Santa Clarita Diet

Parents need to know that Santa Clarita Diet is a horror/comedy hybrid about a successful suburban family whose lives take a dark turn when the mom dies and then comes back as a hungry -- yet sweet-natured -- zombie. The overall tone of the show is light and sunny (even when the most violent things are happening on-screen), the dialogue is fresh and smart, and the characters are appealing, which takes the edge off the gory, intense blood-and-guts violence. But it's there anyway. Sheila gnaws on chopped-off limbs and pulls intestines out of her victims' bodies. There are fountains and showers and puddles of blood and assorted other eye-opening sights: Sheila eats a live snail, vomits great gouts of yellow bile, cuts herself and bleeds black goop. We also see her receiving oral sex (implied; he's offscreen). There are references to sex galore: "banging," "boning," "humping," a teen boy's "spank bank." Along with the vulgar language, there's cursing, often for comic effect: "f--k," "s--t," "goddamn," "bulls--t." Otherwise responsible and moderate dad Joel smokes pot in his car, often before important meetings.