Fix: Slapstick Family Comedy, Zombies, Blood And Guts
Platforms: Netflix
Netflix Summary:
Mom craves human flesh. Dad just wants a normal life. A good marriage is all about compromise.
FYA Summary:
A bland suburban realtor becomes a zombie, and the entire family must adjust to their new life and the fact that mom now needs to eat people to survive. Horror and hilarity ensue.
Sheila’s new diet comes with some personality changes as well. She goes from boring and predictable, to behaving like an impulsive teenager – who has lost her politeness filter. Her husband, Joel, tries to figure out what his new role is in their partnership. And their teenage daughter, Abby, vacillates between wanting her parents to trust her, and engaging in some kickass teenage rebellion.
Familiar Faces:
Drew Barrymore as Sheila Hammond
If you need your zombie to be likable, you should definitely cast Drew Barrymore.
Timothy Olyphant as Joel Hammond
I have loved the insanely hot Timothy Olyphant since Deadwood, the best show ever made (which is sadly not on Netflix, or that’s what I would be convincing you to watch right now). Between that, and Justified, it’s always a surprise how adept he can be at comedy.
Liv Hewson as Abby Hammond
Soon to be seen in the Before I Fall adaptation, Liv Hewson is great at making Abby so very much a regular teenager, but in the least irritating way possible.
Skyler Gisondo as Eric Bemis
Neighborhood creeper and crime advisor, Eric, is the perfect nerd foil for recklessly cool Abby.
Couch-Sharing Capability: Frightfully High
This show is probably a really good way to initiate some conversations about what lengths you would or wouldn’t go to for your significant other. Could you get used to their wacky new diet? How flexible are you on murder?
Recommended Level of Inebriation: Buckets
Unless copious amounts of gore and vomit are your thing, I’d recommend some drinks. Lots and lots of drinks. Maybe a pitcher of bloody marys, if you want to be thematic. And preferably, served in a Starbucks tumbler, for the stealthy PTA moms.
Use of Your Streaming Subscription: Nichey
Santa Clarita Diet is a really gross and silly, but surprisingly touching, show about the ways marriages and families evolve, and the importance of embracing life, and who you want to be. I would never have predicted that on a show starring Barrymore and Olyphant that I would end up so enamored with their teenage castmates. The friendship between Abby and Eric is my favorite thing about the show. And if you can get past all the gruesome shenanigans, I think you’ll love it, too.
