Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Comes to 'iZombie' in "Dead Lift" Synopsis

The CW has released the official synopsis for iZombie's second episode of its fifth and final season, titled "Dead Lift." In the episode, which will air on May 9, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joins the series in the role of Zed, one of just two Seattle City Council members who didn't flee the city before the wall went up. Zed is a zombie, and his fellow council member is a human, thus creating a unique form of gridlock at city hall. With the wheels of government ground to a halt, Liv's (McIver) friend Peyton (Aly Michalka) — the deceased mayor's chief of staff — is left effectively in charge of running the city.

Abdul-Jabbar transcended basketball to become a cultural icon, and has been acting since 1971, when he first appeared in an episode of Mannix. A student of Bruce Lee, he appeared in the martial arts master's final film, Game of Death. Abdul-Jabbar is no stranger to comics and related media, having penned the stories of Mycroft Holmes for some time now at Titan Comics. He also weighed in to support fired Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn, prior to Gunn's reinstatement on Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3. He also joined the writing staff on Veronica Mars, the Hulu series from iZombie executive producer Rob Thomas. You can see the official synopsis for "Dead Lift" below.

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR GUEST STARS — Liv (Rose McIver), on fitness guru brains, and Clive (Malcolm Goodwin) continue investigating a murder with no body and no evidence. Meanwhile, Peyton (Aly Michalka) approaches councilman Zed (guest star Kareen Abdul-Jabbar) with a request but doesn't get the answer she was hoping for. Lastly, Liv surprises Major (Robert Buckley) with a thoughtful gesture just when he needs it the most. Rahul Kohli, David Anders and Bryce Hodgson also star. Michael Fields directed the episode written by Philip Hoover & Jacob Farmer.

So what is Team Z facing as they move into the final season? Major is now the de facto head of Fillmore-Graves, who are in charge of zombie rationing, law enforcement, and general regulatory order. Ravi is still working on the zombie cure, which grows increasingly urgent all the time now that the US has walled the city off and is threatening to bomb it at any moment. Peyton has been basically running city government ever since the mayor was assassinated so Blaine could prove the cure he stole from the morgue works. And Liv, Ravi, and Clive are still kicking ass and taking brains. You can check out the first teaser art below.

iZombie will return for its fifth and final season Thursday, May 2 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, followed by In The Dark on The CW. "Dead Lift" will debut on May 9.