Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Netflix and Karl Schaefer and John Hyams' zombie apocalypse drama series BLACK SUMMER is said to be a prequel to the SyFy show Z NATION. I don't know for sure. I've never seen either. But that said, I'm thinking this new series just may have made the near-top of my must-watch list as none other than the master of horror himself Stephen King has been singing the show's praise over on Twitter writing:

BLACK SUMMER (Netflix): Just when you think there's no more scare left in zombies, THIS comes along. Existential hell in the suburbs, stripped to the bone. No long, fraught discussions. No endless flashbacks, because there's no back story. No grouchy teens. Dialogue is spare. Much shot with a single handheld camera, very fluid. Showrunners could learn a lot from this. If they could work, that is.

Again, BLACK SUMMER is being referred to as a spin-off from Z NATION that "exists in the same universe" like Fear the Walking Dead was a spin-off from The Walking Dead. But while Z NATION had a comedic tone, BLACK SUMMER goes for the scares. The series is produced by The Asylum and is written and directed primarily by Hyams. For those who might not know, the series begins:

Six weeks after the start of the zombie apocalypse, when a mother (Jaime King) is separated from her daughter, she embarks on a harrowing journey, stopping at nothing to find her. Thrust alongside a small group of American refugees, she must brave a hostile new world and make brutal decisions during the most deadly summer of a zombie apocalypse.

Created by Karl Schaefer and John Hyams this apocalyptic zombie drama stars Jaime King, Justin Chu Cary, Christine Lee, Sal Velez, Jr., Kelsey Flower, Gwynyth Walsh, Mustafa Alabssi, Nyren B. Evelyn, Erika Hau, Edsson Morales, Aidan Fink, Kash Hill, Stafford Perry, Nathaniel Arcand, Tom Carey, Ty Olsson, and Zoe Marlett. The first season, consisting of 8 episodes, is now available to stream over on Netflix.

STREAM IT HERE