Drew Barrymore eats people in her newest show and one city in California couldn’t be happier about it.
Set in the suburb 40 miles north of Los Angeles, “Santa Clarita Diet” premieres Friday on Netflix.
It’s being called “zombie satire” because Barrymore’s character, real estate agent and mom Sheila, has a penchant for eating flesh.
Jason Crawford, Santa Clarita’s economic development manager, said city officials are pretty excited about the name recognition.
“It’s a fiction show and it’s about some pretty wild stuff,” he said. “[But] we know it will present our community, Santa Clarita, to the world.”
Other productions in Santa Clarita include the CBS series “NCIS,” HBO’s “Westworld” and the upcoming film “A Wrinkle in Time,” but Crawford thinks “Santa Clarita Diet” could draw new visitors.
“Previously there were shows like ‘The O.C.,’ and ‘Beverly Hills 90210,'” Crawford said. “Those shows gave name recognition to those areas and they brought tourists. Even with ‘Breaking Bad,’ there is a whole tourist industry in New Mexico now, where that show was based.”
“We definitely see this as an opportunity,” Crawford said.
The city of Atlanta can relate.
The star of the FX series “Atlanta” praised the show’s locale at the recent Golden Globe Awards.
“I really want to thank Atlanta and all the black folks in Atlanta,” Donald Glover said during an acceptance speech for best comedy. “For real, like, just being alive and doing just amazing, and being amazing people. I couldn’t be here without Atlanta.”
“Atlanta,” emerged from the cultural richness of the city, according the the director of the Atlanta Office of Film and Entertainment, Christopher Hicks.
It’s also helped contribute to the more than $7 billion Georgia generated via the film and TV industry during fiscal year 2016, he said.
“In a five to six year period… [Atlanta has] been anointed the ‘new Hollywood,'” Hicks said. “Those kind of catchphrases begin to tell where the city is going.”