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'Santa Clarita Diet': Drew Barrymore, Timothy Olyphant Respond to Cancellation News

Less than 24 hours after Netflix announced that Victor Fresco's dark comedy series Santa Clarita Diet would end its run after three seasons, series co-stars Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant have responded to the streaming service's decision.

For Barrymore, it was about giving respect to a character who had become one of her favorites:

"Of all of the characters I've ever been, Sheila Hammond is one of my favorites. She and Joel were an amazing couple, who had shared goals. And I am lucky to have worked along side Tim Olyphant. It was an honor to get to do something so delightful. Sheila lives forever in me. And I am grateful to Victor Fresco, who created a world so unique."

– Drew Barrymore

For Olyphant, it was a love for the project that went beyond the filming:

"I loved working on this show. I'm going to continue coming in and doing scenes. If they don't want to film it, that's up to them."

– Timothy Olyphant

In Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet, Barrymore stars as a real estate broker who struggles with her transition into a zombie with help from husband Olyphant. Fresco, Tracy Katsky, Aaron Kaplan, Barrymore, Chris Miller, Ember Truesdell, Olyphant, Clay Graham, Michael A. Ross, Andy Weil, Jane Wiseman, Brittany Segal, and Ruben Fleischer served as executive producers.

"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. 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."

– Netflix

For their part, Fresco and Katsky had this to say about the news:

"Like our audience, we were all-in on Sheila and Joel. Their relationship, in the face of incredible adversity, was inspiring to write and to watch. Mostly, they were funny, which in a comedy is important. Working with Drew and Tim, along with the immensely talented Liv and Skyler, was a joy and a once in a lifetime experience. Netflix took at chance on this odd show and for that we will always be grateful.

They were supportive, ever positive, and appreciative of our work. Until about noon today. Still, they were just one phone call away from being a perfect studio. Not bad. Everything ends. This was a thing. And so it ended. We'll miss it but are proud of the work we did and will always appreciate the love and enthusiasm we felt from our audience. It if was up to them, Sheila and Joel would continue for another 10,000 years."

Before the third season premiere, Fresco admitted that the series' future was uncertain – especially considering Netflix's rumored "2/3-season" business model:

"We're aware that the show gets more expensive every year; we're aware of what seems like templates of [Netflix's] studio stuff now. It looks like mostly three-season stuff. We know they like the show. I like to say the humans there seem to love the show; I don't know how the algorithm feels about us, and the algorithm makes a lot of decisions, ultimately. So I just don't know."

Having originally planned for the series to last fivr seasons, Fresco and his team went with a season-ender that could also serve as a series-ender or the start of new storylines to explore: "We wanted to leave it hopefully satisfying if we don't come back but also promising something that could be really interesting to explore if we do come back."

The Hollywood Reporter

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