WAUSAU − Central Wisconsin residents will soon see some familiar sights on television as a cable network show set in Wausau debuts June 12.
The SYFY channel will debut the supernatural thriller, “Revival,” at 9 p.m. June 12 based the 2012 Image comic book series of the same name by Wausau-area native Tim Seeley, a comic book artist and writer. The television adaptation of the 47-issue Harvey Award-nominated comic series was created by Aaron B. Koontz and Luke Boyce, according to the SYFY channel website for the series.
“We shot so many of our exteriors in Wausau. We used lots of drone shots. It will definitely be a familiar town,” Seeley told a Wausau Daily Herald reporter June 12. “The location is really important and is kind of a character in the story so I hope it feels like Wausau to people who live there.”
While most of the show was filmed in New Brunswick, Canada, the show will feature some outdoor imagery from Wausau, according to Tim White, Visit Wausau executive director, in a June 12 blog post. A “sneak peek” video on the SYFY channel website shows a brief clip of a nighttime flyover near the Wausau River Foot Bridge near Riverlife Park with the Dudley Building looming in the background.
“As a resident, there’s something powerful about seeing your real hometown on screen − not as a stand-in for somewhere else, but as itself. We’re not pretending to be Maine or Montana. We’re Wausau, and we’re part of the story,” White said in the blog post. “Whether it’s a drone shot over the Wisconsin River, a fleeting view of our skyline, or glimpses of familiar buildings, those details matter. They ground the story in a place we know − and now, the world will know it too.”
Comic creator Seeley was born in Ringle and graduated from D.C. Everest High School in 1995 and currently lives in Chicago, according to the Wausau Daily Herald. Seeley’s work has also been featured in DC Comics, including “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” and has had other successful original work including popular horror comic series “HACK/SLASH.”
Why was it important to Seeley to set ‘Revival’ in Wausau?
“I needed somewhere where there could be a balance of different voices and different opinions, and Wausau always felt like that to me,” Seeley told the Wausau Daily Herald Thursday. “I also needed a place that could have conflict, which it also feels like that to me having grown up there.”
Seeley’s knowledge of the area allowed him to craft an authentic setting that he felt was important for the comic’s characters. He also was inspired by locations in and around Wausau, particularly old barns.
“When I first started the comic there was the last of the big old barns that were starting to fall down whenever it stormed,” Seeley said. “I kind of wanted to capture that feeling that this used to be this massive farming area and that’s dwindled quite a bit and there’s these sort of remnants of it left over.”
While Seeley said he has been living in Chicago for several years now, he still returns to Wausau for holidays and maintains his familiarity with the city.
What is ‘Revival’ about?
The series is a spin on a zombie thriller in which people near a small rural town in central Wisconsin were “revived” if they had died within the two weeks prior to the “revival” event. Instead of the typical shambling and aggressive zombies, the “revivers” act almost the same as they had before they died.
The series follows sheriff’s deputy Dana Cypress, played by actress Melanie Scrofano, as she manages the city contained within a government-imposed quarantine zone.
The series also features actors Steven Ogg, David James Elliot, Gia Sandhu and CM Punk.
The comic series began in 2012 and its last issue was released in 2017. The work to adapt the series into a film began in 2017 with Boyce’s involvement, according to the Wausau Daily Herald. SYFY ordered the television adaptation series in March 2024 and filming began in September 2024, according to reporting by Variety.
How can I watch episodes of ‘Revival’?
The series will debut new episodes weekly for 10 weeks starting June 12 on SYFY. Episodes will be available for streaming on Peacock one week after they debut on the cable network, beginning on June 19.
Subscriptions to Peacock begin at $7.99 per month and $13.99 per month for an ad-free experience, according to the streaming service’s website.
Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Contact him at epfantz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: SYFY show ‘Revival’ set in Wausau based on comic book series by Wausau-area native
Reporting by Erik Pfantz, Wausau Daily Herald / Wausau Daily Herald
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