‘Santa Clarita Diet’ Cast on How Season 2 Explores Sheila’s Zombie Origin Story
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When Santa Clarita Diet returns for its second season on March 23, Sheila (Drew Barrymore) and Joel (Timothy Olyphant) will be doing a lot of investigating into why Sheila’s a zombie—all while trying to keep their nontraditional marriage afloat and raising a teenage daughter. Just your average Southern California family, right?
Olyphant explained during a press event in New York City, “There’s a really fun, whole thing [in Season 2] about investigating how this actually happened and the mystery of it. And whether or not there’s a possibility that this becomes a world wide problem. This couple is trying now not to only keep the marriage together but to save the world.”
“It does open up,” chimed in Barrymore. “I think the way we leave Season 2 has a lot of possibilities for Season 3. The way we leave this is going to start a whole new f**king debate.”
Barrymore added that, this year, the couple has (somewhat) adjusted to a new way of life: “We know this is our new norm so I think it’s almost a lot about moral compass. Could we take out people who the planet would be better off without?”
“I think [Sheila] is much more sensitive to Joel and what it must be like for him. They just have discoveries about the circumstances about how this happened,” she continued.
What keeps these two actors—who also serve as executive producers—excited about the show is the “funny and sharp” writing and creative genius that is Diet’s creator, Victor Fresco.
“My experience a couple pages in was that wonderful combination of it was so ridiculously outlandish and, at the same time, oddly old-fashioned. You take away the eating people part and it’s kinda an old-fashioned family comedy,” explained Olyphant.
Barrymore agreed: “For me, everything is about the writing because if that’s not working, it’s so hard to save [the show] somewhere else. I thought the writing was so mind-blowingly good and that the subject and tone felt very unique, which was exciting.”
Santa Clarita Diet, Season 2 Premiere, Friday, March 23, Netflix
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