TV

Netflix's Dumbest Cancellation Is This 93%-Rated Horror Comedy Sitcom

Netflix's Dumbest Cancellation Is This 93%-Rated Horror Comedy Sitcom
Image credit: Netflix

It’s the funniest sitcom of recent years, that was heartlessly slaughtered by the streaming.

Lately, it's not often that comedies become major events in the world of TV series – dramas tend to get most of the attention.

However, one zombie sitcom, Santa Clarita Diet, has managed to win the unconditional love of millions of viewers. And not surprisingly, as Netflix did not hold back on this project: the platform hired prominent stars, organized a big advertising campaign and placed serious hopes on Santa Clarita. The first season of the show was released in 2017 and immediately received rave reviews from critics and viewers.

What is Santa Clarita Diet About?

The series tells the story of a married real estate couple whose monotonous everyday life changes after the wife, Sheila, turns into a zombie. She behaves as before, even goes to work, and the transformation itself is barely noticeable, except that at one point, parts of her body begin to decompose.

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The only way to keep herself in good shape is to eat other people, and her faithful husband Joel will help poor Sheila with that.

Santa Clarita Diet Had a Brilliant Cast

Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant use their comedic talents to the fullest, and they do it in a well-coordinated tandem without pulling the rug out from under each other. They interact in a way that makes their beautiful union easy to believe.

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The zombie theme on television has traditionally been explored in dramas, although there are plenty of examples of comedies about the living dead in cinema. But Santa Clarita Diet has nothing in common with Shaun of the Dead. It's more like a mixture of Sam Raimi from the Evil Dead era and Tim Burton from his Beetlejuice era.

Santa Clarita Was Actually Hilarious

If you close your eyes to the numerous severed and eaten limbs, Santa Clarita Diet is actually a very funny comedy. Maybe because it's so relatable.

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Yes, few of us turn into a cannibal risen from the dead, but everything else in the main character’s life is her relationship with her devoted husband and cynical teenage daughter.

The abundance of black humor does not prevent situations and dialogues from being recognizable and therefore even funnier.

Santa Clarita Diet Was Canceled After Season 2, Leaving Fans Devastated

Currently, Santa Clarita Diet's audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes is an impressive 93%, but of course this did not stop Netflix from canceling the project after the third season.

At the same time, for the creator of the series, Victor Fresco, the news came as a bolt from the blue, because the script for the fourth season was in development and the team was committed to continue working.

Many viewers were upset by what happened, thinking that season three ended on a cliffhanger that would be resolved in the next season. However, in light of the circumstances, Fresco suggests us to consider it an open ending. Dear Victor, what else do we have left to do?