Adam Rose is credited with playing Barton, a minor yet memorable character in the Netflix comedy horror series Santa Clarita Diet. The series, created by Victor Fresco, stars Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant as Sheila and Joel Hammond, a suburban real estate agent couple whose lives take a dark turn when Sheila becomes a zombie.
Overview of Santa Clarita Diet
Santa Clarita Diet is an American comedy horror television series created by Victor Fresco for the streaming service Netflix, starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant. Fresco serves as the showrunner and is an executive producer alongside Barrymore, Olyphant, Aaron Kaplan, Tracy Katsky, Chris Miller, Ember Truesdell, and Ruben Fleischer. The single-camera series premiered on February 3, 2017.
The series centers on husband-and-wife real estate team Joel and Sheila Hammond, whose normal, mundane lives change dramatically when Sheila shows symptoms of having become a zombie. The first season, consisting of 10 episodes, received generally positive reviews. Joel and Sheila Hammond are everyday suburban real estate agents in Santa Clarita, California. The couple faces a series of obstacles when Sheila undergoes a metamorphosis, becomes undead, and starts craving human flesh.
Barton: The Morbidly Humorous Morgue Attendant
Barton, whose first name is never revealed, is a morgue attendant in Santa Clarita. He is portrayed as someone with a dark sense of humor and questionable ethics, willing to provide access to corpses for a fee. His character embodies the morbid comedic tone of the series.
Barton's Interactions with Joel Hammond
Barton appears in two episodes of Santa Clarita Diet: "We Can't Kill People!" (Season 1) and "No Family is Perfect" (Season 2). In his first appearance, Joel Hammond seeks Barton out to purchase a severed foot for his zombie wife, Sheila. Barton's nonchalant attitude toward selling body parts is played for comedic effect.
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In a later encounter, Joel returns to Barton, this time looking for a fresh gallbladder from someone who is Serbian. This request further emphasizes the bizarre and macabre nature of Sheila's dietary needs and Barton's willingness to cater to them.
Dialogue Highlights
The dialogue between Joel and Barton is filled with dark humor:
Joel Hammond: Hello. I purchased a foot here two weeks ago.
Orderly Barton: Yeah, sure, I remember. How'd that work out for you?
Joel Hammond: Excellent. Thank you. I'm looking for something very specific.
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Orderly Barton: I have a vagina I can sell you for 500. It's a little past its "best-use-by" date, but it'll get 'er done.
Joel Hammond: Dear God! Who comes here?
Orderly Barton: Brace yourself: mostly men.
Joel Hammond: I need a fresh gallbladder, but it has to be from someone who's Serbian.
Orderly Barton: God, what are you into? I love it. Come on in.
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The Significance of Barton's Character
Barton's character serves several purposes in Santa Clarita Diet:
- Comic Relief: His morbid humor and willingness to engage in ethically questionable activities provide comic relief in the midst of the show's darker themes.
- Enabler of the Plot: Barton's access to body parts enables Sheila's transformation and subsequent need for human flesh, driving the central plot of the series.
- Reflection of the Show's Tone: Barton's character embodies the show's unique blend of horror and comedy, where gruesome situations are often played for laughs.
Adam Rose: Beyond Santa Clarita Diet
Adam Rose is an actor and writer. Rose has been acting in movies and TV shows since he was a child, notching recurring roles on Aliens in America, Santa Clarita Diet, Supernatural, and Veronica Mars.
Rose's Collaboration with Scott Shapiro
Rose has also found success as a writer, collaborating with Scott Shapiro. Together, they created Fake News Network, an online outlet that presents conspiracy theories as facts in satirical videos. In these videos, Rose plays Adam Rosé, an ultra-conservative broadcaster.
Pissed: A Pilot Sale to Warner Bros.
Rose and Shapiro sold a pilot to Warner Bros. titled Pissed, which tells the story of Gary Stern, an angry man who becomes a clean urine dealer. The concept for Pissed came from Rose's friend who peddled pee and Shapiro's encounter with news coverage of a man in South Carolina who was producing and selling 15,000 samples of his own urine a year.
Rose and Shapiro's writing process involves building characters first, then brainstorming scene ideas before organizing an outline. First-draft work is divided equally before their "smush" process, in which separately written scenes are merged. Throughout revisions, they work in the same space, tossing improvements back and forth until they achieve a final draft.
Thematic Elements and Critical Reception of Santa Clarita Diet
Santa Clarita Diet explores themes of family, relationships, and identity in the context of a zombie apocalypse. Victor Fresco stated that he wanted 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.
The series has received generally positive reviews from critics. 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.