Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
For weeks now, Netflix has been very cute about it’s newest series, Santa Clarita Diet, but now the cat’s out of the bag. Or should I say the body is out of the bag. The charmingly named series, which sounds like a fad the hosts of The View would rave about, is actually about its main character eating people.
Starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant, the new comedy follows a West Coast married couple who work in real estate. But — as the vague plot description goes — when Sheila (Barrymore) encounters a dramatic change, the couple has to make some dark decisions. So what’s that dramatic change? A zombie-like appetite. After Drew Barrymore’s character dies, the couple has to go to great lengths to make sure the now undead Sheila says fed, and she only likes meat of the human variety. Drew Barrymore is essentially a upper-middle class California suburban zombie. Netflix’s trailer for the series, which premiered during the Golden Globes, made this surprising reveal very clear.
It seems as though Netflix intended to keep this giant reveal quiet for as long as possible, but the news has been breaking in folds across the internet. Jezebel’s Bobby Finger was one of the first to break the news when he noticed Santa Clarita Diet’s ad campaign on the back of multiple magazines. Since then, several publications have given their own hypotheses about the series. Barrymore has since confirmed in interviews that, yes, she will be eating lots of people for Netflix. 2017 is already looking like a promising year.
Most likely, Netflix intentionally gave the new comedy a misleading title and paired it with vague advertisements, hoping that news and entertainment outlets (hey there!) would pick up the story. That would mean free publicity for Netflix, and hopefully a slew of journalists interested enough in seeing the 50 First Dates actress consume fingers and toes to get review attention. It’s either that or,Netflix really thinks the same audience that would click on something called the Santa Clarita Diet would also enjoy a zombie comedy. Obviously, the first option is the more likely of the two, but Santa Clarita Diet comes with one major problem: Netflix consumer habits.
As much as it pains this entertainment blogger to admit, based on my family and friends, most streamers don’t religiously Google each show they’re about to binge. They read the description, watch Netflix’s video, maybe check out the cast list or star ratings, then pass or press play. Everyone is totally judging their streaming books by their covers, which is fine, but Santa Clarita Diet’s cover is deceptive as it gets. I’m sure my own mother will be interested in pressing play, and nope, this is in no way something she wants to watch. Let this be a warning to all of you streamers: Do not watch Santa Clarita Diet unless you want a zombie comedy. It is not a silly suburban comedy. There will be blood, guts, gore, and grossness.
Now that that’s out of the way, Santa Clarita Diet looks like an excellent watch for all of you viewers out there who love zombie / cannibal comedies. If this is your thing (it’s certainly mine), go for it and have fun! But spread the word. Gore really bothers some people, and no one deserves to be tricked by this deceptive title.
Season 1 of Santa Clarita Diet premieres on Netflix February 3.
