment Da ...

as Ronnie "Dogstick" Brannigan * Warren Christie as Ray Endicott *

Jayne Atkinson Jayne Atkinson (born 18 February 1959) is a British-American actress. She is best known for the role of Karen Hayes on '' 24'', as well as her Tony Award–nominated roles in '' The Rainmaker'' and '' Enchanted April''. She has also appeared in ...

as Amelia Sage * April Grace as Eleanor * Tom Butler as Greg Hopper *

Peter Outerbridge Peter Outerbridge (born June 30, 1966) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Ari Tasarov in the CW action series ''Nikita'', Dr. David Sandström in the TMN series ''ReGenesis'', Henrik "Hank" Johanssen in ''Orphan Black'', Bob Corbett ...

as General Andrew Davies *

Joanne Kelly Joanne M. Kelly is a Canadian actress, known for her appearances in films such as '' Going the Distance'', and in the TV series '' Warehouse 13'' as the character Myka Bering, a Secret Service agent. Early life and education Joanne Kelly wa ...

as Allison Shaw * Edward Foy as Father Pete Harris * Robin Thomas as Dr. Max Morgan *

Athena Karkanis Athena Karkanis (born September 7, 1981) is a Canadian television, film and voice actress. She is noted for her role as Grace Stone in the NBC/Netflix science fiction drama series ''Manifest''. Life and career Karkanis was born in Alberta and r ...

as Abigail Westbrook * Hilary Jardine as Tessa * Sophina Brown as Leanne Ducovny * Michael Hogan as Henry Garrison * Delon de Metz as Sam Parker

Production

Development

In October 2013, it was announced that CBS had given ''Zoo'' "a rare pilot production commitment for a pitch originating from sibling CBS TV Studios." In July 2014, the series was given a 13-episode straight-to-series order and added to the network's summer schedule. The series premiered on June 30, 2015, on CBS. On October 2, 2015, ''Zoo'' was renewed by CBS for a second season, which premiered on June 28, 2016. On August 10, 2016, CBS renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on June 29, 2017. There will not be a season 4 as it was cancelled due to low ratings.

Casting

was the first to be cast, in November 2014, followed later the same month by

and Nonso Anozie. The main cast was rounded out in January 2015, with Kristen Connolly and Billy Burke. In February,

was cast in a recurring role for a "multi-episode arc". In March, Carl Lumbly was cast in a recurring role. In March, 2016, Josh Salatin and

were added to the cast as series regulars in the second season. In April,

was cast in a recurring role. In December 2016, Gracie Dzienny, who guest-starred in the second-season finale, was promoted to series regular for the third season. In January, 2017, Aleks Paunovic was cast in a recurring role. In February,

, Hilary Jardine, and Sophina Brown were cast in recurring roles.

Filming

The series started filming in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

in January 2015. Production for the second season began filming in February 2016 in and around

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The third season started filming in mid-January 2017, also in and around

Broadcast

''Zoo'' aired in Australia the day after the U.S. premiere, and was simulcast in Canada. It was also aired in the UK and Ireland on

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

, and in Israel on

Yes Action Yes Action (stylized as yes Action and formerly called ''yes stars Action'') is an Israeli television channel carried by the Israeli satellite television provider - '' yes'', which broadcasts American, British and Israeli TV shows of the thrille ...

. Netflix carried the streaming rights in eight countries with many regions losing the show in June 2022.

References

External links

* * * * {{James Patterson 2010s American drama television series 2015 American television series debuts 2017 American television series endings Apocalyptic television series CBS original programming English-language television shows Ethology Serial drama television series Television shows about teenage pregnancy Television shows based on American novels Television series by CBS Studios Television shows filmed in Vancouver Television series about animals Television series about journalism CBS television dramas