Black Summer (TV series)
Black Summer is an American streaming television series created by Karl Schaefer and John Hyams. The first season, consisting of eight episodes, was released on Netflix on April 11, 2019. The series is produced by The Asylum, the same production company behind Z Nation, and is written and directed primarily by Hyams, with Abram Cox writing and directing additional episodes. Jaime King stars in the lead role as Rose, a mother who is separated from her daughter during the earliest and deadliest days of a zombie apocalypse. The series garnered moderate approval from critics. Many of the filming locations are around and within Calgary, Alberta in Canada.
| Black Summer | |
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| Composer | Alec Puro |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
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| Producers |
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| Cinematography |
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| Running time | 21–58 minutes |
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| Distributor | The Asylum Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | Netflix |
| Picture format | 4K |
| Audio format | Dolby Digital |
| Original release | April 11, 2019 – present |
In November 2019, Netflix renewed the series for an eight-episode second season, which was released on June 17, 2021.[1][2]
Plot
Six weeks after the start of the zombie apocalypse, Rose (Jaime King) is separated from her daughter, Anna, and she embarks on a harrowing journey to find her. Thrust alongside a small group of refugees in North America, she must brave a hostile new world and make brutal decisions during the most deadly summer of the apocalypse.
Cast and characters
Main
- Jaime King as Rose, a mother who is separated from her daughter during the earliest and deadliest days of a zombie apocalypse
- Justin Chu Cary as Julius James (season 1-2), a criminal who took the identity of "Spears", the name of the soldier he killed
- Christine Lee as Ooh "Sun" Kyungsun, a Korean woman who is looking for her missing mother
- Kelsey Flower as Lance (season 1; guest season 2), a young survivor with no family
- Sal Velez Jr as William Velez (season 1), a pole lineman who has a sister and children in Texas
- Erika Hau as Carmen (season 1),[lower-alpha 1] Manny's girlfriend
- Gwynyth Walsh as Barbara Watson (season 1),[lower-alpha 1] a woman who has survived without her husband and is not sure he is alive
- Mustafa Alabssi as Ryan (season 1),[lower-alpha 1] a deaf survivor
- Edsson Morales as Manny (season 1),[lower-alpha 1] Carmen's boyfriend
- Zoe Marlett as Anna (season 2; recurring season 1), Rose and Patrick's daughter
Recurring
- Nyren B Evelyn as Earl (season 1), a mysterious survivor who saves Rose and Spears
- Stafford Perry as Phil (season 1), a social Darwinist travelling with Carmen and Manny
- Christian Fraser as Marvin (season 1), a man traveling with Carmen, Manny and Phil
- Nathaniel Arcand as Governale (season 1), a soldier
- Tom Carey as Bronk (season 1), a soldier
- Bobby Naderi as Ray Nazeri (season 2), a former police officer leading his own group
- Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz as Boone (season 2), a talkative man who knows the mountain area
- G. Michael Gray as Freddy (season 2), a man whose family encounters Rose and Anna
- Dakota Daulby as Sonny (season 2), Freddy's aggressive younger brother
- Brenda Robins as Freddy and Sonny's mother (season 2)
- Travis Friesen as Mark (season 2), a man in contact with a plane which drops supplies
- Kumiko Konishi as Rhonda (season 2), Mark’s wife
- Linda Kee as Sophie (season 2), a member of a group in conflict with Nazeri's group who later joins Nazeri
- Jesse Lipscombe as Mance (season 2), a member of Sophie's group
- Chantelle Han as Jase (season 2), a member of Sophie's group
- Elaine Yang as Natalie (season 2) a member of Sophie's group
- Duff Zayonce as Sam (season 2), a member of Nazeri's group who encounters Sophie's group
- Joe Perry as a member of Nazeri's group (season 2)
- Owen Crow Shoe as a member of Sophie's group (season 2)
- Andrew Misle, Cliff Liknes and John Dylan Louie (season 2) as members of another group which comes into conflict with Nazeri
Guest
- Ty Olsson as Patrick ("Human Flow" season 1), Rose's husband and Anna's father
- Lonni Olson as Ben ("Human Flow" season 1), a man who meets Barbara on the road
- David Haysom as Spears ("Human Flow" season 1), a soldier
- Bechir Sylvain as Braithwaite ("White Horse" season 2), a man who knew Spears before the apocalypse
- Daniel Diemer as Luke ("Cold War" season 2), an acquaintance of Sophie who encounters Lance
- James Yi as The Pilot ("The Plane" season 2), the pilot of the plane which drops supplies
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | April 11, 2019 | |||
| 2 | 8 | June 17, 2021 | |||
Season 1 (2019)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Human Flow" | John Hyams | Karl Schaefer & John Hyams | April 11, 2019 |
| 2 | 2 | "Drive" | John Hyams | John Hyams | April 11, 2019 |
| 3 | 3 | "Summer School" | Abram Cox | Abram Cox | April 11, 2019 |
| 4 | 4 | "Alone" | Abram Cox | Abram Cox | April 11, 2019 |
| 5 | 5 | "Diner" | John Hyams | John Hyams | April 11, 2019 |
| 6 | 6 | "Heist" | Abram Cox | Abram Cox | April 11, 2019 |
| 7 | 7 | "The Tunnel" | John Hyams | Daniel Schaefer | April 11, 2019 |
| 8 | 8 | "The Stadium" | John Hyams | John Hyams | April 11, 2019 |
Season 2 (2021)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "The Cold" | John Hyams | John Hyams | June 17, 2021 |
| 10 | 2 | "Prelude" | Abram Cox | Karl Schaefer & Daniel Schaefer | June 17, 2021 |
| 11 | 3 | "Card Game" | John Hyams | Sarah Sellman | June 17, 2021 |
| 12 | 4 | "Cold War" | Abram Cox | Abram Cox | June 17, 2021 |
| 13 | 5 | "White Horse" | John Hyams | Henry G.M. Jones | June 17, 2021 |
| 14 | 6 | "Currency" | Abram Cox | Jen Derwingson-Peacock | June 17, 2021 |
| 15 | 7 | "The Lodge" | John Hyams | Abram Cox | June 17, 2021 |
| 16 | 8 | "The Plane" | Abram Cox | Karl Schaefer | June 17, 2021 |
Connection to Z Nation
The connection between Black Summer and its parent series take a similar approach as the relationship between Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead, as there are no plans for any of the characters from Z Nation to appear in the companion prequel series.[3] Z Nation actor DJ Qualls revealed at San Diego Comic-Con that the Syfy series takes place "quite a long time" after the events of Black Summer, making him feel that the cast is "too old" for a crossover to work.[5] However, the two series do share "most to all of [their] writing, directing, and producing staff" as well as a production company, The Asylum.[6][3]
The show's starring actress, Jaime King, has said that the two series have "nothing to do with" each other.[7]
Notes
- Credited only in the episodes they appeared in.
References
- Andreeva, Nellie (November 20, 2019). "'Black Summer' Starring Jaime King Renewed for Season 2 By Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- Cordero, Rosy (May 19, 2021). "Here's What's Coming to Netflix in June: Lupin, Elite, The Big Lebowski, and More". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- Moore, Kasey (January 27, 2019). "Black Summer Season 1 : Everything to know about the Netflix Z Nation Prequel". What’s On Netflix. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- Cordero, Rosy (May 19, 2021). "Here's what's coming to Netflix in June: Lupin, Elite, The Big Lebowski, and more". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- Rawden, Jessica (July 21, 2018). "What We Know So Far About Z Nation's Netflix Prequel". CinemaBlend. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- Goldberg, Lesley (July 19, 2018). "'Z Nation' Spinoff Starring Jaime King a Go at Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
- "No, Black Summer is Not a Prequel to Z Nation". Screen Rant. April 11, 2019.
External links
- Black Summer at IMDb
