Madeleine Hull
Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet is an American horror-comedy sitcom starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant as Sheila and Joel Hammond, a married couple of realtors. The series centres on the couple's lives as they take a turn when Sheila becomes a zombie cannibal with a craving for human flesh. While the show received mixed reviews, with some calling it one of Netflix's biggest failures, it was renewed for a second season and even a third, with viewers enjoying the unusual combination of comedy and cannibalism.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Drew Barrymore's character in Santa Clarita Diet | Sheila Hammond |
| Genre | Horror-comedy |
| Drew Barrymore's character occupation | Estate agent |
| Drew Barrymore's character craving | Human flesh |
| Drew Barrymore's character type | Cannibal, Zombie |
| Drew Barrymore's character family | Wife of Joel Hammond, mother of Abby Hammond |
| Drew Barrymore's character transformation | Becomes undead |
| Drew Barrymore's character diet | Gummy bears |
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What You'll Learn
Drew Barrymore's character Sheila is a zombie cannibal
Drew Barrymore stars in the Netflix horror-comedy series Santa Clarita Diet as Sheila, a suburban mom, wife, and estate agent who becomes a zombie cannibal. In the show, Sheila and her husband Joel (played by Timothy Olyphant) are a married couple whose lives are upended when Sheila suddenly dies and is reanimated as an undead cannibal with a craving for human flesh.
While the show is a comedy, it features gruesome scenes and special effects, including realistic fake human flesh that Barrymore's character bites into and consumes. In one notable scene, Sheila and Joel must dispose of a human body in their bathtub before their guests arrive, leading to a farce where Joel shaves the body to help Sheila eat it faster.
Sheila's transformation also brings about a change in her personality, making her more primal and impulsive. Throughout the show, the couple tries to source a constant supply of human flesh to satisfy Sheila's new diet while searching for a cure for her condition and raising their daughter, Abby.
Santa Clarita Diet received mixed reviews, with some critics finding it silly and over-the-top, while others praised its unique blend of comedy and horror. Despite its divisive nature, the show was renewed for a second season, which premiered in 2018, and a third season followed.
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The show is a comedy-horror
Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet is a comedy-horror show that follows a married couple, Joel and Sheila Hammond, played by Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant, whose lives are transformed when Sheila becomes an undead cannibal. The show follows the couple's attempts to source human flesh to satisfy Sheila's new cravings, while also searching for a cure for her condition and raising their daughter, Abby.
The show is a unique blend of comedy and horror, with a heavy dose of camp and garish humour. It is packed with gruesome scenes, including human furballs and farting cadavers, and plenty of fake blood and gore. Despite its horror elements, the show is primarily a comedy, and much of the humour comes from Sheila's cannibalism and the couple's attempts to hide her new appetite from their neighbours.
Barrymore's character, Sheila, is a stressed estate agent who finds that her new diet of human flesh makes her better at her job, sexier, and more fun. The show plays on the tropes of zombie fiction but takes liberties with the premise, such as stretching out the timeline of infection and reanimation. Sheila, for example, remains mostly in control of herself and does not immediately rot or fall apart like traditional zombies.
The show also features a strong teen comedy element, thanks to the friendship between Abby and the Hammonds' neighbour's son, Eric. The two become co-conspirators in their family's new zombified life, adding a playful, Scooby-Doo-esque mystery element to the show.
Santa Clarita Diet received mixed reviews, with some critics calling it one of Netflix's biggest failures, while others praised its unique blend of genres and its ability to puncture expectations. The show's light-hearted and silly tone, deliberate over-the-top acting, and playful narrative drive it forward, episode after episode, creating a surprisingly enjoyable viewing experience for those who can stomach its more gruesome aspects.
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Barrymore consumed fake human flesh on set
In the Netflix comedy-horror series *Santa Clarita Diet*, Drew Barrymore plays Sheila, a suburban mom, wife, and estate agent who becomes a zombie cannibal. Barrymore's character develops a craving for human flesh, which makes her "better at her job, sexier, and basically more fun".
Barrymore described the experience of consuming fake human flesh as "harrowing". In an interview with the *New York Times*, she recalled a particularly gruesome scene:
> "There was a lot of blood and guts and I, uh, ooh, yeah, God, sorry — I just got the shivers because I thought of this one foot I had to bite into, and I hit a bone or a nail or something on my tooth, and that just made me have that fingernails on the blackboard moment. Yeah, I constantly had weird stuff in my mouth."
In one episode, Barrymore's character has to consume an entire human corpse over the course of an evening to stave off a police investigation. The show's light-hearted and deliberately silly tone is reflected in the challenges Barrymore's character faces as a cannibal, such as coughing up furballs of human hair and her husband shaving down a corpse to make it easier for her to eat.
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The show received criticism for its advertising in Germany
Netflix's advertising campaign for the show 'Santa Clarita Diet' received backlash in Germany. The billboard campaign featured a dismembered bloody finger coated in curry powder, evocative of the German sausage dish currywurst. The advertisement was deemed offensive and disgusting by a section of the German public, with over 50 complaints filed to the country's advertising regulator, Deutscher Werberat. The regulator cannot force advertisers to remove ads but advises them of complaints, leading to the streaming service voluntarily pulling the controversial campaign.
The advertisement was part of Netflix's sly promotional rollout for the show, starring Drew Barrymore as a flesh-eating zombie or cannibal. The series, a gory, silly comedy, follows a married couple whose lives are transformed when Barrymore's character turns into an undead cannibal. While the show received mixed reviews, with some critics calling it one of Netflix's biggest failures, the German ad campaign certainly drew attention.
The billboard, hung in Potsdamer Platz, where the Berlin Film Festival was recently held, was not the only aspect of the campaign. Netflix also set up food trucks around the plaza serving currywurst, further pushing the boundaries of taste and acceptability. The use of a popular German dish in such a graphic context was particularly disturbing to some Germans, with the ad being described as "offensive to children and young people, fear-evoking, and disgusting".
This incident highlights the challenges of creating effective marketing campaigns for sensitive or controversial content. While Netflix's campaign for 'Santa Clarita Diet' successfully generated buzz, it did so at the cost of offending a portion of the German public. The balance between creativity and cultural sensitivity is a delicate one, and in this case, Netflix ultimately chose to prioritize the latter by voluntarily discontinuing the ad campaign.
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The show has been likened to 'iZombie'
Netflix's "Santa Clarita Diet" is a comedy about zombies, starring Drew Barrymore as a zombie cannibal. The show follows a married couple, Joel and Sheila, whose lives are transformed when Sheila is turned into an undead cannibal. The show follows their attempts to figure out how to source human flesh, while also searching for a cure and raising their child, Abby.
The show has been likened to iZombie, with both shows sharing a similar premise. iZombie's main character, Liv Moore, is turned into a zombie and must deal with the consequences, including finding human flesh to eat. iZombie also has a more realistic setting, based in the actual world, whereas Santa Clarita Diet takes place in its own reality with its own rules.
Santa Clarita Diet has been described as a "straight-up copy" of iZombie, with some viewers finding the former too silly or unrealistic. However, others have enjoyed the show's light-hearted and self-aware tone, as well as the dynamic of the dysfunctional family at its center.
Both shows have also been praised for their intriguing plots and fun, optimistic tone, despite their gory subject matter. They have also been noted to have similar issues with their endings, with Santa Clarita Diet ending on a cliffhanger after being cancelled, and iZombie struggling with an overdone epilogue.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Drew Barrymore plays Sheila, a cannibal and zombie in the Netflix show Santa Clarita Diet.
Drew Barrymore's character Sheila consumes human flesh in the show. Due to Barrymore being a vegetarian, the show used gummy bears to mimic human flesh.
Santa Clarita Diet is a comedy-horror show about a married couple, Joel and Sheila Hammond, whose lives are turned upside down when Sheila becomes a zombie cannibal. The show follows the couple as they try to find a cure for Sheila's condition while also dealing with the social implications of her new cravings and changed personality.
