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Brainerd Dispatch • June 25 - July 1, 2017 •19 By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media T here's no denying that "Zoo" knows how to deliver a cliff- hanger. The show's freshman sea- son closed on a veritable wall of animals blocking the progress of our intrepid heroes, while the final moments of season 2 delivered a flash-forward that not only gave us a glimpse into the declining state of the world, but informed us that a major character we just saw killed (or so we thought!) is still, in fact, very much alive. See what season 3 has to offer when "Zoo" returns Thursday, June 29, on CBS. Based on the bestselling novel by James Patterson (who's also an executive producer) and Michael Ledwidge, "Zoo" is a dramatic thriller about a worldwide wave of vicious attacks by animals against humans. James Wolk ("You Again," 2010) stars as zoologist Jackson Oz, who investigates the strange attacks alongside a team that in- cludes Abraham Kenyatta (Nonso Anozie, "Game of Thrones"), a sa- fari guide and friend of Jackson's; Mitch Morgan (Billy Burke, "Twi- light," 2008), an oddball veterinary pathologist; and Jamie Campbell (Kristen Connolly, "House of Cards"), a journalist. As the series progresses, so does the ferocity and co-ordination of the animal attacks, making it quite plain that this is far from normal animal behavior. There's foul play at work, and it all gets very scientif- ic, with mutations and triple helixes and genomic fossils and other terms I won't pretend to be familiar with. Things appeared to be looking up in the season 2 finale: Jackson and Co. landed on a cure, and even got it out into the world. Unfortu- nately, another group of scientists was hard at work, too, and it wasn't interested in simply curing the ani- mals — its end game was to end the human race. The Shepherds, as they're known, work for Jackson's father, and released a gas that ef- fectively sterilized all humans just as the animal cure was dispersed. Well shucks. This is still the state of things in the season 2 epilog, which jaunts forward to the year 2027. The hu- man population is petering out, with no babies born in the last de- cade, and Jackson works tirelessly to solve the problem of the ultra- savage razorbacks: unstoppable wolf-like hybrids that are another one of the Shepherds' charming creations, and which dragged off a self-sacrificing Mitch in the season finale. We get a shot of proud poppa Abe with Dariela (Alyssa Diaz, "Army Wives"), who announced she was pregnant at the end of last season (before the gas was re- leased). Their 10-year-old son is graduating from a grade school that will close its doors forever be- hind him, as he's among the last of the world's 10-year-olds. The whole thing has a very "Children of Men" vibe about it. Outside the school, Abe is ap- proached by a young blond woman who points out that the hybrid at- tacks are getting worse. Much more importantly, she tells him that the only person who can create a cure isn't dead, as Abe believes: It's Mitch Morgan, that solver of all problems and come-upper of all plans, and he's very much alive. This is his daughter, Clementine (Gracie Dzienny, "Chasing Life"), all grown up, and she knows where Mitch can be found. End credits. Like I said, "Zoo" knows how to keep us hanging. The show is tak- ing on a notably different feel for season 3. What started out with an intriguing but not particularly com- plicated problem of "the animals are acting weird, what's up with that?" has moved into something much more broad. Presumably, sea- son 3 will put a spotlight on Mitch: Where's he been holed up these past 10 years, and what's he been doing? How did he escape the pack of hybrids that, by all appearances, devoured him? Why has he been keeping his existence under wraps? On a larger scale, season 3 exam- ines what life is like in a world that has no long-term future. Even if Mitch, veterinary pathologist ex- traordinaire, comes up with a cure, as Clem says he can, we're looking at a society learning to recover from a 10-year gap in the population. It also appears that the hybrids are this season's main overarching conflict, as is their creator, "a shad- owy figure with a startling connec- tion to the team's past," according to CBS. Said team is currently scat- tered to the four winds for the most part, but expect them to be reunit- ed in the wake of the news that Mitch is alive, thus giving everyone a hope for the future. Aside from Dzienny as the now- grown Clementine, there are a cou- ple of other new cast members this season. Hilary Jardine ("Van Hels- ing") and Athena Karkanis ("Low Winter Sun") are set to appear in recurring roles in season 3. Kar- kanis plays Abigail, a gutsy opera- tive with a surprising tie to Jackson, and Jardine plays Tessa, Jackson's new lady love who plays an impor- tant part in helping refugees to safety. Catch the season 3 premiere of "Zoo" when the thrilling series re- turns Thursday, June 29, on CBS. Ten years on 'Zoo' jaunts forward a decade in season 3 Feature Story this week James Wolk stars in "Zoo"

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