Review of ZOO Summer Series Premiere

I tuned into CBS's Zoo to check out if this premise had legs (or teeth) on it. And to be honest, I'm not sure. I tried explaining to someone why they might want to tune in to catch subsequent episodes, but I could come up with nothing convincing!

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Zoo stars James Wolk, Kristen Connolly, Nonso Anozie, Nora Arnezeder and Billy Burke (and yes, that was Brian Tee) in a show where the animals of the world are turning on humans. The descriptor from the book this show is based on says,

"All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the violence to come becomes terrifyingly clear."

But why are they turning on humans, which is a good question. Why are they attacking people for no reason?


I like the cast, but I'm not sure whey they're in this show.

The premiere episode opens to two general locales, one in Los Angeles and another in Africa.

In one story, this guy's dad is seen on a video preaching something or other about how animals can become some unseen threat to us. How his theory states that animals could join forces to stand up to humans.

Then there's the reporter who loses her reporting job because of a blog she runs, that's chasing down an nefarious source of Zoo food, and it happens to be the company that owns her newspaper. Or what used to be her newspaper until she got fired from reporting.

Then back to Africa and how lions are starting to team up on people and having their way with eating them.

And then back to Los Angeles, where all the cats of a particular neighborhood have treed themselves. For what, the coming storm? Do they know the lions are coming? Or are they just perched there, waiting to drop down on unsuspecting fodder? Or maybe attack children in the nearby school where summer camp is about to start?

I don't know but in one Africa scene a very likable character appears to get killed, then his body dragged up a tree, and we then see he's not dead yet.

BUT DON'T WORRY, CBS spoiled his fate by showing us a preview of the upcoming season and this particular character. So much for that suspense.

OH, WAIT... and don't forget that in the Philippines, a volcano is about to erupt.

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Right now, the premiere was the most watched summer show so far, with 8.1 million viewers. I would not be surprised if that number drops drastically next week.

In one poll, viewers are bland across the board as to whether they liked the show or not. Yet the book this show is based on has decent reviews and is called a page turner. More or less.

On Amazon, the book has a 3.4/5 stars rating from 2,500 readers. I wish I could tell you how the book pans out, but the Kindle version is a ridiculous $9. So, I can't.

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Zoo did not suck, perse, nor did it bite my attention. I wasn't pulled in as if I need to watch another episode. If I have laundry or flossing to do, that might come first, but I will probably tune in again if I have the time. I think it has potential.

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