Created by Jemaine Clement and executive produced by Taika Waititi (the actors, writers, and directors of the original movie), “What We Do in the Shadows” centers on a small household of ancient creatures of the night — the typical blood-thirsty vampires Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Berry), and Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), and the energy-sucking vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) — who reside in modern Staten Island with Nandor’s familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillén). Like the film that sired it, it’s a quietly melancholic reflection on what even makes life worth living beneath its comedic surface. Over five seasons, however, the TV show has gotten infinitely stranger than its predecessor — as in, there was a storyline where Colin birthed a baby version of himself (complete with his adult counterpart’s head!) from his crumbling corpse. Not to mention that time Laszlo created human-animal hybrids using Guillermo’s DNA for reasons that are too complicated to get into here.
Still, as sad as I’ll be to see such a funny and frequently bizarre show go, I can’t deny it’s the right time. Watching season 5, there were multiple occasions when it felt like the show was starting to spin its wheels on the verge of simply running out of fresh ideas. Unlike vampires, few sitcoms can sustain themselves forever, and if “What We Do In the Shadows” has taught us anything, it’s that they (like human beings) are better off going out on their own terms, lest they overstay their welcome. Luckily, we’ve still got another season of strange, bloody antics to get through before Nandor, Guillermo, and the rest of the gang hang it up for good.
“What We Do in the Shadows” airs on FX and is streaming on Hulu.