Lately, zombies seem to be everywhere, from television to right here in Kansas City.By Kayla Regan
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – They're the subject of the hit AMC show Walking Dead, which drew in more viewers than the network's Emmy favorite Mad Men. You may have seen them out on the streets during Zombie Walks, where people dress like zombies and parade around town. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention even released a zombie graphic novel- a clever disguise for an emergency preparedness guide.
What you may not know though, is Kansas City has its very own zombie claim to fame. It's a full-scale production Web series called Dead Wait.
The series centers around a paranoid shut-in named Adam. He's prepared for an apocalypse, but not the right kind. So, when zombies take over Kansas City, he's unsure what to do next in order to survive.
Justin Parlette, director of the series, says he's more into the idea of zombies than the actual undead.
"There's this very capitalistic idea that we can infinitely grow our economy and our species on a finite planet. That just doesn't work," Parlette says. "Eventually we start to eat ourselves. That's kind of where I think our fascination with zombies comes into play."
Funding for Dead Wait is in large part thanks to fans of the series. They raised over $2,000 through Kickstarter, a website that lets you fund projects directly from the people who support you.
"We just say, 'Maybe instead of going to Starbucks today, you give us that three bucks and then we can make more of the show you like,'" Parlette said.
Even though Dead Wait fans come from around the world, the series is very local. When Parlette went to Comic-Con San Diego last year, he said Dead Wait was the only Web series not based out of New York or Los Angeles.
"I'm not a native of this city, but it's my home and I want to make things here with people here," Parlette says.
Watch the latest episode of Dead Wait below, as well as all the others here.
Chapter 10, "Going Down" This story was produced for KC Currents. To listen on your own schedule, subscribe to the KC Currents Podcast.