‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Is an Excellent Sitcom Covered in Blood

One of the most revolutionary things about What We Do in the Shadows, FX’s new vampire comedy, is that it truly isn’t revolutionary at all. Once you strip away its buckets of blood, fantastical lore, and Matt Berry screaming the word “Bat!” what’s left is a very silly show about five ridiculous people who all have to live together. At its core, What We Do in the Shadows is a fairly by-the-books sitcom… But with vampires.

That’s sure to be a relief for anyone who was a fan of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s original mockumentary of the same name. The creative pair hit a strange pocket of gold when they imagined what it would be like to have magical roommates forever. It was a concept that was delightfully stupid in its mundanity in 2014, and it’s just as blissfully dumb five years laters. What We Do in the Shadows the series doesn’t have any grander ambitions beyond the original movie. There’s now just a lot more of this weird world to explore.

Set in Staten Island, a place the creators once referred to as the New Zealand of New York, the comedy follows three vampires who were sent to conquer and enslave the new world centuries ago. But somewhere between landing in America and making friends with LARPers, they forgot what they were there for. Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laslo (Matt Berry), and Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) are no more competent or conniving than their theatrical predecessors. But instead of merely watching these bumbling undead monsters exist, we now get to see them try to accomplish a goal.

Of course it doesn’t go well, and Novak, Berry, and Demetriou deserve all the credit for making enslaving the human race seem as annoying as cleaning your bathroom. Novak’s Nandor, a bloodthirsty warrior from the Ottoman empire who is now more concerned with dusting, brings a sweet energy to the series reminiscent of Waititi’s Viago. Some of the biggest laughs in the first few episodes come from Novak’s surprisingly tender friendship with his familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillen). From their casual banter it’s easy to forget that the only reason Guillermo is around is because Nandor has been promising to turn him into a vampire for a decade. Likewise, Matt Berry’s arrogant and dumb Laszlo feels very similar to Clement’s original Vladislav, who always felt a bit like a Matt Berry character being played by Clement. If these two were to meet, they’d either be inseparable or kill one another. It’s hard to decide.

However, it’s the new elements of this world that make What We Do in the Shadows so much fun. The sex lives of these vampires was something that was played for laughs in this movie, but thanks to Nadja and Lazslo’s open marriage it’s explored in gross detail in the series. Speaking of, Demetriou’s Nadja constantly steals the scenes she’s in, jumping between hilariously dry one liners and pointed looks that would make The Office‘s Jim proud. This new iteration even adds a new type of vampire to its mix: Mark Proksch’s energy vampire Colin Robinson. He’s exactly as boring as you would expect, and witnessing how much his roomies hate him is one of the best gags in the whole series.

Ultimately, that’s what this show is at the end of each 22-minute chapter: people who low-key hate each other but are forced to hang out. It’s a premise that has been driving television’s comedies since the intention of TV, and it’s pushed to its extreme form in this FX series. There are no consequences or jobs to worry about, and through-lines don’t matter. They’re vampires. They quite literally have all the time in the world.  And as What We Do in the Shadows proves, forcing these petty monsters to spend eternity together just makes everything funnier.

What We Do in the Shadows premieres on FX Wednesday, March 27 at 10/9c p.m. New episodes air Wednesday nights. 

Where to stream What We Do in the Shadows