The bewildered family seek a cure for her condition while dealing with its consequences, such as Sheila's new craving of human flesh and radically altered personality that has become more primal and impulsive. The single-camera series premiered on February 3, On March 29, , it was announced that Netflix renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on March 23, As Joel and the family try to help Sheila through this, they have to deal with neighbors and cultural norms , and get to the bottom of a potentially mythological mystery.
Fresco came up with the premise from wanting to make "a family show with an interesting approach that we haven't seen before". The zombie angle also allowed Fresco to explore the concept of narcissism : he stated "the undead are the ultimate narcissists. They want what they want when they want it and will do anything to just have what they want and don't care about other people's needs. For the setting, Fresco drew from his own experience growing up in San Fernando Valley.
Santa Clarita was chosen because of its middle class residents. In February , advertising for the show sparked criticism in Germany, where Netflix promoted the show with posters depicting a human finger sliced up like a currywurst , a popular German fast food dish.
After receiving more than 50 complaints that the advertising was glorifying violence and inducing fear, especially in children, the German Advertising Council, a self-regulatory institution, forwarded the complaints to the company. Netflix then decided to end the campaign and remove all posters. The first season of Santa Clarita Diet received generally positive reviews from critics. The site's critical consensus reads, " Santa Clarita Diet serves up an excellent cast, frequent laughs, and an engaging premise β but the level of gore might not be to everyone's taste.
The second season received generally positive reviews as well. The site's critical consensus states: " Santa Clarita Diet rides the momentum of its freshman season with non-stop comedic gore and a big heart that bleeds β profusely β for its lovable characters.
