Revival on Syfy: The Dead Are Back—and So Is Your Faith in Zombie TV
- Rachel
- Jun 7
- 3 min read
Ah, summer TV on Syfy. It’s usually a cocktail of B-movie cheese, CGI sharks, and melodrama dialed to eleven. So when Syfy dropped a zombie drama titled Revival—premiering June 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT—many of us were bracing for something in the Sharknado-meets-TWD vein. What we got instead? A surprisingly introspective, noir-tinged mystery set in rural Wisconsin. And yeah, there are zombies—but not the ones you're thinking of.
🧠 These Zombies Have Thoughts—and Feelings, Apparently
Based on the cult comic series by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton, Revival asks the bold question: “What if the undead weren’t brainless monsters, but... still kinda normal?” In Wausau, Wisconsin, the recently deceased are clawing their way out of the grave—but instead of craving brains, they mostly want brunch and to be left alone.
This resurrection-of-the-dead event throws the small-town vibe into utter chaos, complete with CDC lockdowns, spiritual paranoia, and, of course, a murder mystery. Because why not throw that on top of your undead casserole?
🕵️♀️ Meet Dana Cypress: Sheriff, Daughter, and Full-Time Chaos Manager
Melanie Scrofano (Wynonna Earp) stars as Dana Cypress, a cop teetering on the edge of burnout. She lives with her no-nonsense police-chief dad (played by David James Elliott) and her emo sister Em (Romy Weltman), who has both literal and figurative skeletons in her closet. Dana’s struggling with cabin fever, family drama, and the slight inconvenience of the dead not staying dead. And just when she thinks things can’t get worse, she’s pulled into a conspiracy so twisted it’d make Mulder and Scully pack up and retire.
🧛♂️ The Dead Are... Surprisingly Civilized?
Here’s where Revival breaks the mold. Instead of mindless flesh-eaters, the “Revivers” are fully coherent—until they’re not. Sure, they mostly want to return to their lives, but there are hints of something darker brewing. Super-strength freakouts? Check. Black-market body part sales? Also check. An old woman digging up her husband’s corpse and hosting a tea party with it? Oh, absolutely.
The show paints a vivid picture of a town that’s just survived Covid and is now spiraling into full-on undead lockdown. The result is a weirdly timely exploration of fear, identity, and what it really means to be “alive.”
🎭 Family Drama Meets Freak Show
Where Revival shines is in its complex character work. Dana isn’t your standard zombie-fighting action heroine; she’s overworked, underappreciated, and entirely relatable. Her sister Em, meanwhile, is a troubled wildcard with a dark secret tied to the central mystery. The father-daughter-boss dynamic with Wayne adds an extra layer of tension, and the supporting cast is a menagerie of weird, wonderful, and deeply disturbed small-town folks.
🐢 Slow Burn, But Worth the Toast
Let’s get this out of the way: Revival isn’t exactly sprinting out of the gate. The first episode, “Don’t Tell Dad,” juggles heavy exposition, character intros, and a dramatic cold open that the rest of the hour never quite lives up to. If you’re expecting a monster-of-the-week bloodbath, you’ll be disappointed. But if you’re here for atmosphere, mystery, and creepy Midwestern existentialism? You’re in for a treat.
🧟♂️ Dead Sexy, If a Bit Ponderous
Revival is what happens when you mix Fargo with The Walking Dead, then sprinkle in a bit of Twin Peaks weirdness for good measure. It’s not fast, it’s not flashy, and it sure as hell isn’t your typical zombie story. But that’s exactly what makes it work.
The pacing might test your patience, but the show’s rich characters, eerie tone, and genre-bending ambition reward those who stick around. This isn’t a snackable Syfy guilty pleasure—it’s a full-course undead drama with guts (literally and figuratively).
So if you’re tired of zombies moaning and groaning their way through predictable plots, Revival may just breathe new life into your undead TV obsession.
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