In this stomach-churning satirical drama titled Generation Z, a group of elderly residents in a care home turn into flesh-eating zombies after being exposed to chemicals. To make matters worse, some of the Dambury residents develop a taste for teenagers.
The six-part series features Sue Johnston, 80, Anita Dobson, 75, and Robert Lindsay, 74, portraying the pensioners, all of whom are making their debut in a zombie-themed production. “I’ve never done anything like this before,” Anita admits. “I thought that at my age, I should try everything. I sent my husband [Queen guitarist, Sir Brian May] a photo of me from the set, looking a bit bloodied, and he was speechless. He just asked, ‘Is this my wife?’”
Anita, who portrays Janine in the series, shares, “I also had a baptism of blood on my first day when they overfilled a blood bag, and it went everywhere. It was in my eyes, up my nose, in my ears—everyone got soaked, and the walls were drenched while everyone burst into hysterical laughter.”
Sue agrees, saying, “The show has certainly stirred up interest among my family and friends—more than any other role I’ve taken on. I’m not sure what they’re expecting, but there’s a lot of curiosity.”
Sue plays Cecily, who, as the chemicals take effect, begins to lead the other infected residents through the woods, trying to escape from the army sent to neutralize the threat. Initially, the Generation Z residents are unaware of what’s happening until Anita’s character, Janine, becomes infected and attacks her granddaughter Kelly, played by Buket Komur.
“When it comes to Kelly, Janine just wants to infect her so they can be together—she doesn’t want to kill her,” Anita explains. “After Janine gets infected, she experiences horror and questions what’s happening to her. But suddenly, she rediscovers feelings from her youth. There’s a newfound desire to go out and take action, to stand up for herself, and she feels empowered. Janine becomes completely fearless and doesn’t want that to change.”
Due to the storyline, the cast members were divided into baby boomers and Generation Z. Robert shares his thoughts on working with the younger actors: “They’re like aliens!” he exclaims. “They speak a different language, and I didn’t understand anything. The series is a satire about life under the threat of a virus or infection, and it comments a lot on kids, though I can’t say I enjoyed working with them very much—that’s a story for another time. Whenever I suggested something, they looked at me like I’d just crawled out from under the floor.”
Robert plays Morgan, who spends much of his time underground. “I spent most of my time in an old abattoir in Newport,” he explains. “Morgan supplies recreational substances for the Generation Z kids, growing them in his cellar. It was quite depressing—everyone longed to get out of there.”
Robert hints that his character may hold the key to stopping the zombification: “My character undergoes a significant transformation and knows much more about the virus than anyone else,” he reveals. “Ben [writer/director Ben Wheatley] altered my character after I agreed to take on the role. I initially thought I was the hero, but then something changed.”
As the virus spreads and the older generation becomes increasingly zombified, the make-up department really elevated their work. “I remember looking at my reflection and it was horrifying,” Sue laughs. “By the end, I had a false forehead, false cheeks, a false nose, a false mouth, and a false neck. It felt both constraining and liberating. I thought, ‘I can never look worse than this.’”
Robert adds, “I went down to the costume department to check out the spare body part they created for me—it was my torso. I saw Sue there, trying to make a phone call. Naturally, she was attempting to use face recognition and kept saying, ‘Why won’t my phone work?’”
The extras really got into the spirit of the show too. “The supporting artists were magnificent,” Sue says. “They got all the make-up on from day one and when they had to eat a man, they relished it! They made me laugh every day because they were so committed to every action.”
“They were terrifying,” agrees Robert. “They really went for it. At one point I nearly asked Ben to calm them down.”
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