‘Santa Clarita Diet’ gives the zombie apocalypse a refreshing new origin story

Netflix’s new comedy series “Santa Clarita Diet,” released Friday (Feb. 3), shines a light on a niche genre that, not too long ago, would have never been welcome on television: Zombie horror.

Zombies on television — it’s a concept that felt extremely out of reach prior to AMC’s risky undertaking in adapting Robert Kirkman’s “Walking Dead” comics to air. Up until 2010, a TV series solely focused on the idea of an undead apocalypse seemed laughable. Now, the notion of a walker-riddled television show can easily be considered old hat — which is why “Santa Clarita Diet” is so exciting.

The 10-episode run follows the story of the Sheila (Drew Barrymore) and Joel Hammond (Timothy Olyphant) — a realtor couple suddenly faced with a life change they never saw coming: Sheila becomes a zombie. A very conscious, hilarious, empowered zombie, at that.

Not only does the series propose the possibility of an undead transformation smack dab in the middle of suburban America — it’s the lore behind Sheila’s zombification that keeps “Santa Clarita Diet” in unpredictable territory.

Part comedy and part horror show — the show’s sharp wit, comic book quirk and unflinching (and surprising) bits of gore help to keep the series planted firmly in a fun genre-fueled world.

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But while we’ve seen enough tales — on film and TV — about the pending zombie apocalypse, the Netflix series may very well be the first one to tap into such an obscure reason behind Sheila’s infection. Episode 1 paves the way for this odd journey, finding Sheila in the weirdest Patient Zero scenario we’ve ever seen — buried in copious amounts of her own vomit only to rise from the sickness a new, refreshed woman.

As if crawling out from her own cocoon, Sheila soon finds herself to be a more outspoken, confident woman and moves forward in the world with this newfound bravado. The only drawback, though: She needs to eat people to survive.

Throughout the season, we’re presented with the normal marital challenges that come with any suburban family — the themes of mid-life crises, adolescent identity and struggles with fidelity are ever present.

However, it’s after an attempted murder goes horribly wrong that some classic zombie lore comes shining through. Sheila bites a dude and, soon, he’s coming out of his own vomit-covered transformation.

Not only does this cement the concept that Sheila’s condition is contagious — transmittable through bites — it opens the world up to the massive possibility that “Santa Clarita Diet” could easily act as the origin story to any zombie apocalypse tale — whether it be “The Walking Dead” or “Zombieland.”

Does the answer to this condition lie in ancient Serbian texts — harkening back to a mysterious plague from another time? According to “Santa Clarita Diet,” the answer is a resounding yes.

Unfortunately for us, though, we’ll need to wait until Season 2 for further answers. The pieces may have been put in place to stop Sheila’s further regression into feral zombiehood, but a cure is still a hope everyone is clinging to.

Hopefully, Season 2 will bring further details behind this mysterious Serbian disease as this kooky zombie virus may be the most unique character featured in the whole dang show.

“Santa Clarita Diet” Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.

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