by Jason Mack, Contributing Writer
During filming of the What We Do in the Shadows movie, Taika Waititi told fellow creator Jemaine Clement it felt like a five-minute idea they were stretching into a film. Six seasons into the spinoff TV series, it’s hard not to wish they would continue stretching it as long as possible.
There is something poetic about a comedy with a cult following similar to Community following the inverse of its infamous “Six seasons and a movie!” proclamation.
So many TV comedies run their course and keep on churning their legs long after running out of track. They stretch out storylines and develop increasingly wackier plots and character traits until they barely recognize the original product. The characters often become caricatures of themselves as creators and actors lean heavier into callbacks and what has worked in the past. This doesn’t just happen to run-of-the-mill sitcoms. It happens to the greats. The Office and Friends remain two of the most streamed shows today, and both dealt with all these issues.
What We Do in the Shadows started with characters that already felt like caricatures, so letting them reach that point would be like a hat on a hat, or, more appropriately, a cursed witch’s hat on a cursed witch’s hat.
I didn’t have much faith in the show when the commercials first started airing. The movie had handled the concept well, and the show seemed like it would be a goofy retread. But the creators nailed several aspects, most importantly a great cast and an emphasis on characters over plot.
That’s not to say there weren’t key storylines along the way. But the emphasis was always on a state of arrested development throughout the cast. When you have eternity, you can take your time conquering the new world and take a couple centuries per street. Maybe they’ll make a dent in it after a few millennia.
The only character with any motivation or progression is Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), and even he is guilty of slipping into the same routines fairly frequently. This season took him from realizing the fallacy of his quest to become a vampire and being left searching for a new purpose.
It is great how the vampires treat him almost as an equal, while also managing to look down on him. They all learned Guillermo’s name, but delightfully still insisted on frequently calling him Gizmo. They also frequently used a new vulgar nickname for him that can’t be repeated here, but it is funny every time it comes up.
With Guillermo no longer trying to become a vampire, while also no longer serving as a familiar, it is interesting to see him and Nandor (Kayvan Novak) trying to figure out their relationship. Nandor provides some of the highlights of the season, with his interpretation of being a janitor. Him throwing trash cans into bigger trash cans and mopping the cereal boxes off the counter will always draw a laugh.
Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) also has great fish-out-of-water moments as she obsesses with becoming one with humans at Guillermo’s new company. She leaves a trail of bodies in her wake, but she also seemed to pick up genuine insight into human psychology.
Laszlo (Matt Berry) and Collin Robinson (Mark Proksch) are perhaps less insightful but equally successful in their quest for reanimation with Cravensworth’s Monster. This is the weakest running story this season, illustrating Waititi’s comment about stretching out a five-minute joke. It could have ended much sooner, or it could have been developed further, but the way it is handled rings hollow.
Laszlo and Colin are played by two of the most underrated comedic actors around, and this storyline handcuffs them all season. Any phrase uttered by Laszlo in Berry’s trademark inflection will always be hilarious. I just wish he had more to work with. On a side note, discussing the vampires’ state of arrested development makes it hard not to want a crossover with Laszlo interacting with Gob from Arrested Development. We can dream.
Colin is involved in the other weakest moment of the season. Proksch was one of the brightest spots in the inconsistent latter seasons of The Office. Zach Woods was in the same boat, so reuniting them with a guest spot seemed like a home run. However, it never gets off the ground, with Woods playing a former coworker who wanted Colin to sleep with his wife. There is nothing supernatural to heighten the antics, and there is really no humor to mine from the idea.
The final season of What We Do in the Shadows isn’t some dramatic and emotional sendoff to the characters, and it isn’t an exploration of what the documentary could mean for their secrecy. Either of those directions would have been a violation of the spirit of the show. It continues to be an irreverent comedy with delightful — albeit evil — characters. It might not rank highly among the seasons of the show, but it is still delightful overall.
Rating: Loved It
What We Do in the Shadows is currently streaming on Hulu
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