Santa Clarita Diet

Walking Dead Meets Property Brothers

Set in the town of Santa Clarita, California, realtor couple Sheila (Drew Barrymore) and Joel (Timothy Olyphant) Hammond live a dull suburban life, with their daughter Abby (Liv Hewson). Their quiet life is upended when Sheila dies. And then comes back to life. And then craves human flesh. ‘Til death do us part is no barrier for Joel’s love as he scrambles to find a cure for her condition while assisting and covering up her murders. Eric (Skyler Gisondo), their next-door neighbor and Abby’s friend, becomes involved in their undead shenanigans and the four of them battle suspicious neighbors, zombie hunter knights, derelict FDA codes, and the consequences of murder sprees.

Drew Barrymore plays a charismatic devious role, the mischievousness of whom is highlighted by Olyphant’s exasperated reactions. As the reluctant accessory to multiple murders, Joel’s face is always filled with superlative expressions, be it a horrified grimace, steely smolders, grudging acceptance, or increasingly incriminatingly manic nervous smiles. The juxtaposition of grotesque gore and the subdued American suburban life is embodied by the two. Their dispositions are contrasting, but their relationship is refreshingly strong and healthy, which makes watching their interactions delightfully pleasant.

The show is brimming with absurdism, wordplay, and clever one-liners, and while the humor is unsubtle, it is precise and well-timed. The comedy isn't dark as in it isn’t subversive or even offensive. The plotlines have a repetitious outline, but it is a colorful silly show that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and neither should you. The quirky music and the well-lit suburban interiors make for a fun background to gruesome crimes being committed by ‘upstanding members of society.

The main characters are memorable and endearing and are assisted with a brilliant supporting cast. Some may consider the gore excessive, but I cannot think of any scene that isn’t complemented with exaggerated blood sprays or severed body parts. The sunny and peppy show has undertones of suburban satire and overtones of soulless consumerism, but on a surface level, it is a purely enjoyable show.

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