Luke Newberry as 'returned' Zombie Kieren in In the Flesh.
Luke Newberry as 'returned' Zombie Kieren in In the Flesh.
Another zombie show is lumbering into town. Chris Schulz chats to Dominic Mitchell, the creator of British drama In the Flesh.
Dominic Mitchell's first and only TV show has just been cancelled - but he doesn't sound too worried.
Like the reformed zombies that form the basis of his "kitchen sink zombie drama" In the Flesh, it could soon come back to life.
"I'm sure it will carry on in some sort of guise," says Mitchell. "Even if it's a one-off special or film or comic book. There are some noises about Amazon, Netflix, all sorts of things."
Mitchell might sound calm, but he admits he's been "in the middle of a whirlwind" since BBC3 cancelled In the Flesh in January, blaming budget cuts. The show, about reformed zombies returning to live in society after an apocalypse, lasted two short seasons with a total of nine episodes, which begin screening in New Zealand on Tuesday.
But a massive fan outcry has seen a petition launched to resurrect the show, with 38,000 people signing the "Give In The Flesh a third season" page on Change.org since its cancellation.
Mitchell, 35, admits the attention has been "heartwarming". "We've got some really great fans out there. They come to events dressed as characters, they make dolls, artwork ... they know the show better than me."
That's surprising, because Mitchell knows In the Flesh inside and out. He persuaded BBC3 to commission it after penning an exhaustive 100-page "bible" about the show for network executives, including outlines for many more seasons than the first two. "A series bible is normally 20-30 pages long," he says. "Mine took a month.
"I included maps, leaflets about Partially Deceased Syndrome Sufferers, everything that happens before the zombie apocalypse ... I had to turn it in by hand because it wouldn't fit in an email. They loved the level of detail that I knew about the world. They were like, 'Do you have enough story?'
"The bible proved that I did. A lot of it we couldn't get into season one and two, and there are outlines for season three. But that's in the bible. That's locked away in the safe."
A scene from the TV show In The Flesh.
Fans are hoping they don't stay there. They've connected to Mitchell's idea to combine zombies with Stephen King's Pet Sematary, "Ken Loache dramas" and "Alan Bennett plays". It is, he says, an exploration of "the nuances of Britishness". With zombies.
"We wouldn't be like America and pick up guns (during a zombie apocalypse)," explains Mitchell. "We'd be very British about it and imprison them until scientists find a cure or a neurological way to manage this condition. Then (the government) would be like, 'Everything's okay now, they're not enemies anymore, don't shoot them, let's put them back into society'."
By focusing on a reformed zombie teenager being returned to his small town family, Mitchell also takes digs at mass medication, the UK healthcare system, bigotry, racism and "fear of the other".
"I think why it touches audiences is because it's about people who are different.
"It's a high-concept show but it's grounded in reality and we always wanted to be very emotional with it, and explore relationships in a human way. That's what people have grabbed on to."
Even if Mitchell doesn't get to make a third season, he promises New Zealand viewers will find In the Flesh compelling. "I was very conscious about ending some stories because you don't want to cheat the audience. Even if season three doesn't happen, you can still watch seasons one and two and feel satisfied."
What:In the Flesh Where and when: The Zone, Tuesday, 8.30pm For fans of:Resurrection, Rectify, The Walking Dead
