Imagine if Olivia Benson (no, not the cat) and Veronica Mars had a brain-eating lovechild. That child would be Liv Moore (Rose McIver), the quick-witted living dead protagonist of "iZombie."

From the same creative minds who brought us "Veronica Mars," Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright's latest CW series is all about zombies... and brains and crime-solving. But mostly, zombies. "iZombie" was inspired by the Vertigo comic of the same name, and while the general premise is the same -- a zombie girl who uses the memories of the brains she eats to solve murders -- but the similarities pretty much end there.

After a harrowing boat-party-turned-zombie-attack-massacre, Liv is transformed from a promising surgical resident into the living dead. Given her new zombie state, she quits her job, dumps her dreamy fiancé Major and becomes a city morgue employee so she can sneakily get her fix of brains. There's one catch: when she eats a brain, she can see her meal's memories.

Of course it doesn't take long for her enthusiastic boss Ravi Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli) to figure out her brain-eating secret, but instead of freaking the eff out and calling the police, Ravi convinces her to help Seattle PD homicide detective Clive Babinaux (Malcolm Goodwin) solve murders. And similar to her predecessor Veronica Mars, our sardonic zombie heroine is really good at her job.

So now that you're up on the plot, we're going to break things down for you. Aside from the obvious -- Zombies! Brains! Humor! -- here's why "iZombie" is a must-watch.

It's not "The Walking Dead," and that's a good thing.

"iZombie" takes a fresh approach on the zombie genre. Liv may eat brains, but as long as she feeds her hunger on a consistent basis, she can remain in control of her humanity. Unlike those Walkers on "TWD," Liv is an intelligent, cool zombie, one you actually want to hang out with.

David Anders' Blaine is the perfect mix of Spike and Damon Salvatore.

Blaine has the swagger of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer'"s Spike and the charisma and bite (pun intended) of "The Vampire Diaries'"s Damon Salvatore on lock. In other words, he's a smug, charming SOB you can't help but fall in love with, and I can't wait to see how his relationship with Liv develops. Because I'm getting serious Buffy/Spike vibes.

The supporting characters aren't completely useless.

On "iZombie" the supporting characters are just as compelling as our heroine. Liv's former fiancé Major could have easily been an one-note character, but he's not. He has his own quirks. It's nice to see a strong female lead supported by an equally interesting and clever cast.

The weekly mysteries actually keep you guessing.

Who doesn't like a crime procedural with a zombie twist? Sure, maybe the crimes don't have as many twists and turns as "Serial," but they still keep you guessing nonetheless. Plus, the witty banter Liv and Clive share when they're on a case is a nice perk.

It pays homage to the comic.

Though it may not follow its source material directly, "iZombie" does have some comic-book elements. Shots will turn into comic panels to transition in or out of scenes. It's a nice touch -- and something that fans of the comic will enjoy.