''Zoo'' is an American drama television series based on the 2012 novel of the same name by

James Patterson James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the ''Alex Cross'', '' Michael Bennett'', '' Women's Murder Club'', ''Maximum Ride'', '' Daniel X'', '' NYPD Red'', '' Witch & Wizard'', and ''Private'' se ...

and

Michael Ledwidge Michael S. Ledwidge is an American author of Irish descent. He wrote his first novel, The Narrowback, while working as the back elevator operator for a Park Avenue Coop apartment building. His novel, Bad Connection was written while working as a ...

, 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'' (201 ...

Kristen Connolly Kristen Connolly (born July 12, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Dana in the 2011 film ''The Cabin in the Woods'', Christina Gallagher on the Netflix series ''House of Cards'' and Jamie Campbell on the CBS series ''Zo ...

Nonso Anozie Nonso Anozie (; born 17 November 1978) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Tank in '' RocknRolla'', Sergeant Dap in ''Ender's Game'', Abraham Kenyatta in ''Zoo'', Captain of the Guards in ''Cinderella'', Xaro Xhoan Daxos in t ...

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 the mysterious outbreak of violent animal attacks upon humans all over the world. ''Zoo'' premiered on June 30, 2015, on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. 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 *

as Jamie Campbell, a journalist *

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 as Dariela Marzan (seasons 2–3) * Josh Salatin as Logan Jones/Edward Collins (seasons 2–3) * Gracie Dzienny 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 Tamlyn Naomi Tomita (born January 27, 1966) is a Japanese-American actress and singer. She made her screen debut as Kumiko in ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986) and reprised the character for the streaming series ''Cobra Kai'' (2021). She is also ...

as Minako Oz * Jay Paulson 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 Susan Scott "Scottie" Thompson (born November 9, 1981) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known as '' Jeanne Benoit'' in '' NCIS''. Early life Thompson grew up in Richmond, Virginia, where she attended Collegiate ...

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 Elizabeth Key "Bess" Armstrong (born December 11, 1953) is an American film, stage and television actress. She is best known for her roles in films '' The Four Seasons'' (1981), '' High Road to China'' (1983), ''Jaws 3-D'' (1983), and ''Nothing i ...

as Dr. Elizabeth Oz * Benoit Cransac as Pascal * Henri Lubatti as Gaspard Alves * Marcus Hester as Evan Lee Hartley *

Carl Lumbly Carl Winston Lumbly (born August 14, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Dick Hallorann in '' Doctor Sleep'', NYPD detective Marcus Petrie on the CBS police drama ''Cagney & Lacey'', CIA agent Marcus Dixon on the ABC espiona ...

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 Con ...

as Young Clementine Lewis *

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 Hans Warren Christie (born 4 November 1975) is a British-Canadian television and film actor known for his roles as Ray Cataldo on the ABC drama '' October Road'' and as Aidan "Greggy" Stiviletto on the ABC series '' Happy Town''. More recently ...

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 Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin ** Forest r ...

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 Sophina Brown Simmons (born September 18, 1976) is an American television actress. She starred as Raina Troy in the CBS legal drama ''Shark'' from 2006 to 2008, and later joined the cast of another CBS drama, ''Numbers'', playing Nikki Betancourt ...

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

. 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

. The main cast was rounded out in January 2015, with

and Billy Burke. In February,

was cast in a recurring role for a "multi-episode arc". In March,

was cast in a recurring role. In March, 2016, Josh Salatin and Alyssa Diaz 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 Aleks Paunovic (born June 29, 1969) is a Canadian actor. Paunovic is from Winnipeg, Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's ...

was cast in a recurring role. In February,

, Hilary Jardine, and

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. 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 Teenage pregnancy in television Television shows based on American novels Television series by CBS Studios Television shows filmed in Vancouver Television series about animals Television series about journalism