Firstly, I do love virus movies and shows like Outbreak and Last Ship but this one really has a soul, you can't help but feel along with the characters. The human element is not lost like what happens in so many Zombie shows and movies. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love The Walking Dead but this show is just as good but in a different way.
To let you know where I'm at, I have just finished watching the 5th episode. The show is building at a perfect pace and the character development is wonderful. If this was to really happen in a city in the U.S., this is how it would probably be handled, it has a very real feel to it. Some characters started off cowardly and scared and have developed into brave and helpful people while others have gone the other way. Some, like the lead police character have pretty much been the same person from the beginning. Lex is a genuine good cop who just happens to have the love of his life inside the danger zone or what the show calls the "Cordon". This is not a spoiler, you find out very quickly in the first episode how they get separated on either sides of the cordon. This is very painful to him but he does not let it interfere with his duty to the people of Atlanta.
Don't buy into those silly reviews that are always race, creed or religion biased, those people will never be happy. This is not about the Syrians being evil or the black people being gang bangers or the white people being the goodies, there are all types of people inside the cordon and they are reacting very much like they would if this was real life, most are good, some are bad, enjoy the show.