For the third consecutive summer season, CBS is seeking a splash, or perhaps a roar, from a new event series.

Following the summer successes of Under the Dome and Extant the past two years, CBS has now tapped James Patterson’s best-selling book Zoo for adaptation, with the show premiering Tuesday, June 30 at 9 p.m.

After working with the likes of Stephen King and Steven Spielberg, CBS set its targets on the prolific author and mega-brand James Patterson with Zoo, an animal-attacking-humans apocalypse show starring James Wolk (Mad Men) and Billy Burke (Revolution), from executive producers Jeff Pinkner (Fringe) and Josh Appelbaum (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol).

CBS began promoting #ZooCBS in earnest in April, debuting previews, sneak peeks and trailers, and assembling an active social media spate that includes the requisite Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as a cast roundup.

But their not-so-secret weapon has been James Patterson himself.

The prolific author, who has “marketing in his blood,” has been making the PR rounds and paid Zoo the ultimate compliment: “I think the series is going to be better than the book.”

Patterson’s been just as active and influential on social media (through @JP_BOOKS) in promoting the project as Zoo’s cast and crew.

On June 16, CBS launched the first of its kind “CBS Summer Preview,” a 10-minute program guide to their summer programming hosted by Julie Chen (Big Brother and The Talk) that featured a Zoo sneak peek. The #CBSSUMMERPREVIEW featurette runs through July 14 on CBS.com, on demand and through the CBS app.

Big Brother kicked off CBS’ summer programming on June 24. Zoo arrives sandwiched between Under the Dome (June 25) and Extant (July 1), and like those shows, comes blessed with an existing fan-base from the book and/or its creator. That’s certainly no accident as networks and studios continually mine existing properties for content.

When Zoo premieres June 30, CBS won’t rest on its laurels.

Less than two weeks later, Zoo will make its Comic-Con debut on Thursday, July 9, alongside Under the Dome, Extant, Scorpion and Limitless as part of CBS’ biggest Comic-Con ever. The panel will feature an exclusive sneak peek of the first season with a panel discussion featuring cast and crew, moderated by Entertainment Tonight’s Kevin Frazier.

In Zoo, as one of its many slogans reveal, “the newest endangered species is us.” But when Zoo arrives Tuesday, June 30 at 9 p.m., CBS hopes space on your DVR is the real endangered species and that summer is when #TheWildInheritTheEarth.

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