What We Do In The Shadows Season 6 Will End The Bloodsucking Comedy Series
Vampires might be immortal (unless they step out into the sunlight ... or they get set on fire ... or you stab a pointed wooden stake through their heart ... or you chuck holy water on them ... maybe we need to come up with a different word than "immortal"?), but TV shows, alas, are not — not even our favorite ones. So it is that the sun will soon rise on "What We Do in the Shadows," the wonderfully weird and queer — not to mention often gory and always horny — supernatural horror-comedy mockumentary series spun off from the cult film of the same name.
Like so many other ongoing shows, "What We Do in the Shadows" was set to begin production on its latest (in this case, sixth) season this year ... that is, of course, before the major American studios and streamers decided they would rather bring the film and TV industry to a standstill for months than strike a fair deal with its actors and writers right off the bat. (I hope everyone reading this just heard Matt Berry yelling "Bat!" in their head.) Vulture has now confirmed "What We Do in the Shadows" season 6 will be the show's final bow, with filming slated to start in January 2024 ahead of a yet-to-be-determined release date on FX and Hulu sometime later that year.
What We Do in the Shadows is ending right on time
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.