Sayak Basu
‘Santa Clarita Diet‘ is one of the most exciting and unique shows to have come out in recent times. The latest season is all set to release later this month. It tells the story of a couple, Sheila and Joel Hammond, played by Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant respectively. Both of them are real estate agents who work in the Santa Clarita region of California. The couple buy a house and start living there with their daughter, Abby. All of a sudden, a strange fate befalls them. Sheila one day transforms into a zombie. Sheila now craves human flesh and Joel is in distress, unable to understand how he should go about saving his wife and family.
The first season of the series aired in 2017. The genre this show falls into horror-comedy or more specifically zombie-comedy. Although instances of this genre are found widely across movies, ‘Santa Clarita Diet’ is probably the first one to bring it to television. Movies like ‘Shaun of The Dead‘ (2004) and ‘Zombieland’ (2009) are very popular feature films of this genre. With all that said now, here’s the list of best series similar to ‘Santa Clarita Diet’ that are our recommendations. You can watch several of these shows like ‘Santa Clarita Diet’ on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime.
10. Beetlejuice (1989-1991)
This animated comedy-horror series was created by the renowned filmmaker Tim Burton and is based on his movie of the same name which released in 1988. The main character of the show is Beetlejuice. He is a ghost, and also a con-man whose best friend is Lydia. Beetlejuice and Lydia undertake many adventures, sometimes in the world of living beings, the world they call ‘real-world’, and sometimes in the realm of ghosts, the Neitherworld. Beetlejuice’s humor is based on wordplay, allusions and parody. His most famous joke is that whatever he means metaphorically starts happening literally. For example, he turns into a tire if he says he is tired. In another case, when he expresses his discomfort at this exact phenomena saying “This literal translation stuff slays me!”, the words “This Literal Stuff” appear and proceed to crush him.
9. Scream Queens (2015-2016)
‘Scream Queens’ is made by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan. The show focuses on a group of friends who live together in a sorority house. Jamie Lee Curtis plays the Dean of the house, and her introduction adds a special dimension to the show as she is the one who is considered the original ‘scream queen’ after appearing in the John Carpenter cult classic ‘Halloween’ (1977). In the first season, the girls are attacked by a serial killer wearing the Red Devil costume. The killer has appeared after a couple of decades and starts taking out members of the sorority. In the second season, another killer called the Green Meanie makes his debut.
8. Ash vs Evil Dead (2015-2018)
All fans of the ‘Evil Dead’ trilogy surely remember the character of Ash Williams, the only person who survived the other members of the original group. In this series, which debuted in 2015, Bruce Campbell reprises his role as Ash. The events of the series unfold three decades after the events of the movie. The director of the original movie, Sam Raimi, is among the creators of the show. The show follows the life of Ash after all those incidents and we see that he lives in a trailer all by himself and only has his pet lizard as company. He has befriended a couple, Pablo and Kelly, who are his colleagues, and it is with them that his new adventures begin. The show went on for three seasons before getting canceled.
7. Stan Against Evil (2016-2018)
Created by Dana Gould, this series ran for 24 episodes and three seasons in total. John C. McGinley is the protagonist of the series, and when the events kick off, we see that he is the former sheriff of a town located in New Hampshire. However, the town is built on an ominous piece of land. It was upon this land where several women were burnt in the name of witch-burning. And in the present day, it is haunted by demons and other evil spirits. When John C. McGinley notices that the townspeople are being severely distressed by these otherworldly creates, he along with Evie Barrett, the new sheriff, decide to take matter into their own hands. They form a force which would be taking on the supernatural beings troubling the town.
6. Death Valley (2011)
Unlike the other shows in this list, ‘Death Valley’ is a mockumentary. It is a fictional tale shot and told in a documentary format. San Fernando Valley in California is where the story takes place. When the first episode begins, we come to know that the town has been infested by otherworldly creatures like vampires and zombies. In a desperate measure, the Los Angeles Police Department has decided to gather a task force called the Undead Task Force in order to tackle this imminent threat. The series just saw a single season being aired before MTV decided to cancel it. Bryan Callen, Charlie Sanders, and Bryce Johnson play major parts in this show.
5. Crazyhead (2016)
This British horror-comedy was created by Howard Overman, who is also the creator of the hit TV series ‘Misfits’. The story revolves around two friends, Amy and Raquel, played by Cara Theobold and Susan Wokoma respectively. They are in their twenties, and are growing up just like any other twenty-year-old, but also fight monsters, ghosts, and other frightening creatures. The series did get canceled after one season, but it was unanimously loved by fans who have always criticized the decision of taking this show off air.
4. Making Fiends (2008)
The story of ‘Making Fiends’ is set in the coastal town of Clamburg. The town is under the siege of a little girl called Vendetta. She has the unique power of creating monster-like creatures whom she calls fiends, and they take over the town for her. All the citizens of the town live in fear of Vendetta and her evil friends. Things take a turn when a cheerful girl called Charlotte makes her entrance. She is so optimistic and cheerful that Vendetta does not understand how she should deal with her. Charlotte is determined to make friends with Vendetta and even shows the unique power of being able to turn some of the fiends into helpful friends. Critics were impressed with the series, with some praising it for making the protagonist a bad person who controls a town. The dialogue and animation also received acclaim.
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3. Psychoville (2009-2011)
‘Psychoville‘ is the story of five different characters who live in different parts of England but were somehow involved in the murder of a nurse. All of them were, at some point of time, admitted to a mental asylum where they had carried on this deed. The series focuses on each of the five individuals getting sent sinister letters by a single man who claims that he knows about the crime they committed. The series was well-received by critics and also ended up winning the 2009 and 2011 British Comedy Awards.
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2. The Addams Family (1964-1966)
The Addams Family is surely one of the finest horror-comedy shows to be ever made. This show tells the story of a family that lives in a supernatural realm within their house, which is located at 0001 Cemetary Lane. They have a giant-sized butler and a disembodied hand which serves them. The house is gothic, each of them possesses supernatural powers, but they are all very good-natured and kind people. It is the family that sometimes gets affected by the evil intentions of some of their visitors. The makers have done a unique thing here by making the supernatural entities the ones who are subject to suffering, thus hinting that it is not always the supernatural beings who trouble humans. It can be the other way round as well.
1. Courage The Cowardly Dog (1999-2002)
‘Courage The Cowardly Dog‘ is an absurdist, surreal horror comedy centering around the lives of three characters, Muriel and Eustace Bagge and their pet dog Courage. The series has developed a cult following because of its unique presentation. The three live in a house in the middle of nowhere, away from human civilization. One would expect them to live in peace and tranquility, but that is hardly the case. Monsters, evil spirits, giants are constantly threatening the family and it is up to Courage to save them. And interestingly, all of his efforts happen outside the knowledge of his owners. The show has an interesting similarity to a Harold Pinter play called ‘The Birthday Party’, where a household is suddenly disturbed by the arrival of two shadowy men. Similarly, the privacy of the home is constantly under threat in the series as well. The series is one of the most iconic shows to make its debut on the Cartoon Network.
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