Santa Clarita Diet is an American horror-comedy web television series created by Victor Fresco for the streaming service Netflix. It stars Drew Barrymore,Timothy Olyphant, Liv Hewson and Skyler Gisondo.
Married couple Sheila (Drew Barrymore) and Joel (Timothy Olyphant) are real estate agents in Santa Clarita, California. The couple’s lives take a dark turn after Sheila goes through a transformation – becoming a zombie who feeds on human flesh…
The series premiered on February 3, 2017 and consists of ten episodes. The first season has received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the cast and premise, but criticising the number of graphic scenes. In Germany, posters depicting a human finger sliced up like a Currywurst, a popular German fast food dish, were removed after Netflix received complaints.
Reviews:
“Death as it appears in all its gory glory in Netflix’s sparkling new comedy Santa Clarita Diet can also be a stomach-wrenching experience. But for those who can muscle through, the reward is one of the most joyous, hilariously dark comedies to come our way in many a season.” Robert Bianco, USA Today
“At a nuts-and-bolts level, Santa Clarita Diet isn’t entirely novel: In addition to those Ash vs. Evil Dead and Stan Against Evil parallels, the show is essentially a sitcom hybridization of iZombie and The Americans. The main attraction, and the thing that’ll pull viewers from one episode to the next, is the show’s deranged energy.” Erik Adams, A.V. Club
“As you binge along, you’ll notice that things seem to gel nicely around episode 4-ish through 7-ish, as Santa Clarita Diet finds a balance and settles down. Even Barrymore’s struggling performance takes on a certain charm. But that momentum falters as the series searches for a suitable climax.” Hank Stuever, The Washington Post
” …vomit can be very funny; it’s just not funny here. Neither is 99% of what goes on in each episode, but there’s a potent sense of bemusement to everything, a fakeness bordering on overt coyness. Ultimately, Santa Clarita Diet stands most prominently as a sadly still-timely cautionary tale, a warning against those who might make a show that is much funnier to its creators than those who are actually watching the episodes.” Chris Cabin, Collider
Cast and characters:
- Timothy Olyphant as Joel Hammond, Sheila’s husband and Abby’s father
- Drew Barrymore as Sheila Hammond, Joel’s wife and Abby’s mother
- Liv Hewson as Abby Hammond, Sheila and Joel’s daughter
- Skyler Gisondo as Eric Bemis, the Hammond’s neighbor and Dan’s stepson
- Ricardo Chavira as Dan Palmer, a sheriff’s deputy and the Hammond’s neighbor
- Mary Elizabeth Ellis as Lisa Palmer, Dan’s wife
- Richard T. Jones as Rick, a police officer, the Hammond’s neighbor, and Joel’s friend
- Joy Osmanski as Alondra, Rick’s wife
- Natalie Morales as Anne Garcia, a sheriff’s deputy and co-worker of Dan
- Thomas Lennon as Novak, Abby’s school principal
- Grace Zabriskie as Mrs. Bakavic, Novak’s grandmother
- DeObia Oparei as Loki Hayes, a convicted felon
- Portia de Rossi as Cora Wolf, a scientist focused on the undead
Wikipedia | IMDb | Twitter | Image credits: Netflix
