Happy Endings' Zach Knighton Just Landed His Next Big Role

happy endings zach knighton dave abc

Zach Knighton was one of the funniest actors in primetime for a few years thanks to his role as Dave on Happy Endings. That show came to a premature end back in 2013, and he's mostly been limited to guest appearances on the small screen since. Now, Knighton has landed a role that should bring him back in a big way. He'll appear in the second season of Netflix's zombie comedy Santa Clarita Diet.

Netflix has yet to reveal details about Zach Knighton's character, although Deadline reports that he'll have a key role in a major arc of Santa Clarita Diet Season 2. We can't say at this point if the Santa Clarita Diet arc will result in an ongoing role in the series. Still, the odds are pretty good that the show won't be cancelled any time soon. Sure, the Netflix CEO recently revealed that he thinks they need to cancel more of its original series, but Santa Clarita Diet has a winning formula.

The dark comedy is unlike anything else at Netflix, and Drew Barrymore is the leading lady. It only took Netflix a couple of months after the Season 1 premiere to renew the series for a Season 2. Few shows are necessarily safe on Netflix, but I'm guessing that Santa Clarita Diet will probably last for as long as Drew Barrymore is willing to continue making it. Santa Clarita Diet could be a winning gig for Zach Knighton.

Santa Clarita Diet tells the story of married couple Sheila (Drew Barrymore) and Joel (Timothy Olyphant). Both realtors, they weren't entirely satisfied with their lives in Santa Clarita, California. When Sheila goes through an unexpected and significant change -- becoming a zombie -- their lives are turned upside down in a way that isn't altogether terrible, aside from the blood and gore. We obviously don't know if Zach Knighton will play a normal human or another zombie with a taste for human flesh, but we can be confident that he'll bring the laughs. Knighton was a highlight on Happy Endings, and while that show's cancellation still amounts to a television tragedy, at least we can rest easy knowing that he's on his way back to TV.

Netflix hasn't released an exact premiere date for the second season of Santa Clarita Diet, but the renewal video revealed that the next batch of episodes will air at some point in 2018. You can catch the full first season of Santa Clarita Diet streaming on Netflix now. Check out our 2017 Netflix premiere guide for your other streaming options, and take a gander at our summer TV schedule. If you're not up to date on what shows are still around, swing by our our rundowns of renewals and cancellations for cable/streaming and network TV. Our breakdown of all the greatest reboots and revivals that are currently in the works for the small screen is worth a look as well.

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).