Streaming service Netflix has announced that it has cancelled its dark horror-comedy series Santa Clarita Diet, which stars Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant as Sheila and Joel Hammond, a couple whose life is thrown into disarray when Sheila is transformed into flesh-craving zombie.
“The world had never known a ‘zom-com’ until Santa Clarita Diet, and we’re indebted to creator Victor Fresco for bringing this idea to Netflix,” reads the official announcement from the streamer. “To their endless credit, the incredible Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant were totally game, with an uncanny knack for comedy that brought Sheila and Joel Hammond to vibrant life, even though one of them was undead. We’re grateful to Victor, Drew, and Timothy, along with fellow executive producers Tracy Katsky, Aaron Kaplan, Chris Miller and Ember Truesdell and the terrific cast, including Liv Hewson and Skyler Gisondo, and crew for three hilarious seasons for Netflix members to discover for years to come.”
As reported by THR, news of the cancellation should not be too surprising given that only 10% of Netflix’s original series have reached a fourth season. Apparently, Netflix’s internal analytics suggest that it doesn’t pick up any new subscribers from a show’s third season or beyond. Meanwhile profit participation points for the creative teams typically begin in season three and increase sharply from season four onward, meaning that new episodes from this point generally become much more expensive for the streaming service to produce.
Are you disappointed that Santa Clarita Diet has been axed? What did you make of the series? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @FlickeringMyth…
