Zoo
By Emily Ashby,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Patterson's tense doomsday thriller is campy but curious.
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Zoo
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Based on 10 parent reviews
More than innuendo
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Good show
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What's the Story?
In the African safari, animals begin exhibiting strange behavior that eventually proves fatal for an outlying camp of tourists. When zoologist Jackson (James Wolk) and his friend Abe (Nonso Anozie) set out to investigate, Abe is killed by an unusual group of male lions, leaving Jackson and the camp's lone survivor, Chloe (Nora Arnezeder), stranded and fighting for their lives while they try to understand the animals' odd behavior. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, a young journalist named Jamie (Kristen Connolly) teams up with veterinary pathologist Mitch Morgan (Billy Burke) to discover the cause of similar happenings in the local animal population, from neighborhood cats to the zoo's most fearsome predators. As the signs begin to point toward a mass animal uprising, Jackson turns to his late father's (Ken Olin) discredited research for answers to the mystery.
Is It Any Good?
ZOO is a tense apocalyptic thriller that skips more common plot devices, such as natural disaster or nuclear war, in favor of an extinction method that doesn't get a lot of play on-screen: mass animal retaliation. The potential is there, since animals in one form or another exist everywhere (who knew house cats could be so vindictive?), and a carefully coordinated plot on their part to exact revenge on our species certainly would catch the human population unaware. If you can overlook the preposterous science, the implications of such an event do make for some decent drama.
Patterson fans' curiosity about this book-inspired series likely will bring many to Zoo, but reactions may be mixed. Though the premise makes for good TV, stories never watch exactly the same as they read. To their credit, the show's cast members do a great job maintaining the tension as events unfold, but they can't entirely compensate for the somewhat implausible theory that sets this series in motion. If extinction drama is your thing, then Zoo is one to add to your viewing history. If not, you may find the whole thing a bit campy for your liking.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about conservation and the environment. How have humans' habits threatened the existence of wildlife? Which measures are being taken now to correct that? Why is it our responsibility to correct that?
Is the concept of this story in any way conceivable? Why are the doomsday and dystopian genres so popular in movies and TV?
If you've read the book, how does this show compare? What types of books best make the transition to the screen? Are you a fan of Patterson's work? Who are some of your favorite authors?
TV Details
- Premiere date: June 30, 2015
- Cast: James Wolk , Kristen Connolly , Billy Burke
- Network: CBS
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Book Characters , Wild Animals
- TV rating: TV-14
- Last updated: August 3, 2023
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