Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant pitch a new, undead diet scheme in promos for Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet.
As Netflix’s already-enviable lineup of original programming continues to grow exponentially, a mysterious impending series residing in the comedic horror category has released its first set of promos, teasing an irreverent, satirical take on the often-used concept of zombies. While lacking show footage, the teaser has showbiz veteran Drew Barrymore and former Justified and Deadwood star Timothy Olyphant putting in cheeky performances that rib the kind of weight loss commercials that bombard the television airwaves.
While the debut teaser promos for Netflix’s upcoming Santa Clarita Diet might give the impression that Drew Barrymore is playing a kooky cannibal pitchwoman, it was recently confirmed to USA Today (via Collider) that the series utilizes zombie tropes, albeit in a uniquely satirical way. The series centers on Barrymore’s character Sheila, a suburban So-Cal real estate agent who dies and returns as an apparently photogenic zombie whose continued existence now hinges on satisfying a horrific hunger for raw human meat. Obviously, the lifestyle change will also seriously affect her husband in fellow real estate agent Joel (Timothy Olyphant) and daughter Abby (Liv Hewson). Yet, in a Dexter-type twist, Sheila embraces her new “free range” regimen, justifying it by only selecting terrible people who deserve to be the primary ingredient of her macabre protein shakes.
Relevantly, the Santa Clarita Diet teaser promos, while short on plot, do seem to convey an irreverent tone that’s likely to manifest in the series. Indeed, with the driving force behind the series being creator Victor Fresco, a perennial comedy visionary from television shows such as My Name is Earl, Better Off Ted, Andy Richter Controls the Universe and Mad About You, it’s clear that this comedic take on the ravenous undead will parallel the everyday situational struggles of a suburban housewife, only this one has an insatiable craving for dead people.
Santa Clarita Diet puts a bountifully bourgeois spin on the zombie genre when it debuts on Netflix on February 3. Check out the promos below!