TV-MA, 2017
WISE Score
Avg. Tomatometer
A suburban mom becomes a zombie and her family decides to just... roll with it. It's 'Modern Family' meets 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.'
7.889%
66
Santa Clarita Diet is a gem that Netflix unfortunately killed too soon. It’s a rare show that manages to be disgusting and heartwarming at the exact same time.
If you can handle the sight of Drew Barrymore snacking on a human finger like it’s a carrot stick, you’ll find a sharp, hilarious exploration of marriage and family loyalty. Just don't let the sunny, suburban California aesthetic fool you—it is very much an R-rated experience.
This is strictly for older teens and adults. If your kid is squeamish about blood or hasn't hit high school yet, this is going to be a nightmare, not a comedy.
Beneath the cannibalism is one of the most supportive, ride-or-die marriages on TV. The family sticks together through literal murder, modeling a weirdly sweet level of commitment.
It takes the tired zombie trope and flips it into a sunny, suburban satire. The lore is weird, gross, and genuinely original.
It is aggressively gory. Think blenders full of body parts, spurting neck wounds, and casual cannibalism. It's played for laughs, but the visuals are intense.
Sharp writing and excellent comedic timing. It explores themes of identity, suburban boredom, and what 'unconditional love' actually looks like in practice.
Most zombie media is gray, rainy, and miserable. Santa Clarita Diet flips that by setting its cannibalism against the blindingly bright, beige backdrop of suburban California. It looks exactly like a high-budget HGTV renovation show, which makes the sight of Drew Barrymore snacking on a severed thumb in a walk-in closet significantly more jarring.
The show works because it treats Sheila’s sudden need for human flesh as a frustrating but manageable household chore. It’s less about the end of the world and more about the logistics of body disposal when you have a busy real estate career and a teenager to raise. If you’re used to the grim, self-serious tone of The Walking Dead, the sheer optimism here will feel like a fever dream.
While Drew Barrymore is the face of the show, Timothy Olyphant is the secret weapon. His performance as Joel, the increasingly frantic but endlessly supportive husband, is a masterclass in high-functioning anxiety. Watching him try to maintain a "cool dad" exterior while helping his wife hunt down "bad people" to eat is where most of the comedy lives.
The chemistry between the two leads is genuinely sweet. It’s a weirdly effective portrayal of a long-term marriage: they are a team, even when that team is cleaning up a literal bloodbath in their pristine kitchen. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes jumped on this early, noting that the show’s heart is what keeps the gross-out gags from feeling cheap.
There is no way to sugarcoat the gore. This isn't "implied" violence; it is graphic, wet, and frequent. We’re talking about smoothies made of internal organs and characters having casual conversations while a snarky severed head sits on a coffee table.
The show uses gore as a punchline. It’s slapstick horror. If you or your teen have a weak stomach for liquids—the show is very "juicy"—you’re going to struggle. But if you can view the blood spray as a comedic choice rather than a scary one, it becomes much easier to digest. It’s less about being terrified and more about the "did they really just show that?" audacity of it all.
If your family enjoyed the fast-paced, ethics-based humor of The Good Place, this is the R-rated, blood-soaked cousin. It shares that same DNA of "ordinary people in an impossible, supernatural situation trying to be better versions of themselves."
It also pairs well with What We Do in the Shadows. Both shows take a classic horror monster and drop them into the most mundane settings possible. The humor comes from the friction between the supernatural and the everyday—like trying to find a kill-room that also has good natural light for a Zillow listing.
Just be warned: Netflix canceled the show after three seasons on a significant cliffhanger. Fans on Reddit are still salty about it years later, and for good reason. Even with the unresolved ending, the ride is worth the frustration.
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