Drew Barrymore Loses Weight Filming 'Santa Clarita Diet,' Confirms Netflix Comedy Is About A Zombie

Drew Barrymore has been working on a new comedy series on Netflix which she claims made her lose weight. "Santa Clarita Diet," which will be launched on the streaming site on Friday, Feb. 3, is actually about a woman's "transformation."

The actress shared via Vanity Fair that she lost 20 pounds while working with Timothy Olyphant for "Santa Clarita Diet." Barrymore plays Sheila, who goes through a life-changing experience.

She hinted that the weight loss was intended. "As my character Sheila sort of woke up in life and I got to ride alongside of her with it," the actress told the magazine.

Few marketing has been done for the comedy series prior to the Vanity Fair interview, thus no one had an inkling about the show's plot. But Netflix has since upped the promotion in printed magazines, running ads this week as the premiere date nears.

Jezebel noticed, however, that something was peculiar about Barrymore's character in the ads. It implied that the actress' Sheila could be a cannibal.

But Barrymore is setting the record straight and in the process, she's spilling the secret about "Santa Clarita Diet." She confirmed to USA Today that Sheila is a zombie and the show is a dark comedy. Her character eats human brains to sustain herself.

How Sheila died and survived being an undead will be tackled in the show's 13 episodes. The series, created by Victor Fresco, is also about family life. Sheila is a mother to a teenager who has a happy marriage with Joel (Olyphant). What happened to her, however, is going to affect their lives, their jobs and their community in general.

Barrymore said that the show came at the right time as she wanted to get back to work after having two kids and going through a divorce. She wasn't looking for anything heavy to do, so "Santa Clarita Diet" was the perfect fit.

"I think it's a very perfect recipe for 2017," the actress said. "I had no idea in early 2016 when I was trying to figure out if this was even possible that it would be so right for my life."