In the first trailer for Spectrum’s pandemic satire The Bite, The Good Wife Robert and Michelle King (The Good Fight, Evil) raise the question: what if COVID-19 mutated into a zombie outbreak? The May 21 series will explore this topic through the comedic lens of NYC neighbors Rachel and Lily, played by Audra McDonald (Private Practice, The Good Fight) and Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black, Mercy) respectively.
Entertainment Weekly describes the Spectrum comedy as “two New York neighbors facing down new virulent strain of the COVID-19 virus that can be transferred via a bite and apparently turns people into zombies.” The series, ordered in October and initially entitled The Second Wave, has already drawn comparisons to the King’s short-lived political comedy BrainDead.
Though quarantined, McDonald’s Rachel and Schilling’s Lily will react to the newfound zombie outbreak alongside a cast of characters, with many Broadway alumni filling out the show’s roster. The Bite’s cast includes Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me, The Good Wife), Will Swenson (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Priscilla Queen of the Desert), Phillipa Soo (Hamilton, Amelie) and Leslie Uggams (Deadpool, On Golden Pond). Regarding the cast, King pitched the series on Twitter by saying: “If you liked Walking Dead, but thought if only that had more Broadway actors being eaten, then this is the show for you.”
In addition to establishing the satirical tone of the series and introducing the Broadway-heavy cast, The Bite’s trailer gives brief insight into McDonald and Schilling’s protagonists. While Rachel’s husband – Pasquale – is quarantined in Washington D.C., working to contain the outbreak as a member of the CDC, she practices telemedicine and engages in an extramarital affair. Unlike Rachel, Lily’s work as a dominatrix is less transferrable to a virtual space, which seems to spell trouble when COVID-19 takes a turn toward zombification.
Spectrum video subscribers will be able to stream the entire six-episode series The Bite starting May 16 to see if Rachel and Lily manage to survive their unfortunate quarantine circumstance.