The 2 Zs

The 2 Zs is an American live-action/teen drama/action web series created by Man of Action and it is available on Netflix. The series is about a 17-year-old junior named Zach Herron who gets a watch-style device called the 'Omnitrix.' Attached to his wrist, it allows him to transform into various alien creatures with different abilities, allowing him to fight evil from Earth and space. He is also teamed up with his 15-year-old paternal Filipino-American cousin, Zoe Herron who has powers from her own mind. The series is available on Netflix worldwide. It is a live-action teen drama adaptation of Ben 10 with episodes based on the franchise itself.

Premise
Set in Los Angeles in 2021, the series centres around Zach Herron(Zach Herron), a 17-year-old boy and Zoe Herron(Zoe Tria), a 15-year-old girl. Zoe is originally from San Francisco while her cousin, Zach is from Dallas, Texas but relocated to Los Angeles since his freshman year. While the 2 were forced to hang out in Zach's backyard he finds an alien pod with a mysterious watch-style device named the Omnitrix. The device then permanently attaches itself to his wrist giving him the ability to transform into a variety of alien life-forms each with its own unique skills and powers. With his newfound superpowers, Zach has to learn the responsibilities of being a hero. Along with balancing school and hero work.

Main
Zach Herron(portrayed by Zachary Herron) is a 17-year-old boy of Irish(on his father's side) and Filipino(on his mother's side) descent originally from Dallas, Texas. He was a rival towards his cousin, Zoe until later in the series where they get along. He is the main protagonist.

Zoe Herron(portrayed by Zoe Tria) is a 15-year-old girl of British-Irish-Caucasian(on her father's side) and Spanish-Filipino(on her mother's side) descent originally from San Francisco, California. She was a rival towards her cousin, Zach until later in the series where they get along. She is the main protagonist.

Zed Herron(portrayed by Raphael Lau) is a 15-year-old boy of British-Irish-Caucasian(on his father's side) and Spanish-Filipino(on his mother's side) descent originally from San Francisco, California. He is the older twin brother of Zoe and has a good relationship with Zach. He is the deuteragonist.

John Kinnear(portrayed by Jack Avery) is an 18-year-old boy who was a bully to Zach and is later a friend to Zach and Zoe. He is a teen father and he and his girlfriend, Jackie have to balance school and their daughter, Caroline. He is the deuteragonist.

Kayla Chen(portrayed by Gun) is a 15-year-old girl who is an exchange student from the UK. Her parents were originally from China and she was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne and raised in Birmingham. She was Zach's girlfriend until they broke up but remained in touch with the Herron family. She is also best friends with Zoe. She is the deuteragonist.

Robert Pepper(portrayed by Aidan Harney) is a 15-year-old boy originally from Boston, Massachusetts. He is Zed's best friend and Zoe's love interest. He is the deuteragonist.

Taiyo Yamamoto(portrayed by Thaiyo Kido) is a 15-year-old boy from Tokyo, Japan. He is Zoe's pen pal who recently moved to Los Angeles. He is the deuteragonist.

Matthew Johnson(portrayed by Corbyn Besson) is a 17-year-old boy of Dutch descent originally from Dallas, Texas but raised in Virginia. He is the deuteragonist.

Joseph Hogan(portrayed by Daniel Seavey) is a 17-year-old boy originally from Vancouver, Washington. He loves drinking apple juice and is multi-talented. He is the deuteragonist.

Recurring
Dak(portrayed by Jonah Marais) is a singer who is part of a musical duo, Dak and Brody.

Brody(portrayed by Eben Franckewitz) is a singer who is part of a musical duo, Dak and Brody.

Villains
Vilgax(voiced by Steve Blum) was the main villain of Ben 10 who was brought back to life after discovering that another boy is wielding the Omnitrix. He is the main antagonist.

Aloysius Animo(portrayed by Dwight Schultz) is a villain who returned from the original series.

Howell Wayneright(portrayed by Tyler Seavey) was a collector of alien-related things.

Clancy(voiced by Nicholas Guest) is a mentally-ill mutant who returned from the original series.

SixSix(voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) is a genetically mutated Sotoraggian bounty hunter from the planet Sotoragg. He came back to life from the original series.

Vulkanus(voiced by John DiMaggio) is a Detrovite criminal who utilises a large mechanical suit to make up for his small size. He came back to life from the original series.

Hex(portrayed by Khary Payton) is a self-proclaimed "Master Magician" who desired to rule the world with his vast magic powers and lived in a large tower-like building.

Charmcaster(portrayed by Kari Wahlgren) is one of the villains in the Ben 10 franchise and the niece/apprentice of Hex.

Zs'Skayr(voiced by Steve Blum) was the Ectonurite High Ecto-Lord of Anur Phaetos and Anur Transyl in the Anur System.

Development
Man of Action and Netflix made an agreement to make a teen drama version of Ben 10. The original title was going to be Ben 10: Live Action but it was scrapped because it might sound too similar to the Ben 10 franchise. So it is decided that there should be a different wielder of the omnitrix and that the series should be set in Los Angeles rather than Bellwood. The members of Why Don't We got involved in production as well as Zoe Tria, Raphael Lau, Aidan Harney, Gun and Thaiyo Kido who were teen actors and actresses from various shows such as A Crazy EX Battle, The Secondary School Choir and The Darkest Awakening. Production started the same time reboot version of The Darkest Awakening was in production. According to Why Don't We, the show target audience is for teenage limelights. Grandpa Max(especially his teen drama counterpart) won't appear in the series.

Theme Song
The theme song is composed by Why Don't We who also did starring roles in the series(with the exception of Jonah Marais). Interestingly, they also performed the theme song. The intro is also inspired by anime.

Casting
Zach Herron and Zoe Tria were given starring roles. Interestingly, Zoe Tria has stated that she and her brother had recently watched Ben 10 prior to production. Zach and Zoe's characters are teen drama counterparts to Ben and Gwen Tennyson. Raphael Lau, Jack Avery and Gun were added to the cast as Zed Herron, John Kinnear and Kayla Chen, all counterparts of Ken Tennyson, Kevin Levin and Julie Yamamoto. The rest of the cast portray original characters. Jonah Marais and Eben Franckewitz are part of the recurring cast portraying Dak and Brody. The aliens used by Zach when he transforms are CGI animated and are all voiced by Zach Herron himself.

Trivia

 * The 2 Zs is a teen drama adaptation of Ben 10
 * Though most of the characters are original, here are the characters and their Ben 10 counterparts
 * Interestingly, most of them are all part of Ben's team in Alien Force
 * Ben Tennyson - Zach Herron
 * Gwen Tennyson - Zoe Herron
 * Ken Tennyson - Zed Herron
 * Kevin Levin - John Kinnear
 * Julie Yamamoto - Kayla Chen
 * Many actors/voice actors came back from the original Ben 10 to portray/voice the villains who came back to life from the original Ben 10