The Night of the Undead

The Night of the Undead is an American adult-animated zombie comedy horror series created by Ryan Reynolds for the Cartoon Network nighttime block Adult Swim. The series centers on four Princeton University students who, after zombies kill off most of the world's population, have to fight for survival.

A pilot episode was commissioned by Adult Swim and was released on the block's official YouTube channel, though it would later be set to private for unknown reasons. On April 5, 2021, it was announced that Adult Swim had ordered a 10-episode season on the show, with the latest possible being late 2021. However, due to production delays, the series has been pushed back into summer 2022. The first episode finally premiered on the block in July 25, 2022. Prior to release, the show has been renewed for a second season.

The Night of the Undead received mixed reviews for its first season, though it would still be a commercial success. The second season received slightly positive reviews.

Premise
Season one follows Ryan Blake, who is a student in Princeton University, New Jersey. When a zombie from a biolab escapes, it infects over 75% of the world population, but Ryan manages to save himself. Fearing that he is the only one left, he is incredibly wrong, as three other students named Satomi Takahashi, Luke Marson, and Millie Lenox, who are also Princeton students, are revealed to have survived the apocalypse as well. Together, the four attempt to fight for survival inside the university during the apocalypse.

Season two will follow the four to leave Princeton, and into the outside world, where all of society has fallen due to the zombie apocalypse. Fortunately, however, a radio call is received to reveal that there are more survivors in the fallen world than there is, and that they're located in a desert in Nevada, near Area 51.

The third and final season will follow the gang reaching the base in Nevada. With enough people in the shelter, they'll have to find a way to turn the world and society back to normal. But with limited resources and a slim chance of survival, can they find a cure just in time to save the world from their inevitable doom?

Main characters

 * Ryan Reynolds as Ryan Blake, a 19-year-old student who was irresponsible for his grades prior. He had a red scar on his arm after tripping on a wire when he was a kid.
 * Ariel Winter as Millie Lenox, an 18-year-old student who is shy, and sometimes a clumsy girl. She has a crush on Ryan.
 * Jack McBrayer as Luke Marson, also an 18-year-old student who had just entered Princeton.
 * Kimiko Glenn as Satomi Takahashi, a 19-year-old Japanese-American student who is a nerdy, dorky, and sometimes an awkward girl.

Minor characters
Additionally, Sam Neill, Brendan Gleeson, Zachary Levi, Eddie Izzard, David Krumholtz, Felicity Jones, Patton Oswalt, Will Arnett, Sunny Kaushal, Andy Daly, Paul F. Tompkins, Sam Richardson, and Whoopi Goldberg are being cast in undisclosed voice roles.
 * Peter Dinklage as a radio receiver of the base in Nevada.
 * Kristen Schaal as Lily, an old friend of Satomi.
 * Keegan-Michael Key as David, a classmate of Ryan.
 * Tiffany Haddish as Mrs. Linton, Ryan's math teacher.

Development
Ryan Reynolds had kept the idea on hold for a while before pitching it to Adult Swim. He said, "It was supposed to be a freaky but hilarious dark show back when I first thought of the idea. I was like 'Wait. Since a lot of films are focused on zombies, how about I make an animated one for TV?' That might've been a new step in George A. Romero's zombies."

Reynolds took inspiration from other zombie media, such as Call of Duty and Zombieland.

Reception
The Night of the Undead received mixed reception from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 54% for the entirety of season one. While on Metacritic, it has a Metascore of 46 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews". For season two, it has an approval rating of 68%, while it has a Metascore of 63 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Home media
The full first season of The Night of the Undead was released on DVD and Blu-Ray by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. It was later released on HBO Max.