A Netflix Original production, “Santa Clarita Diet” is your trophy sitcom with an imaginative twist. The show follows the story of Sheila and Joel Hammond, played by Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant, two upper middle class realtors trying to raise their spunky teen and live the American Dream in sunny Santa Clarita, California.
Our crucial twist: Sheila Hammond is slowly turning into a real-life, eat-your-brains zombie. Living between a nosy county sheriff and a no-nonsense police officer, Sheila and Joel must adapt to this tricky situation without turning too many heads.
The episodes seem to cycle through a series of repeating writers and directors, which bleeds into the dialogue and cinematography. That being said, all the directors and writers at least share the unifying vision that this television show should look and feel as close to the hit show “Weeds” as possible. They both represent Southern California in the same way—full of rich nosy neighbors, punk teens and SoCal McMansions.
Both shows also play on the irony of the quiet, suburban setting and illegal behavior of the characters, eating brains and selling drugs respectively. Unfortunately for Santa Clarita Diet and the viewers, this mimicry, while flattering, comes out in the form of zany, in-your-face characters who seem to do everything imaginable to make their dialogue and action as edgy as possible, from smoking weed randomly throughout the show to generous and awkward swearing.
The main characters in the show are, of course, Sheila and Joel. They’re introduced in that uninspired trope of a sex-hungry husband and his sex-hating wife in an opening shot that is somehow impressive in how disappointing it is.
If you can stomach the first few episodes — the first episode does have quite a bit of CGI vomit in it — then the show hits its stride, though the dialogue remains forced and just a little too edgy, and stock characters abound. The first few episodes are particularly hard to watch because of just how much work the exposition is doing.
Netflix originals seem to be hit or miss. The company produces ground-breaking dramas, such as “House of Cards” or “Peaky Blinders,” and yet time and time again releases sitcom duds like “The Ranch,” a TV show that, as far as I can tell, is about Ashton Kutcher being really, really, ridiculously good looking, or “Fuller House,” the show no one watched because seriously, how could anyone watch that? No, seriously. I genuinely want to know.
Anyway, if you are looking for a new show to drag you out of your mid-semester slump, look literally anywhere else besides “Santa Clarita Diet.”
Correction: A previous version of this column listed an incorrect lead actress. We apologize for the error.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
