"Santa Clarita Diet" is an American comedy horror television series created by Victor Fresco for Netflix, starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant. The series revolves around Joel and Sheila Hammond, a suburban real estate team in Santa Clarita, California, whose lives take a bizarre turn when Sheila becomes a zombie with a craving for human flesh. To maintain a semblance of normalcy, Joel and Sheila must hide Sheila's condition from friends, coworkers, and neighbors.
One of the most memorable aspects of "Santa Clarita Diet" is its willingness to embrace the absurd. The show's humor often stems from the juxtaposition of everyday suburban life with the gruesome realities of Sheila's undead existence. This is exemplified by the character of Gary West, played by Nathan Fillion in seasons 1 and 2, and Alan Tudyk in season 3.
Gary West: From Realtor to Talking Head
Gary West is introduced as a realtor and coworker of Joel and Sheila Hammond. He is instantly smitten with Sheila and makes several advances towards her, even after learning about her marriage to Joel. Gary's aggressive pursuit of Sheila culminates in a confrontation where Sheila, succumbing to her newfound zombie instincts, attacks and devours him, tearing open his abdomen and eating his intestines. Joel arrives home to find a blood-soaked Sheila devouring Gary West.
However, this is not the end of Gary's story. Because Sheila did not kill his brain, he became undead, too. Joel and Sheila take his head home and keep him in the basement. When Joel forgets to destroy Gary's remains, he returns in season 2 as a disembodied head. Gary's head doles out valuable advice and serves as a makeshift friend to Joel, who really needs someone to talk to. The usual BFFs even binge-watch TV together. Hey, it's not easy making friends when you're married to a zombie.
Nathan Fillion's Performance as Gary's Head
Nathan Fillion's portrayal of Gary's severed head is a highlight of the second season. Fillion brings a comedic sensibility to the role, delivering witty one-liners and offering surprisingly insightful advice to Joel. Despite being just a head, Gary becomes a surprisingly endearing character, and his bromance with Joel adds a lot of heart to the season.
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Fillion himself has spoken about the challenges and rewards of playing a disembodied head. He filmed all his stuff on a separate day, after all [Olyphant and Barrymore’s] shots were finished. We had to create the eyelines first, so half the scene was filmed with a fake head, and then my head on a … scaffold thing. I didn’t move. Oh, my God, I realized how much I move my head, even just slightly, while I act. So yeah, I filmed my scenes on a separate day.
Gary's Role in Season 2
In season 2, Gary serves as Joel's confidant and sounding board. He offers relationship advice, discusses baseball, and even watches "The Wire" with Joel. Gary also plays a crucial role in helping Joel and Sheila navigate the challenges of Sheila's condition.
One of the most memorable storylines involving Gary is his desire to have the deed to his summer house delivered to his niece, Kayla. Sheila and Joel carry out his last request. The payoff of Sheila and Joel’s Good Samaritan actions being that Sheila now has a softball team full of Nazis to eat was excellent. It’s a great callback to “young, single Hitler” from season one and also temporarily solves the problem of the Hammonds having to repeatedly find bad people to kill.
Other Storylines in the Series
While the Gary storyline is a standout, "Santa Clarita Diet" also features other compelling storylines. One of the most interesting is the Abby-Eric-Ramona storyline. It turns out Ramona is deteriorating just like Sheila was-her ear fell off, so she velcroed it back on, which is awesome and very creative. And Ramona has sussed out that the Hammonds have a stop-gap for Sheila’s zombie problem, so she seduces Eric to get her hands on it. When he finds out she’s a zombie (by discovering a body in her tub), he calls Abby for help and she (sort of) rushes right over. But Ramona doesn’t kill him, she deflowers him. When Abby finds out what’s going on, she’s super pissed at Eric and it does read like jealousy a little bit, but later, after Ramona gets her serum and ditches him, Abby says it wasn’t jealousy, it was anger that he would be so careless. They have a great moment where she tells him she can’t handle anything happening to him and they look meaningfully at each other and it’s just so lovely. I like how they handled that. I think even if Abby had zero romantic feelings for Eric she still might be jealous of Ramona, if only for the fact that more Ramona means less Eric time. But I’m glad it was more fear of losing someone she cares about than some “cat fight” trope. And while I will clap and squeal like the 12-year-old I am on the inside when Eric and Abby finally do get together because they are the cutest, I love how the show is slowly building their friendship first. That’s a solid foundation for a relationship and it nicely mirrors what Joel and Sheila have together.
Humor and Tone
"Santa Clarita Diet" is known for its dark humor and over-the-top violence. The show balances its gruesome elements with witty dialogue and relatable characters. The Hammonds are a loving and supportive couple who are willing to do whatever it takes to make their unconventional situation work.
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The show also pokes fun at suburban life and societal norms. Joel's Yelp reviews, for example, become a running gag throughout the series.
Critical 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 and third seasons were even more well-received, with approval ratings of 89% and 100%, respectively.
Critics praised the show's humor, its performances, and its willingness to take risks. Some critics, however, found the show's violence to be excessive.
Cancellation
Despite its critical acclaim, "Santa Clarita Diet" was canceled by Netflix after three seasons. The cancellation came as a surprise to many fans, who had hoped for a fourth season.
Legacy
Despite its short run, "Santa Clarita Diet" has left a lasting impact on the comedy horror genre. The show's unique blend of humor, gore, and heart has earned it a dedicated fanbase. Nathan Fillion's portrayal of Gary's severed head remains one of the most memorable aspects of the series.
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