Netflix’s new ‘family sitcom’ is actually about the undead

Santa Clarita Diet is one of Netflix’s most anticipated original series — the show is set to premiere on the streaming service in February — but all is not what is seems.

Announced by Netflix last March, Santa Clarita Diet was described as a a comedy that focused on husband and wife realtors, Sheila (Drew Barrymore) and Joel (Timothy Olyphant), and their teenage daughter in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Clarita. The two were living “vaguely discontented lives,” according to the official description, until Sheila goes through a sudden change that brings “death and destruction ... but in a good way.”

While that should have been an obvious hint that the series wasn’t actually a lighthearted comedy, it wasn’t until just yesterday that Jezebel noticed the show may not actually be what it was promoted as. One of the ads for the show, as spotted in a tabloid, featured Barrymore sitting on a chair and enjoying a nice glass of blood, full of fingers and eyeballs. All of which, naturally, lead to the only rational question: Is Drew Barrymore’s new show actually about zombies?

Netflix

In an interview with USA Today, Barrymore revealed that, yes, Santa Clarita Diet was in fact about the undead. Barrymore said her character dies in the first episode, and the rest of the 10-episode season is spent following her awakening ... and the consumption of human flesh. Barrymore didn’t say what caused Sheila to turn into a zombie, but she has her own theory.

“Presumably, she has been exposed to something — although we don’t know what — which is making her feel a bit off,” Barrymore said.

Santa Clarita Diet hails from Victor Fresco; a name most will know for creating the cult show Better Off Ted in 2009. Santa Clarita Diet will be available to stream in its entirety on Feb. 2.