‘Santa Clarita Diet’ Season 1 Spoilers: 6 Things To Know Before The Netflix Premiere

A suburban California mom is tested when she discovers she’s undead and has a desire for human flesh. That’s the premise for Netflix’s newest original series, “Santa Clarita Diet.”

Drew Barrymore’s Sheila Hammond has the perfect life with her realtor husband Joel (Timothy Olyphant) until she finds herself without a heartbeat and a serious craving for raw meat. Sheila and Joel team up try to keep their family together for the sake of their marriage and their teenaged daughter Abby (Liv Hewson) and feed Shield’s growing appetite for human flesh.

Before “Santa Clarita Diet” premieres on Netflix on Friday, Feb. 3, here’s six things to know about the new series:

“Dexter”-Like Theme

Like Showtime’s now-defunct serial killer series “Dexter,” the protagonists of “Santa Clarita Diet” only want to kill people who they deem are bad.

“We have to kill someone who deserves it. I guess the prototype would be a young, single, Hitler,” Joel says in the trailer and Sheila agrees. While Sheila suggests they kill a mom in her yoga class who she despise, Joel looks to take down a young drug dealer he finds on Instagram. The man’s fate is unknown, but one trailer does show him in the Hammond house, which is covered in plastic sheeting.

Not A Horror

Yes, Barrymore’s character is a cannibal, but the series is marketed as a comedy. Showrunner and producer Victor Fresco and Netflix Vice President of Original Content, Cindy Holland, have both praised Barrymore and Olyphant’s comedic chops.

“The genius casting of Timothy and Drew, combined with Victor’s unique comic sensibility, packs a real punch,” Holland said in a press release.

Body Count

It remains unclear just how many victims Sheila will have in Season 1, but the series’ prosthetic makeup effects designer, Christien Tinsley, did tease a high body count, saying, “We built eight of nine fake bodies, which is unheard of for a small show like this.”

The Cast

Barrymore and Olyphant are far from the only big names starring in the Netflix original. Viewers can anticipate cameos from “Castle” star Nathan Fillion, “Desperate Housewives” alum Ricardo Chavira, “The Real O’Neals” actress Ramona Young and “Vacation” star Skyler Gisondo.

Sheila’s Transformation

Barrymore said she was attracted to the show because of Sheila’s radical physical, behavioral and emotional transformation. “This woman who is undead is really going through a rebirth. She just wakes up and sees things around her that she had blinders on to before... I was just excited about what [this role] could be…” she said.

The actress wanted Sheila to appear a “bit overweight” and unconfident in the beginning of the show to better show off her transformation after her death. “By the end, she is very different person,” teased Barrymore.

What Time To Watch

Like most Netflix premieres, East Coast subscribers will have to plan for a late night if they want to watch “Santa Clarita Diet” when it debuts. The program premieres worldwide on Friday, Feb. 3, at 12:01 PST. Season 1 of “Santa Clarita Diet” will include 10 episodes. Each installment is a half-hour long.

If you don’t already have a Netflix subscription you’ll need one to watch the Season 1 episodes. New subscribers can test out a 30-day subscription free of charge.