Z Nation was SYFY's entertaining zombie series but here's why it was cancelled after five seasons; the show came to an end in 2018.

SYFY's Z Nation was canceled after five seasons despite there being notable demand online for Z Nation season six. Before The Walking Dead, the idea of a zombie TV show becoming a major hit seemed unlikely. The zombie movie genre had been largely dormant when it was given a major shot in the arm with 2002's 28 Days Later and Resident Evil, and it wasn't long until the hordes were on the march again in every medium. The Walking Dead proved zombies and TV were a match made in heaven, and before long, more zombie shows, like Z Nation, emerged. Unlike The Walking Dead though, Z Nation season 6 and beyond never saw the light of day. So why was Z Nation canceled despite having a loyal fanbase?

The Walking Dead grew to become a huge franchise, spawning multiple spin-off shows, and video games. One thing the show has been routinely criticized over, however, is its relentlessly dour and grim tone. On the other side of the spectrum is Z Nation, a zombie show that debuted on SYFY back in 2014. Z Nation had many shocking deaths, such as Lost star Harold Perrineau originally being sold as the star only to die in episode 1, but it wasn't The Walking Dead — a stylistic distinction that gained it a dedicated cult following. Z Nation lacked the budget of The Walking Dead but made up for that with a sense of fun and self-awareness. There was even a George R.R. Martin Z Nation cameo as a zombie version of himself during the second season. It had its admirers, so why was Z Nation canceled?

Z Nation Met The Same Fate As Many SYFY Shows

Z Nation was never a huge ratings hit, but it did respectable business for SYFY, which is why its season 5 cancellation came as a shock. The series may have been canned because the network tends to cap their shows at five seasons max, likely due to the rising costs. The first season of Z Nation was made with a budget of under $700,000 per episode. This would have risen as the show progressed, due to both actors' costs increasing and the scope of the expanding story requiring a higher budget for SFX.

Z Nation isn't alone in the SYFY season 5 cut-off though, as popular shows like Stargate Atlantis and cult series Eureka were also axed before season 6 despite arguably being successful. Even if the budget for the zombie sci-fi epic hadn't incrementally increased with each season, the chances that SYFY would make Z Nation season 6 were always slim.

In addition to rising costs, the Z Nation viewership decreased with each season. As dedicated as the Z Nation fanbase is, by season 5 they were almost the only people still invested in the show. Season 1 of Z Nation pulled in a respectable 1.42 million views per episode on average. This figure dropping was expected, and even The Walking Dead lost viewers. However, by season 5 the Z Nation viewership had dwindled to under 500,000 (according to tvseriesfinale.com).

When put in the context of paying more money for fewer viewers, SYFY's decision not to buck their 5-season trend for Z Nation makes a lot of sense. That doesn't mean the cast, crew, and fans of Z Nation were satisfied though. Despite doing its best to wrap up loose ends, season 5 ended on a massive cliffhanger, with Murphy receiving a vision after eating some of Sun Mei's brain. It could have been her antidote, allowing Murphy to immunize what's left of mankind from the deadly Z Virus (not to be confused with The Walking Dead's Wildfire Virus zombie outbreak). Sadly, Z Nation fans will never find out what he saw.

How The Z Nation Prequel Series Is Different

When the cancelation news came through in 2018, Z Nation fans who hoped for season six could at least take solace that a prequel show, Black Summer, was on the way, depicting the origins of the outbreak. However, the tones of the two shows are quite different, to the point that when Black Summer lead Jaime King spoke to ScreenRant she stated, "It's interesting because people started tying [Black Summer] to Z Nation, and I'm like this has nothing to do with that. It's not a link to Z Nation. I had never actually seen Z Nation or heard about Z Nation, but I have friends who absolutely love that show, and then people started putting it out there that it was like a prequel of Z Nation, which it's not". Two seasons of Black Summer have made it to Netflix, in 2019 and 2021 respectively. Black Summer season 3 was never officially canceled, but a third season hasn't materialized in 2023.

If even the lead on Black Summer doesn't think much of the link between the two shows, the prequel show could hardly be expected to scratch the Z Nation itch. Z Nation is a horror drama with comedic undertones (though not as in-your-face as other zombie comedies like the hilarious Shaun of the Dead). Black Summer is a psychological story about refugees trying to survive armageddon. Yes, the shows depict the same Z Virus outbreak, but they don't feel spiritually linked, and this isn't helped by the fact that no Z Nation characters have shown up in Black Summer yet.

While both shows are produced by The Asylum, Black Summer is a darker offering that lacks a lot of the charm and light-heartedness that inspired many of the Z Nation following to choose the SYFY show over contenders like The Walking Dead (the debate between the two camps online did, at times, get heated). Black Summer isn't a bad show, it simply isn't the extension of Z Nation many had hoped for — although Netflix does have more light-hearted zombie shows like Resident Evil, so there are alternatives.

Where To Watch Z Nation Now That It’s Left Netflix

For Z Nation fans who want to binge their favorite episodes, that used to be possible with the aid of the streaming service Netflix. Z Nation left the streaming service in January 2023 though, so fans, as well as those looking to get into the show for the first time, will have to find it elsewhere.

The good news is that even though Z Nation season 6 didn’t come to be, what aired of the series is still available on a variety of other streaming platforms for fans. The series can be rented and streamed through services like Vudu, Google Play, and Amazon Video. Google Play only has the first three seasons. Amazon and Vudu, however, have access to all five seasons.