The “Santa Clarita Diet,” a Netflix show that blends parts real estate, poking fun at suburbia and, even the undead, is coming back for another season.

The Hammonds (husband, Timothy Olyphant; wife, Drew Barrymore; daughter, Liv Hewson) are returning to the online streaming outlet.

“In ‘Santa Clarita Diet,’ Joel (Timothy Olyphant, Justified) and Sheila (Drew Barrymore, Blended) are husband and wife realtors leading vaguely discontented lives in the L.A. suburb of Santa Clarita with their teenaged daughter Abby (Liv Hewson), until Sheila goes through a dramatic change sending their lives down a road of death and destruction… but in a good way,” according to Netflix.

The network built up the suspense for months before releasing the show and what the “diet” really referred to — the second season promo video also reveals few clues about what’s ahead for the sitcom.

The KHTS Features team sat down with showrunner Victor Fresco, who created the show:

From a previous story:

An Exclusive Interview With ‘Santa Clarita Diet’ Creator, Executive Producer Victor Fresco

After months of clever teases about a mysterious new diet plan called the Santa Clarita Diet, SCV residents are buzzing about the Netflix original television show’s shocking cannibalistic plot twist.

See the full collection of KHTS Feature Stories and Videos on hometownstation.com here.

Hollywood celebs Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant star as Sheila and Joel Hammond, highschool sweethearts who work as real estate agents in Santa Clarita. But when Sheila suddenly starts thirsting for human blood, the couple enters a hilariously dark new world.  

“It has a slightly different twist to it,” said Victor Fresco, the show’s creator, executive producer and showrunner, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “One day, Sheila … wakes up and she has acquired a taste for human flesh, and we find out that she is undead.”

Drew Barrymore as Sheila Hammond. Photo courtesy of SantaClaritaDiet.com.

While some may be quick to label “Santa Clarita Diet” a zombie comedy, Fresco revealed that the creative minds behind the show definitely don’t view it that way.

“I think the word ‘zombie’ is derogatory, so we don’t use it,” he explained. “It sounds so negative, doesn’t it? ‘Zombie.’ So we just call her undead, or livingly challenged, perhaps.”

Related: “Santa Clarita Diet” To Blend Suburbs, Humor, Gore On Netflix

When Barrymore’s character isn’t scavenging the Santa Clarita Valley for people to eat, she and her husband are attempting to hold their relationship together as they start a strange new chapter of their lives.

Fresco noted he was interested in exploring the dynamics of a long-term relationship when one person has changed dramatically, adding that this is something Sheila and Joel will “struggle” with throughout the season.

“They’ve been together for 25 years — one of them is going through a ‘small’ change, but their love is unconditional,” he said. “So from Joel, or Tim Olyphant’s perspective, how do you keep a relationship going when it’s going off the rails?”

Another comedic theme viewers can expect from “Santa Clarita Diet” is Sheila’s seemingly unquenchable appetite, and how far she’ll go to satisfy her cravings.

“(The) undead are the ultimate narcissists — they just want what they want, whenever they want it, and I thought that was kind of a funny way into a character,” Fresco said. “She’s all about getting what she wants, but how does she do that while staying in a relationship?”  

When asked why Fresco chose Santa Clarita for the setting of the show, he noted that he grew up in the valley, and envisioned creating a contrast between what he called the “planned sweetness” of the Santa Clarita Valley with the “craziness” of the show’s dark plot.

“It’s very pretty and kind of idyllic when you go through those (SCV) neighborhoods,” he explained. “I like the idea of that juxtaposed to the chaos that’s in the Hammond’s world … when one of them starts killing people.”

Timothy Olyphant as Joel Hammond. Photo courtesy of SantaClaritaDiet.com.

Local viewers may recognize different areas around town where the show was filmed, including a comic book store in Newhall and drug stores, bars and parking lots within a few miles of the Santa Clarita Studios on Anza Drive.

Fresco recalled a number of crew members playfully questioning his decision to set the show in Santa Clarita after spending all day in the SCV’s sweltering summer heat.

“It was 103 degrees every day,” he said with a chuckle. “We shot outside, we shot a lot of exteriors, and (the) crew would say, ‘Why couldn’t you have called it the Santa Monica Diet? It’s so blazingly hot out here.’”

Despite the heat, Fresco stands by his decision to keep “Santa Clarita Diet” as authentic as possible, and is already looking toward the possibility of filming a second season in the SCV.
The first season debuted Feb. 3, 2017, the new season’s air date has yet to be announced.