The first three episodes ofWhat We Do in the Shadowsseason 6 offer a glimpse at the final season of FX’s vampire comedy. While they set up multiple storylines that are likely to stretch across the 11-episode season, the most important is the awakening of Jerry (Mike O’Brien), a former roommate of the mockumentary series' Staten Island-based immortals who went into a “super-slumber” in the mid-1970s. Though they promised to wake him up in the ’90s, they predictably forgot all about him, and his re-entry into their lives reminds them of forgotten dreams and desires from their pasts.
Cast
What We Do in the Shadowsseason 6has big shoes to fill as it attempts to put a bow on one of the funniest, most idiosyncratic series of the modern age. Since it premiered in 2019, the FX comedy has been a beacon of fearless invention, laugh-out-loud ribaldry, and offbeat character-building on the small screen, even eclipsing the cult classic 2014 movie it is based on. As such,a lot is ridingon its farewell season that it may never be able to properly live up to.
What We Do In The Shadows Season 6 Features A Sharp-As-Ever Ensemble But Patchier Writing
The Comedy Doesn’t Always Rise To The Level Of The Cast
As has been the case with every season up to this point, the primary draw of season 6 is theWhat We Do in the Shadowscast.The ensemble plays perfectly off of one anotherand consistently finds new and exciting ways to deliver small character beats within moments that otherwise might not have called for them, especially the expository scenes showcased in the mockumentary’s talking head interviews. A particular highlight is Natasia Demetriou, whose every line is a master class in comic delivery.
Guillermo de la Cruz
Kristen Schaal
The Guide
The only bum acting note in all three episodes is a moment where Matt Berry doesn’t quite commit to the hamminess required of a marital spat, though the fact the punchline can be spotted from a mile away might bely that the scene doesn’t actually deserve his full attention. Beyond that, every main cast member — including Berry — is at the top of their game, and one episode 2 moment in particular, where Nandor is disguised as a janitor, sees Kayvan Novak delivera series of physical comedy bits that rank among his finest moments on the entire show.
Berry and Proksch are essentially delivering Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew bits fromThe Muppets…
Unfortunately, the material this exquisite cast is being asked to deliver does not always live up to the show’s usual standards, though they are unilaterally delivering it well. While there are still huge laughs stuffed into each episode (including a series of moments where Berry and Proksch are essentially delivering Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew bits fromThe Muppetsdressed up in horror drag), there arequite a few moments whereWhat We Do in the Shadowsleans too heavily on sitcom clichéswithout amplifying them in useful or humorous ways.
This includesa tired running gag where Laszlo and Nadja attempt to speak to one another through Guillermowhile giving one another the silent treatment, a joke that never gets elevated into anything distinctive or weird, two descriptors that are usually the show’s specialty.
What We Do In The Shadows Season 6 Makes Some Questionable Plot Decisions
The Overarching Storylines Being Set Up Don’t Show Equal Promise
Overall,the storylines being set up for season 6 don’t seem to be on equal footing. While Guillermo’s attempts to rejoin the human world — and the vampires' interactions with said attempts — bring a fresh energy to the show, Laszlo’s sudden obsession with creating a Frankenstein-like monster is arbitrary and low-stakes. There doesn’t seem to be enough material there to carry his character for an entire season, especially because bringing the dead to life is bread and butter for this supernatural series, so reanimating a stitched-together corpse is particularly special six seasons in.
Although Jerry’s arrival in episode 1 is a catalyst for the season’s overarching storylines and seems to imply that some major changes are coming in the show’s final season — including an intriguing meta nod toward acknowledging the unseen documentary crew that is reminiscent of thefinal season ofThe Office(in a good way) —those teased changes have not happened. The following two episodes revert to generic sitcom setups that allow for hijinks, though not too many that the storylines can’t all be reset back to normal by the time the credits roll.
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This may be becauseWhat We Do in the Shadowshas essentially always been an episodic show disguised as a serialized show. For example, Guillermo’s desire to become a vampire is a driving force for him in the same way as Lucy’s desire to be in Ricky’s show inI Love Lucy. Neither of them can truly achieve their goals if the show is going to maintain its shape. This is true even though Guillermo’s season 5 half-vampire transformation was one of the show’s most intriguing lore elements, which is probably why that overarching storyline has fallen by the wayside.
The best material is still built around Guillermo and the vacuum that his absence from the vampires' home creates. But canWhat We Do in the Shadowsseason 6 follow through on the promise of Jerry and commit to shaking up its characters enough to stick the landing by the time the series finale airs? That remains to be seen. What is more or less a guarantee is that, whatever happens,the show does have some final laughs to wring out of its premisebefore FX shuts it into its coffin for its super-slumber.
What We Do in the Shadows
What We Do in the Shadows, released in 2019, is a mockumentary series exploring the nightly lives of a group of centuries-old vampires residing in Staten Island. The comedic show delves into their interactions with each other and the modern world, providing a humorous take on the vampire genre.
