Before Supernatural, Jeffrey Dean Morgan Appeared In This Short-Lived '90s Sci-Fi Series
by Ryan Scott · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
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Jeffrey Dean Morgan is one of those actors who was kind of a late bloomer, but made the most of it when his career finally started to catch on. He had a very memorable role on "Supernatural," which ended after a record-setting 15 seasons on The CW. He's also known for his work in movies like "Rampage" and "Fall," among many others. But long before any of that, he starred in a very short-lived '90s sci-fi series.
"The Burning Zone" aired for just a single season on UPN between 1996 and 1997 and was swiftly canceled thereafter. The series centers on Dr. Daniel Cassian (Michael Harris) who is appointed by White House to lead a small top secret federal biological task force of leading scientists to investigate biochemical threats and emergencies. Morgan played a member of the team, Dr. Edward Marcase.
This came at a time when "The X-Files," one of the best sci-fi TV shows of all time, was at the height of its powers. Naturally, other networks tried to copy that success. "The Burning Zone," created by Coleman Luck, was very much attempting to capture a similar vibe, except with chemical and biological threats, as opposed to aliens and the supernatural. The problem? It wasn't very good.
In its review at the time, the New York Times said "it offers the loopy delights of a cut-rate, over-the-top horror movie." Undoubtedly not what the network brass nor the creators were hoping for.
The Burning Zone was very short lived, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan's run cut even shorter
UPN was never a huge network to begin with and this was when they were attempting to build a lineup to compete in the broader television space. UPN eventually merged with The WB to create The CW, which itself changed forever when it was sold to Nexstar a few years ago. In any case, it was always going to be tough for UPN to make a true "X-Files" competitor.
As for Jeffrey Dean Morgan, his run on the show was cut even shorter. After 11 episodes of "The Burning Zone," his character was axed from the series entirely. It only ran for 19 episodes overall, but he barely made it halfway through that run. This ended up kicking off a fairly rough period for the actor, which was populated largely by short stings on other TV shows and largely forgotten movies.
It wasn't really until 2009 when Morgan was cast as the Comedian in Zack Snyder's superhero movie "Watchmen," which Christopher Nolan called ahead of its time, where his career started to truly shift. He then got leading roles in other movies like "The Losers" as his career picked up steam, with science fiction serving as a real bread and butter genre for him.
Things really changed when he landed the role of Negan on "The Walking Dead." Morgan may have had an issue with Negan's ending on "The Walking Dead," but it became a defining role for the actor. He even went on to co-headline a spin-off series, "The Walking Dead: Dead City," alongside Lauren Cohan as Maggie.
Decades after his first major role in a sci-fi series crashed and burned, Morgan found major success in the realm of cable television.