"Santa Clarita Diet" is an American horror-comedy television series that premiered on Netflix on February 3, 2017. Created by Victor Fresco, the series stars Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant as Sheila and Joel Hammond, a married couple who are real estate agents in Santa Clarita, California. The series centers on their lives, which take a dramatic turn when Sheila becomes a zombie.
The Premise
The Hammonds' normal, mundane lives change dramatically when Sheila shows symptoms of having become a zombie. The show follows their journey as they navigate the challenges of Sheila's condition, which include a craving for human flesh.
Show creator Victor Fresco is well known for writing off-kilter family comedies, which prepared him for crafting a surreal series like Santa Clarita Diet. He ultimately wanted to take a crazy idea and then ground it, and his goal was to create a family show with an interesting twist we've never seen before and make it different than just a family living in the suburbs dealing with everyday problems.
Characters
The series features a cast of characters, including:
- Sheila Hammond (Drew Barrymore): A realtor who undergoes a metamorphosis and becomes undead. This version of Sheila exemplifies the constraint that is iconic of the competing demands of suburban white womanhood. She muses wistfully: “I’d like to be 20% bolder. No, more, 80%. Through a mysterious (and gross) transformation, Sheila becomes undead.
- Joel Hammond (Timothy Olyphant): Sheila's husband and a fellow realtor. Joel carries a constant, somewhat manic look of befuddlement and concern.
- Abby Hammond (Liv Hewson): Sheila and Joel's teenage daughter. Throughout Santa Clarita Diet Abby seemingly takes it in her stride that her mother is now undead, as revealed by the Hammonds’ 16-year-old, perpetually nervous, occult obsessed neighbour, Eric Bemis.
- Eric Bemis (Skyler Gisondo): The Hammonds' neighbor and Abby's best friend.
- Gary West (Nathan Fillion/Alan Tudyk): A realtor and the Hammonds' co-worker.
- Lisa (Portia de Rossi):
- Ron (Jonathan Slavin): An asylum inmate, who was later released and who Joel told his little secret to in season 2.
Season 3 Overview
Season Three begins with a whirlwind overview of the first two seasons in which viewers are thrust back into the hectic lives of main characters Sheila (Barrymore) and Joel Hammond (Olyphant) and their daughter Abby (Liv Hewson). The new season introduces a new set of antagonists, a zombie hunting group/cult called “the Knights of Serbia” as the Hammonds return to the home they fearfully vacated at the end of Season Two. This means the return of Eric Bemis (Skyler Gisondo), their socially awkward but extremely loveable neighbor and Abby’s best friend. Much like its first two seasons, this new season is inexplicably weird, yet enjoyable. Through its corny one liners, profanity riddled insults, awkward teenage social interactions namely Abby and Eric’s “will they, won’t they” relationship, and gory depictions of cannibalism, Season Three works both as a zombie show and a politically charged social commentary.
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Season Three focuses on a number of distinct and easy-to-follow subplots that all intertwine at one point or another. One of these subplots follows the aftermath of Abby and Eric blowing up a fracking site together in environmental protest. Another focuses on Joel trying to join “the Knights of Serbia” in order to protect Sheila. Simultaneously, an unrelated subplot centers on Sheila’s own existentialism and inner turmoil as she contemplates whether her newly immortal life has any meaning. All the while, Sheila and Joel work hard to prevent a rogue mental hospital patient from spreading the zombie virus, stop the murder of a fellow realtor, avoid a devout Christian police officer who thinks Sheila is a messenger of God, and build up their new real estate business with the help of a living decapitated head.
It is through these (many) subplots that “Santa Clarita Diet” successfully manages to hold viewers for an easily bingeable, 10-episode third season. Barrymore and Olyphant’s on-screen relationship is so ridiculously unusual, yet built out of a deep, undying love that it almost makes the viewer wish that they were one half of this zombie-human realtor couple living in Southern California. On the other hand, while their relationship is so idealistic, in episodes such as “Zombody,” Sheila and Joel are forced to tackle the specific issues of a mixed-status zombie-human relationship. The arguments between the pair revolving around Joel’s decision to not become a zombie are reflective of couples who are unsure of their future and in which one partner may not understand the other. This relatability ultimately helps ground this otherwise fantastical show.
While Joel and Sheila deal with their marital issues, the on-screen friendship fostered by Abby and Eric remains an awkward yet painfully accurate depiction of high school friends developing feelings for each other. As the two friends face the consequences of their illegal actions from the previous season, they also deal with their unacknowledged love for each other. Things only complicate further when Abby makes a new friend and drifts apart from Eric. All the while, they are also burdened with protecting Sheila’s secret, fending off Eric’s jealous zombie ex-lover, and applying to college.
In the final episode of the season,“The Cult of Sheila,” events of the previous nine episodes are all satisfactorily resolved. However, despite the seemingly happy ending of the third season, in true “Santa Clarita Diet” fashion, the last episode concludes with an unexpectedly disturbing but oddly comedic cliffhanger, leaving viewers impatiently anticipating a still-unconfirmed fourth season.
Feminist Themes and Ethical Perspectives
Feminist themes are among the ethical perspectives that pervade the show, particularly through symbolism. Sheila develops her first taste for human flesh, ironically, when a coworker (played by Nathan Fillion) is attempting to coerce her into sex. The show has some on-the-nose moments (Sheila later attacks a misogynist at the point of his declaring victimhood) but avoids heavy-handedness under Barrymore’s tart and gleeful execution.
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The theme of bodily integrity recurs for woman and man, living and undead. It is easy to interpret various moments in the story as that of stages in a cis-woman’s life - the bodily fluids excreted by Sheila recall menstruation, treated in many cultures as a transformative moment. The raw power in her subsequent personality recalls duelling conceptions of post-menopausal women the typically negative Western view as changes affecting emotions, libido, impulse control, and that typical of other cultures as a time of increased freedom and power. It also deals with ageing: Sheila’s body is more prone to deterioration in its undead state, but at the same time she has never been more in touch with her physical energy and gusto.
At first, Joel Hammond struggles with his wife’s brute strength (at one point he pleads, “I want Abby to grow up thinking men can kill, too”). But as he himself indicates on the cusp of an unwanted barfight, Joel does not need to prove himself. He carved out a much-valued life that does not depend on macho posturing.
While Sheila initially embarks on an impulse-ridden spree, seeking adventure and smiting problematic people with equal gusto, with the help of Joel, even zombified Sheila comes to quickly realize that her actions have consequences. This leads us to the central ethical problem: what are the actions of a good person? The twist (and joke) of course lies in the premise that said person could only survive by eating fresh human. After breaking one of the most fundamental taboos, why enter moral niceties into the details? The fact is, as the show teases, we deal with issues of moral magnitude all the time.
Abby, the Hammonds’ normal teen daughter, is emboldened by her parents’ taking on more than they can chew. After joining a school environmental club, she decides to blow up a nearby fracking site. Unintended consequences quickly follow, with the FBI investigating her best friend who now risks decades in prison. As moral philosophers like Peter Singer point out, many people across the planet are facing death over situations in which we are all implicated - global inequality and extreme environmental degradation. The Hammonds see their place in a world bigger than themselves.
When Sheila and Joel discover the cause of her condition, they hasten at personal risk and effort to eliminate its spread. In this light, the Hammonds’ quandaries and escapades take on a different hue. Rather than eschew morality altogether in an extreme situation, they mostly take care to accomplish the most good and effect the least harm. As such, the Hammonds’ ethic is shaped by utilitarianism.
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The show emphasizes epistemic uncertainty and the impossibility of perfect decisions in the face of enormous moral stakes, an ethical approach that is existential, humble, and optimistic. At no point do the Hammonds’ impossible positions and patchy outcomes lead to the adoption of nihilism, or conversely, the assumption of rigid, unchanging rules. The Hammonds constantly evaluate what they owe to the world: they don’t want to be ”assholes”. They show their commitment to grow, depend on input, support, and new information from others and dole out care of their own. They treasure the people in their lives, dead or undead, bipedal or eight-legged.
Production
Victor Fresco serves as the showrunner, and is an executive producer alongside Barrymore, Olyphant, Aaron Kaplan, Tracy Katsky, Chris Miller, Ember Truesdell and Ruben Fleischer.
Fresco came up with the premise from wanting to make "a family show with an interesting approach that we haven't seen before". The zombie angle also allowed Fresco to explore the concept of narcissism: he stated "the undead are the ultimate narcissists. For the setting, Fresco drew from his own experience growing up in San Fernando Valley.
Marketing
Netflix began promoting the show in November 2016, recruiting several models and television personalities to pose with various Santa Clarita Diet themed products. The products included drinks and smoothies as part of a special "diet plan", with the intent of spoofing other weight loss products commonly advertised on social media. The photos were then shared on the models' respective social platforms to garner the attention of their significant fan following.
In February 2017, advertising for the show sparked criticism in Germany, where Netflix promoted the show with posters depicting a human finger sliced up like a Currywurst, a popular German fast food dish. After receiving more than 50 complaints that the advertising was glorifying violence and inducing fear, especially in children, the German Adversiting Council, a self-regulatory institution, forwarded the complaints to the company.
Reception
The first season of Santa Clarita Diet received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 78% based on 73 reviews, with an average rating of 7.20/10. The second season received generally positive reviews as well. The season has an approval rating of 89% based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 7.85/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. The third season has an approval rating of 100% based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 7.78/10 on Rotten Tomatoes.
Cancellation and the Cliffhanger Ending
Thousands of fans were left thoroughly disappointed after the cancelling of Santa Clarita Diet. The quirky, unique, hilarious, gore-fest of a show starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant was cancelled by Netflix on April 26, 2019. This came after its third season due to a substantial drop in viewing numbers. To the horror of the numerous fans of this one-of-a-kind horror-comedy, the cancellation came at a critical point, which resulted in the show being left on a huge cliffhanger.
With many many things having unfolded over the course of three seasons, we were left hanging. Sheila spent the majority of season two and all of season three asking Joel if he would let her bite him in order to pass on the virus. This way he would become undead just like her and they would be able to spend eternity together. Joel is not completely convinced, what with the murdering of other humans (even evil ones). So he kept sheila waiting whilst he made up his mind. Eventually, after a brush with death Joel decides he would prefer to be undead so that he could spend his life by Sheila’s side. However, immediately after making the decision, Sheila’s pet ball, affectionately named Mr. Ball Legs, decided that would be the perfect time to crawl into Joel’s head via his ear.
The thing worth noting here is that shortly after the ball enters his head Joel said “Mama” in a very strange tone of voice. He then collapses to the ground. Joel is immediately bitten by Sheila in an attempt to save his life. There is speculation amongst the Santa Clarita Diet fanbase as to what happened to Joel at this time. Could it be that Mr Ball Legs simply killed Joel in it’s attempt to communicate with Sheila? Or that it perhaps killed Joel out of spite? Could it be that Joel is now possessed by Mr. Ball Legs, and has not yet turned into a zombie himself?
The Creator's Explanation of the Ending
Fortunately, however, a tweet to the show’s creator Victor Fresco finally gave the answer we were all looking for. Having asked Fresco what exactly happened at the end of Santa Clarita Diet his response was unexpectedly candid! “Yes, Joel is Possessed by Mr.
Such a lovely romantic notion for two people to live as zombies for all eternity! I think we all saw that Joel and Sheila’s love is unbreakable. So the revelation that their relationship would stay just as strong with Joel as a zombie is both wonderful to hear and unsurprising. However, it is fantastic to finally have confirmation from the man himself! The ending of Santa Clarita Diet was definitely the result of Mr. Ball Legs possessing Joel against his will. It’s just such a shame we won’t get to see all the wacky things Mr. Ball Legs was planning on making Joel do!
Victor Fresco's Vision
Show creator Victor Fresco is well known for writing off-kilter family comedies, which prepared him for crafting a surreal series like Santa Clarita Diet. He ultimately wanted to take a crazy idea and then ground it, and his goal was to create a family show with an interesting twist we've never seen before and make it different than just a family living in the suburbs dealing with everyday problems.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Victor states, “I get tired of watching shows about a family and the big change that happens to them is one of the parents moves in or something like that. As a writer, you just try to do something that you feel is going to be really fun for you to write, and this felt like - and was - fun to write.” He went on to explain that he wanted to give the Hammonds a giant problem, but then also ground it in a real way and try to see what effect it would have on a relationship. He was also interested in narcissism and how the undead are the ultimate narcissists. He wanted to experiment with how Sheila will adjust to getting what she wants all the time while also staying in a relationship.
When asked about why Victor chose Santa Clarita as the location, he clarifies that he wanted the family to be in a middle-class, working-class suburb and didn't want them to have wealth. He also says he enjoyed how organized and groomed the Santa Clarita community was and thought it played well against the complete chaos that happens with the Hammonds. "Their lives are also perfectly groomed until this event happens, and then it goes off the rails, and it just was a fun area to juxtapose with this kind of energy," Victor says. He also reveals why he chose to make Sheila and Joel realtors, explaining that he likes the forced friendliness required in the real estate business.
The central message that Victor wanted viewers to take away from Santa Clarita Diet is that empowerment is a good thing, but at the same time, there is a fine line to walk without being narcissistic. He tells NME, "One of the geneses of this is that empowerment is a good thing: to take hold of your life and get what you want, and be confident. All of those things are good. The other side of empowerment is narcissism. You can just end up being a complete narcissist, and as I watched our culture in the last few years - mostly this is reality shows - we’re living in a very narcissistic culture where narcissism is admired and glorified. We consume and consume without thinking about consequence, as the undead do." He explains that the show was a comment on how we as people and humanity are the ultimate zombies, destroying and consuming without consequence, but it's also important to have some kind of limits. He goes on to say, "I think most normal people can relate to that.