‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Showrunner Promises the Final Season Won’t Sacrifice Being Funny for Being Sappy
In an era of television when the line between drama and comedy is so blurred that genuine laughs are practically a novelty, What We Do in the Shadows would rather tour a garlic field on a sunny day than turn the vampire comedy dark and depressing.
For Taika Waititi fans who have been invested in the What We Do in the Shadows universe since the original film first reached cult classic status back in 2014, tonight’s premiere episode from the sixth and final season of the FX show by the same name is something of a bittersweet moment. On the one hand, who among us could have imagined that the quirky, idiosyncratic mockumentary from the early days of Waititi’s rise to international superstar status would still be leaving its mark on the comedy world a full decade after its modestly successful release? On the other hand, with the sequel film We’re Wolves always lurking sometime in the distant and unreachable future, What We Do in the Shadows Season Six may be our last chance to to revel in the hilarious, spirited, paranormal world that Waititi and Jemaine Clement created.
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However, for as sad as we’ll be to see the series go, showrunner Paul Simms isn’t going to let us wallow in our misery like we’re Nadja staring at a freshly decapitated Gregor. Over the weekend, Simms and What We Do in the Shadows stars Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Mark Proksch attended a panel at PaleyFest in New York Citaaay where Simms promised not to turn Season Six into some weepy, self-obsessed farewell tour — so don’t expect any kind of Schitt’s Creek-style Hulu documentary at the end of the road.
“We just felt like better too soon than too late, and we didn’t want to be doing it after we used everything up,” Simms explained of the decision to conclude What We Do in the Shadows after a tight six seasons instead of giving it the endless undeath of an American sitcom. “We knew it was going to be sad, but that also gave us a clear direction for the season. We thought about all the other shows (that have) done final seasons, and shows that are like a ‘very special final season.’ We were like, ‘No; we want to make this purely funny from beginning to end, and not be too sad or sentimental about it.”
Proksch, who plays the many incarnations of Colin Robinson on the show, concurred with Simms’ philosophy on avoiding the sappy stuff, saying of the timely end to the series, “It keeps us from falling into the current comedy trap, which is heart. We have small moments, but they’re earned, and they feel authentic.”
“And then they’re squashed,” chimed in Novak who plays the most emotional and sappy vampire of the bunch, Nandor the Relentless.
“Yeah, they’re wiped away with a dumb joke,” Proksch agreed. “I think it kept the show fresh. You can jump in at any point in the series.”
“I’ve seen it like happen with other shows, if they hang around for too long,” added Berry, whose performance as the charismatic, hedonistic Lazslo Cravensworth must be experienced to properly hear these comments in his voice. “There’s like resentment for the work that’s gone before, and you should never be in that sort of position. You should cut loose before then, which is what I think we’ve done.”
So, instead of dreary immortality, What We Do in the Shadows is going out on top — but that finale is probably still going to hit us like a stake through the heart.
