She has portrayed Samantha Arondekar in Ghosts since 2021, Olivia "Liv" Moore in The CW supernatural comedy-drama series iZombie (2015–2019), Summer Landsdown the Yellow Ranger in Power Rangers RPM (2009), and Amber Moore in the romantic comedy film A Christmas Prince (2017) and its two sequels, The Royal Wedding (2018) and The Royal Baby (2019).

McIver began her career with guest appearances in New Zealand–based series, such as Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Legend of the Seeker.

McIver has worked for New Zealand television, from fantasy-based series like Maddigan's Quest to dramas such as Rude Awakenings.

[9][10] Further TV roles were as the lead character in MTV's unsold pilot Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys, based on the book by Eric Garcia and produced by Garcia and Krysten Ritter,[11] in Showtime's Masters of Sex, based on the book Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love by Thomas Maier,[12] as Tinker Bell for a multi-episode story arc on the series Once Upon a Time,[13] and as adult Cathy Dollanganger in the Lifetime television film Petals on the Wind, adapted from the book by V. C.

McIver appeared in Peter Jackson's film adaptation of The Lovely Bones, which received its U.S. release on 11 December 2009.

[16] From there she appeared in the film Predicament, based on the novel by Ronald Hugh Morrieson, which was released in New Zealand and Australia on 26 August 2010.

In October 2021, McIver began starring in the CBS sitcom Ghosts as Samantha "Sam" Arondekar, one of the leads.

[27] McIver enjoys writing and is inspired by the works of John Steinbeck, Wally Lamb and Franz Kafka.

[3] On 2 January 2023, McIver married Australian artist George Byrne in Santa Barbara, California[28] after six years of dating.