'Santa Clarita Diet' will leave you hungry for more

My poor, unsuspecting roommates. So young, so innocent.

They had no idea what was coming — it was probably better that way.

“So, who wants to start a new Netflix show with me?” I said.

“Sure, I will,” my roommate replied.

“OK, great! So, fair warning, it’s supposed to be super gruesome, but also really funny,” I said.

She didn’t back out. Phew.

We were going to watch one of Netflix’s newest shows, “Santa Clarita Diet,” and it was going to be thrilling.

Now, for the record, it is a big deal that I’m even writing this article in the first place. I just can’t seem to ever finish a show ... ever.

This time it was different. I finished all 10 episodes of “Santa Clarita Diet” available on Netflix in less than a week.

Drew Barrymore plays Sheila Hammond, an uptight, suburban Southern California mom and real estate agent turned happy-go-lucky undead zombie who eats only those deemed unworthy by society.

Side note: funnily enough, the only other Netflix show I have ever finished was “Dexter,” a show in which a seemingly normal citizen has the undying need to kill, but acts as a vigilante and, in a way, repays society.

In the first episode, Sheila vomits more than is humanly possible and throws up a small, mysterious red ball.

She then dies and wakes up undead with a new personality, a complete 180 from her old self.

Meanwhile on the other side of the television screen, I found myself doing things unlike me, too.

I was laughing out loud in public spaces while watching “Santa Clarita Diet” on my laptop, something I usually find annoying when done by others — but I couldn’t help it.

I watched a season of a TV show in less than a week.

I also almost passed out at work this week, and yes, the irrational part of my brain panicked that I was turning into Sheila Hammond.

One of the best parts of this show, however, is its hilarity. My roommate and I laughed out loud the entire time.

There’s never a shortage of cringing, whether it’s because Sheila is eating someone’s fingers, or because she and her loving husband Joel are trying to awkwardly pretend to be normal around their nosy neighbors and trying to give their teenage daughter, Abby, a normal life.

The most appealing part is that Sheila’s strange condition is not explained, and there are no suspicious events leading up to her death.

Sheila and Joel try to act normal while killing the suburban population of Los Angeles County. But they’re also trying to find a cure, hoping their family can reach normalcy once and for all.

This show is not for the faint of heart. But it is for those with a strong stomach and a good sense of humor.

It’ll have you cringing, screaming and laughing all within one half-hour sitting.

And it will have you ... hungry ... for more.

@nicola_mcirvine

swerve@dailytarheel.com