Netflix is known for cancelling shows before they can fully develop, even when they seem to have a loyal fanbase. One of the most upsetting cancellations was Santa Clarita Diet, a horror-comedy series starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant.
After three seasons, the show was canceled in 2019, ending on a major cliffhanger. Interestingly, the creators did this to stop Netflix from cancelling it. However, it turned out that Netflix didn’t care what kind of ending the series had and canceled it anyway.
In an interview with The Guardian, the show’s creator, Victor Fresco, shared that he was completely caught off guard by the cancellation. He only found out about it while sitting in the editing room for Season 3.
Advertisement This unexpected decision disappointed both the creators and fans, as there was no proper conclusion to the story.
That’s how I heard it was definitely not coming back.
An assistant producer walked in to inform him that the sets were currently being dismantled; Fresco went on to say
Looking at everything, finding out your show is ending like that would feel like a surprise out of nowhere.
What’s even more interesting is that Fresco purposely ended Season 3 with a big cliffhanger, hoping it would make Netflix want to bring the show back for a fourth season.
We didn’t want to make it easier for them to cancel us
It was essentially done to force the streamer’s hand to not cancel the show, with Fresco saying
The plan didn’t work, though, because Netflix canceled the show after just three seasons. Even so, Santa Clarita Diet is still a popular topic, and many people think it ended way too soon.
The show is about a married couple, Joel (played by Timothy Olyphant) and Sheila (played by Drew Barrymore), who work as real estate agents. They live a pretty boring life until something crazy happens—Sheila starts turning into a zombie! The story follows their struggles to find a cure for Sheila while also dealing with her new cravings for human flesh.
The show also stars Liv Hewson and Skyler Gisondo. Santa Clarita Diet was well-loved by critics. It scored 78% for Season 1, 89% for Season 2, and 100% for Season 3. While it wasn’t as huge as Stranger Things, it still had a lot of devoted fans. People enjoyed its mix of horror and comedy, as well as the great acting by Barrymore and Olyphant.
You really have, at best, a three-run on Netflix unless you become a monster hit. If you look closely at your deal, you’ll see that there’s a huge disincentive for them to order seasons four and five because they’re really making a big payout then
It’s because of this reception that many thought the show could carry on, but as Fresco puts it
Source: Movieweb