Main characters
Roberta Warren
Lt. Roberta Warren (Kellita Smith) is a survivor of the zombie apocalypse. An ex-National Guard member activated out of Missouri, she is a member of the Westward-bound survivor group, and a former member of the Blue Sky Camp survivor group in New York. Like many other survivors of the zombie apocalypse, Warren lost nearly everything and everyone that mattered to her. She becomes the leader of the survivor group after the death of Garnett.
Citizen Z
Simon Cruller (DJ Qualls), commonly known as Citizen Z, is a PFC and former hacker who was working at the NSA's Northern Light listening post in the Arctic Circle. After a doomed rescue mission flight out of Northern Light, he becomes the NSA's sole surviving employee and uses his high-tech equipment to assist the group in its journey to California. He also runs a radio broadcast for other survivors, informing people to take cover when there is a threat of inescapable disaster-level weather or zombie hordes. He is slowly going insane from loneliness; his only companion is a sled dog named Pup. In the second season, the Northern Lights missile defense system intercepts a nuclear bomb, severely damaging the listening post and waking the zombies in the doomed evacuation flight wreckage. Citizen Z fights to survive the cold and the zombie onslaught, despite minimal shooting skills. At the end of season 2, Citizen Z decides to leave Northern Light when he realizes that all the post's resources are used up and it has sustained too much damage for him to survive there any longer. He leaves on foot with Pup, pulling a dog sled, in subzero temperatures. Near death, he is rescued by Kaya, an Inuit girl, and her surviving family members. They return to Northern Lights when they need food, and he and Kaya form a relationship, which results in her becoming pregnant. He leaves in a plane and meets the survivor group in person, but later returns.kaya then has her son, JZ .
Alvin Murphy
Alvin Bernard Murphy (Keith Allan) is a resentful and frail former convict who becomes the only known survivor of zombie bites after being part of a scientific experiment. The Westward-bound survivor group is tasked with transporting him to a government laboratory in California, as his apparent immunity is believed to be the sole solution to the ZN1 virus. Over time, Murphy's appearance changes, and he becomes part zombie. He can communicate with zombies, develops feelings for them and can make them do his bidding. He also becomes more and more misanthropic, going from simply a cowardly jerk with few redeeming moments to an increasingly darker character who even starts to succumb to zombie instincts and does not care about the lives of others to the point where he is willing to abandon the mission. He also develops a special gift: After biting a person or exposing them to his saliva or blood, he can direct them using telepathy. In season 3, after finding out the survivors at Zona want to use him for only themselves, he escapes, bites 10K and decides to make the human race into zombie-human hybrids like himself. He eventually rejoins the group when they find out his daughter Lucy has been kidnapped by The Man. In a fight with the forces of Zona, a bullet passes through him and hits Warren, infecting her with his blood. In season 4 he has been taken to Zona and the doctors have seemingly cured him, making him look more human. After Zona falls, he and Warren return to the mainland and eventually meet up with Lucy, 10K, Doc and Sgt. Lilly. During this season, he demonstrates great concern for Lucy, and is more humane and less harsh than he was in prior seasons, even taking part in killing zombies, though he maintains his pessimism. At the end of season 4 he is struck by flesh eating bacteria when trying to protect Warren.
Doc
Steven Beck (Russell Hodgkinson), commonly known as Doc, is a former counselor and a recovering addict. He serves as the medic of the Westward-bound survivor group. He is not an actual medical doctor, but has sufficient medical knowledge to aid the members of the group. He holds a Phd in clinical psychology, and has an extensive knowledge of drugs due to his occupation pre-apocalypse and his drug addiction. During the apocalypse he returned to his drug addiction and became a short time drug dealer before engaging on the mission to take Murphy to the CDC Laboratory in California. He is one of the wisest members of the group and serves Warren without hesitation. He develops a fatherly bond with 10k (aka Tommy) due to his regret of not being supportive of an unrecognized son he had when he was 19, and 10k's trauma after having to mercy his father. He uses two hammers which he keeps in holsters when smashing zombies. His stoner antics is a comic relief in the entire series and at times aids the group in sticky situations.
10K
Thomas (Nat Zang), commonly known as 10K and often called "The Kid" by Doc, is the youngest member of the Westward-bound survivor group. In the season 1 finale, his real name was revealed to be Tommy. 10K is quiet, incredibly skilled, a great shot, and very observant. He is highly proficient with a sniper rifle and other projectiles, and is "pretty good with a knife". He loves killing zombies, and keeps track of each one he kills. His goal is 10,000 kills, hence his self-given nickname, and he has already reached 1,000 by his first appearance. His backstory reveals that 10K was forced to kill his father, making a promise to him that he would stay strong and fight. 10K harbors feelings of anger and hatred towards Murphy for turning his lover Cassandra into a zombie-human hybrid, but does not act on those feelings, knowing that Murphy could be humanity's only chance to survive. In the season 2 finale, he is injured and taken with Murphy to the CDC submarine to be given medical attention for his wound. He escapes the submarine with Murphy, Dr. Merch and the others bitten by Murphy, and is openly opposed to following him. He is told by Dr. Merch that he was bitten after she gave him his first dose of the original cure. He stops counting during season 3, but resumes during season 4.
Addy Carver
Addison Grace "Addy" Carver (Anastasia Baranova) is a former member of the Blue Sky camp in New York and is Mack's girlfriend prior to his death. She is the survivor group's communication specialist and uses her talents with radio equipment to contact Citizen Z. Broken by unresolved trauma, she is slowly being worn down by the apocalypse. At one point, she chooses to leave the group and join the Sisters of Mercy camp, but after the camp is destroyed, she reunites with Mack, who refused to leave her behind, and returns to the Westward-bound survivor group. Her weapon of choice against zombies is a customized metal bat with spikes; in season 3, her bat is upgraded by Sun Mei and her team to emit an electric charge similar to a taser. Between seasons 3 and 4, she loses her right eye. She disappears early in season 4.
Mac Thompson
Mac Thompson (Michael Welch; seasons 1–2) is a former hockey player for the Tri-City Americans, a survivor of the zombie apocalypse, and Addy's boyfriend. He is a former member of the Blue Sky camp in New York, and a member of the Westward-bound survivor group. A good shot, Mac protects Addy and stays behind when she chose to join the Sisters of Mercy camp, and watches over her from afar. He is eventually reunited with Addy and returns to the survivor group. He is mercied by Addy after being swarmed, and killed by zombies.
Cassandra
Cassandra (Pisay Pao; seasons 1–2, guest season 3) is a survivor of the initial zombie apocalypse. She is a former member of the Philadelphia cannibal survivor group, where she served as a "lure" to attract male survivors with the promise of sexual trade, in order for the group to trap and consume them. Cassandra joins the Westward-bound survivor group after being found in a locked cage at a rendezvous station near Philadelphia. A leg injury leads to an infection. Lacking antibiotics and near death, she is bitten by Murphy and becomes a zombie-human hybrid controlled by Murphy. She eventually attacks and is mercied by 10K.
Charles Garnett
Sgt. Charles Garnett (Tom Everett Scott; season 1) was with the National Guard, based out of Georgia, prior to the ZN1 outbreak. He is a former member of the Blue Sky camp in New York before taking on the task of transporting Murphy. He is the leader of the Westward-bound survivor group until his demise. Trying to protect Murphy, he is murdered and turned into a zombie by Priest Jacob and his Resurrection Cult. He is mercied by Warren, his second in command, and at that point, his girlfriend.
Mark Hammond
Lt. Mark Hammond (Harold Perrineau; season 1) is the last surviving member of the Delta Force team transferring Murphy to a laboratory in California. He is mercied by the Westward-bound survival group after being bitten.
Javier Vasquez
Javier Vasquez (Matt Cedeño; seasons 2, guest season 3) is first encountered in the opening episode of season 2, "The Murphy". Vasquez was a DEA agent, but after he arrested some of Escorpion's men, Escorpion abducted his wife and daughter, later killing them in front of him. His wife and daughter turned into zombies during their funeral, and Vasquez seeks revenge on Escorpion. He tries to assassinate Escorpion during the group's Zeros induction ceremony, but is stopped by Warren and tortured by the Zeros before escaping. At the conclusion of season 2, he apparently leaves the main survivor group. In the season 3 episode "Heart of Darkness", Vasquez reappears, having assumed the mantle of "Escorpion" after suffering a mental breakdown, and is later mercied by Warren.
Escorpion
Hector Alvarez (Emilio Rivera; seasons 2–3), commonly known as Escorpion, is the main antagonist of season 2, first encountered in the second episode, "White Light". He served as the right-hand of La Reina, the head of the Mexican drug cartel known as the Zeros. He has a small Z-shaped scar on his right hand and has a tattoo of a face in his forearm. He tortured Javier Vasquez when he was still working for the DEA, and killed the latter's wife and daughter. Escorpion's weapon of choice is a golden gun. At the end of season 2, he has reformed, and joins the main survivor group. In season 3, he is killed by Vasquez, who has assumed his former identity after suffering from a mental breakdown. He is later injected with an experimental vaccine to save his life which was ineffective at first but later on proves effective. However, it is unclear exactly what the vaccine did to him, as he never appears again in the series.
The Man
The Man (Joseph Gatt; season 3) first appears in One Punch Man. Following a list created by his Zona employer, it is his job to collect people by any means necessary and ship them to Zona. He is ruthless and will take out anyone in his way. He is known to have completely decimated at least two survivor communities to obtain the people on his list. He has a perfect success rate and has yet to lose a target. As of the second episode of season 3, "A New Mission", The Man's current list contains only one name: "Alvin Bernard Murphy". He finally was defeated in the season 3 finale, as he was tackled off of a massive mountain by Addison Carver. Addy luckily survived and the man's horrible reign was put to an end.
Sun Mei
Sun Mei (Sydney Viengluang; season 3–5) is first encountered in the second episode of season 3, "A New Mission". She is a Laotian virologist from Beijing, China, where 200,000 survived the zombie apocalypse by sealing themselves behind the walls of the Forbidden City. She is sent with a team and equipment from China to collect DNA samples from the American survivor group and Murphy in the hope of synthesizing a cure. She is the sole survivor of her team's mission and for now, has joined the survivor group. In Season 5, she would work in Newmerica as a doctor until her death. She eventually finds the cure in Murphy's blood.
Kaiya
Kaiya Cruller (Ramona Young; season 3–5) is first encountered in the second episode of season 3, "A New Mission". Kaya is an Inuit girl living with her Uncle Kaskae and her grandmother. They are the sole survivors of their village. She finds Citizen Z and Pup out in a blizzard, rescues them, and takes them to her home. She reveals to Citizen Z that she is a huge fan of his, telling him he needs to get healthy and start broadcasting again. They eventually form a relationship after they return to Northern Lights, and she becomes pregnant with their son, JayZ. It's confirmed in Season 5 that Kaiya and Citizen Z are married but it is not indicated when they got married.
Red
Red (Natalie Jongjaroenlarp; season 3–5) is a survivor of the zombie apocalypse. She is the guardian of 5K and love interest of 10K. She is later reunited with the group in Newmerica, and has developed a strong friendship with Sun Mei who has been working on an antidote against the zombie virus.
Nature Boy / 5K
5K (Holden Goyette; season 3, guest season 4), also known as Nature boy, is a survivor of the zombie apocalypse under the protection of Red. He falls off a cliff when he pursues Addy, Lucy, and The Man in the season 3 finale. Red hopes he is still alive somewhere, while 10K believes he is dead.
Lucy Murphy
Lucy Serena Murphy (Tara Holt; seasons 4, guest seasons 2–3) is the daughter of Murphy and Serena. In season 2 she is a baby, but ages rapidly due to the virus Murphy passes on. In season 3, she ages from someone who looks 5 years old, to preteen, to teenager (and is thus portrayed by multiple actresses). In season 4, she looks like a young adult, and is portrayed by Tara Holt. She is kidnapped by The Man, who tries to bring her to Zona in her father's place, but this is impeded by Addy, who she forms a close bond with, even referring to her as "Aunt Addy".
Sgt. Lilley
Sgt. Lilley Mueller (Grace Phipps; season 4–5) is Lt. Mueller's daughter, who assists him in running a refugee camp trying to get survivors to Newmerica. After her father's death, she joins the main survivor group. She later sacrifices herself in Newmerica to save 10K by killing several zombies in an explosion.
Lt. Mueller
Lt. Mueller (Henry Rollins; season 4) is Sgt. Lilley's father, who runs a refugee camp trying to get survivors to Newmerica. He is killed by zombies and mercied by his daughter.
