Ben Wheatley directing 6 episode zombie series Generation Z

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Ben Wheatley, director of such films as KILL LIST, HIGH-RISE, and FREE FIRE, is teaming up with the UK's Channel 4 for Generation Z, a series that will consist of six hour-long episodes that will mix flesh-eating zombies into a story that satirizes how Brexit has divided the UK.

Wheatley will be writing, directing, and executive producing the show, which is being produced by The Forge. Described as "hilarious, frightening, and political", Generation Z has the following synopsis: 

The future looks bleak for today’s youth – seemingly-endless austerity, astronomical house prices, insurmountable student debt, a political system which appears intent on destroying itself… And to add insult to injury, their hard-earned taxes are being eaten up by the old – smug, self-satisfied, small-minded, “Little Englander” pensioners whose remaining sole purpose in life is to make it a misery for everyone else.

In a small British town, tensions come to a head when a mysterious military convoy crashes outside the Sunnywise Retirement Home. The vehicles were carrying a toxic substance, which, as a result of the crash, leaks into the local environment and infects the residents of the retirement community. The symptoms of this infection quickly manifest – an overwhelming appetite for raw flesh. They’re old, they’re angry and they’re on the rampage. As the military scrambles to control the outbreak and keep everything out of the media spotlight, a group of regular teenagers find themselves in the thick of the battle against these flesh-eating baby boomers.

Mark Pybus and George Faber will be executive producing with Wheatley. The series was commissioned by Channel 4's Head of Drama Caroline Hollick and Commissioning Editor Lee Mason. 

Generation Z will begin filming in 2020, so it will be a while before we have a chance to watch this one.

The show sounds interesting to me. I like that Wheatley is taking the George A. Romero approach of mixing zombies with social commentary.