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Based on the popular Image Comics series from Tim Seeley and artist Mike Norton, SyFy’s Revival is not your typical zombie show. In fact, it’s not really a zombie show at all. Set in Wausau, Wisconsin, the series follows the residents of small town as they experience an extraordinary event called “Revival Day” when those people who died between December 4-December 18 come back to life. These “revivers” seem the same as before, but different. Now immortal, they are mostly harmless and act like nothing has changed on their part. Mostly.
Smack dab at the center of this conflict are Sheriff Bill Cypress (JAG alum David James Elliott) and his daughters Detective Dana Cypress (Wynonna Earp veteran Melanie Scrofano) and wayward college student Em (Romy Weltman). Dana and Bill struggle to keep to the peace among the townsfolk and get to the bottom of this supernatural occurrence, but they are unaware that Em is a reviver herself. She was murdered but can’t remember who committed the crime. Once her status is revealed to Dana in a gnarly way, Dana vows to keep her sister’s secret and help her find out who killed her.
While that all sounds fantastical, actors Scrofano and Weltman keep the proceedings grounded with their nuanced performances and incredible on-screen connection. “It wasn’t hard to build a bond with Romy,” said Scrofano. “She’s one of the easiest people to get along with.” For her part, Weltman agreed, noting that Scrofane was a “safe space” for her. “I have an older sister so anything to do with sisters, I’m very sensitive towards.”
Scrofano and Weltman spoke to DECIDER over Zoom to discuss the series, praise each other, and explain why Revival isn’t just “another Zombie show.”
DECIDER: Melanie, you’re a vet of the genre. How does it feel to be back on SyFy with Revival after your experience on Wynonna Earp?
MELANIE SCROFANO: Yeah, it feels incredible. I’ve always felt appreciated at SyFy. It was like coming back to a safe place where people already knew me and what I can do. So, I probably wasn’t gonna get fired, you know? [Laughs] So there’s that. They gave us the latitude to explore and play. It was nice.
SyFyRomy, this is your first big genre project. What drew you to Revival? Were you familiar with Tim Seeley and Mike Norton’s comic series?
ROMY WELTMAN: I had heard of the comic book series before because my partner and a lot of his friends grew up reading tons of comics. A bunch of his friends have since found their old Revival comics too, so I’m officially cool in their eyes. To be completely transparent, I hadn’t read the comics before [laughs]. I wasn’t a big comic kid growing up, but now that’s completely changed.
I picked up the first issue of Revival and got hooked instantly. When I got the audition originally, I was excited about the character and the story. I love a story about family. I have an older sister so anything to do with sisters, I’m very sensitive towards. One of my favorite movies is Frozen, a movie about sisters. Everything about the story was really touching to me. I feel like I really connected to Em in a lot of ways and saw a lot of myself and the people I love in her too. I just wanted to dive in. The role was challenging in amazing ways. As an actor, who doesn’t love a good challenge?
MS: And Romy has depth and wisdom beyond her years. She has the sensitivity required to tackle this character that I don’t think other actors possess. As a person, Romy is deeply compassionate and empathetic.
RW: What is happening, Mel? [Laughs]
MS: Well, I want people to know this [laughs]. I do genuinely think that Em could be a difficult character to nail if the wrong person played her. And you were the right person to play Em, so you nailed it.
Well, you nailed it, Romy! From social media, I see that you two are close. Melanie, how did you two form the sisterly bond that translated to the screen?
MS: Yeah, it wasn’t hard to build a bond with Romy. She’s kind. She’s one of the easiest people to get along with. We didn’t really have to work at it. We could just focus on the characters. It was easy.
Romy, do you agree?
RW: I do. Mel was a safe space for me during the three months of filming. I was on location alone. She had her family with her. I felt like I was her sister, but also her third kid at times, mainly because I act the age of her children [laughs]. They are really cool and awesome. So is her husband. Getting to be a part of her life gave me an additional safety net.
Honestly, there are days that you just need a hug from somebody. I would look at Mel, and she’d give me the best hug. There’s a photo of me being curled into her. I’m not a cuddly and touchy person but with Mel, I want to hug her all day, every day. There was one take in which I hug her and then smack her head, so I don’t wanna do that.
MS: Yes, I could see why you’re not typically a cuddly person [laughs].
Last question. Any time there’s “reanimated flesh” involved, some people tend to generalize the project as just “another zombie show.” How would you sell Revival to them?
MS: I would say that there are no zombies. What’s that quote from Em, Romy?
RW: Oh! Wayne Cypher says this in an episode. He says to Dilish that when people die, they’re dead.
MS: Yeah, so these people are not zombies. They’re brought back to where they were before they were dead. So that brings up a whole host of moral questions and quandaries and scientific ones as well. We have to ask how we would treat people if that happened? And it turns out not well.
Revival airs Thursdays at 10/9c on SyFy
English (US)