'What We Do in the Shadows' Season 6 Review: A Fond, Wild Farewell to Our Favorite Staten Island Vampires
On paper, very little about What We Do in the Shadows should have worked when it first premiered in 2019. The FX comedy-horror mockumentary had a lot to prove when trying to carve out an identity separate from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's 2014 movie of the same name — and it took the series some time to find that identity. Yet as the show continued to return, year after year, season after season, it evolved beyond its predecessor, through characters who were even more compelling than those original housemates. Five years ago, six seasons would've seemed like an impossible goal for What We Do in the Shadows, but now, the critically acclaimed, Emmy-nominated series is poised to take a hilarious victory lap, one that doubles as a bittersweet sendoff for our favorite Staten Island vampires.
What Is 'What We Do in the Shadows' Season 6 About?
Season 6 of What We Do in the Shadows largely picks up with the in-residence vampires of Staten Island — consisting of Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry), Nadja of Antipaxos (Natasia Demetriou) and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) — back to their usual antics, or so we think. The overall dynamic in the house has significantly changed in the wake of Nandor's former familiar, Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), deciding to move out, seemingly permanently, although as the premiere quickly reveals, he hasn't strayed all that far from his original stomping grounds. That continuing proximity means that, despite Guillermo's quest for independence (especially as he searches for a new job in the human world), he finds himself becoming a reluctant sounding board for the vampires, each of whom knocks on his door to get some advice or merely use him as a begrudging ear for their own struggles.
Meanwhile, a new member of the household threatens to upend the tenuous relationships already in play... or should we say old? "The Return of Jerry," written by executive producer Paul Simms and directed by Kyle Newacheck, revolves around the vampires' sudden, dismayed realization that they have another roommate who's been in super-slumber this entire time, as well as the disruption to routine that results when he's inevitably roused from his coffin. It's the earliest example of What We Do in the Shadows coming full circle in its run, as the revival of this old roomie also plunges the vampires into a bit of an unlife crisis. Their initial mission, if you'll recall, had been to enact a plan of conquest and take over Staten Island, and in all this time, they've only managed to assert their control over a couple of blocks. No wonder, then, that Laszlo, Nandor, and Nadja especially decide to use this wake-up call to pursue their own long-held dreams, even if those decisions might put some of them at odds with each other in the process.
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‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Stars Hint at Possible Spin-Offs
The stars of the hit FX series sit down at SDCC 2024 to discuss Season 6, the possibility of more, and the impact of the show.
Guillermo Gets a New Lease on Life in 'What We Do in the Shadows' Season 6
While What We Do in the Shadows Season 5 initially seemed poised to shake up the roommate dynamic permanently with the reveal that Guillermo was poised to turn into a vampire, the finale definitively resolved that storyline with the murder of Guillermo's unprepared sire, Derek (Chris Sandiford), reverting Guillermo himself back to human. Season 6 finds him trying to break free of anything that could be considered reliance on his former roommates, but setting boundaries is easier said than done when the vampires are already codependent, needy beings. Yet, while previous seasons would have highlighted how helpless Nandor, Laszlo, and Nadja are without Guillermo, this time around really emphasizes that this group has forged a tighter bond of friendship, one that isn't so easily broken by distance or a change of occupation. When one episode finds several of the vampires poking around at Guillermo's new job, it's emphasized more than once that they're meddling for the purpose of what they believe is his own well-being, rather than purposefully trying to muck things up so he'll be forced to come back to the house.
The cast of What We Do in the Shadows has always brought their A-game, including performances that have only grown stronger with each subsequent season and iconic line deliveries that have become cemented in our cultural lexicon. While the series' overall ensemble format hasn't been abandoned, the plot that kicks off Season 6 (across the three episodes provided for review) revolves a bit more heavily around Guillermo and Laszlo's hijinks, the latter of whom enlists Colin Robinson to help him with his dirty work. No doubt subsequent episodes will allow us to check in more frequently with Nadja and Nandor too, and for the moment, there's just enough of The Guide (Kristen Schaal) sprinkled throughout that her presence hasn't worn out its welcome, but this season ultimately belongs to Guillén. It's been heartening to watch his character's evolution over the last five years, and with it, Guillén's rise into a comedy star, as he's utterly mastered the fourth-wall-breaking looks to camera that leave the viewer feeling like we're commiserating with Guillermo in any given situation. On an in-universe level, it's also nice to see different characters paired off for talking-head segments for a change, as well as the documentary crew making bolder moves to clandestinely capture footage, upending the rulebook that's been in play for the previous five seasons.
If the first few episodes of What We Do in the Shadows' final season prove anything, it's that the show has hardly become draining to watch. While the premiere does feel a bit slow to start in establishing the characters' main story arcs for the remainder of the season, subsequent episodes like "Headhunting" (directed by Newacheck and written by Jake Bender, Zach Dunn, Sam Johnson & Sarah Naftalis) and "Sleep Hypnosis" (directed by Yana Gorskaya and written by Marika Sawyer) set up more of the storylines to come in the weeks ahead, teeing up what promises to be a fang-tastic conclusion. Regardless of what happens next, however, What We Do in the Shadows' entire run has already proven that these hilariously lovable vampires will be forever immortalized in TV history.
What We Do in the Shadows Season 6 premieres with its first three episodes October 21 on FX, streaming next-day on Hulu.
What We Do in the Shadows takes a hilarious victory lap with its sixth and final season, serving as a bittersweet sendoff to our favorite vampires.
- Harvey Guillén gets even more opportunity to shine as Guillermo flourishes in his semi-independence outside of the house.
- The Season 6 premiere feels like one of the best examples of the show coming full circle.
- The characters' relationships are lived-in and comforting no matter which pairs are on-screen together.
- The season is a bit slow to start before launching into its longer story arcs.
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