What We Do in the Shadows Returns to FX Canada

FX’s critically adored vamp-com returns for a fourth season of ghoulish guffaws 

Last we saw America’s most quotidian bloodsuckers, they were all going their separate ways. Energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) departed Earth for the afterlife; Nandor (Kayvan Novak) set off on an “Eat, Prey, Love” journey; Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) accepted a position on the Worldwide Vampiric Council in London; and—to take his place on the trans-Atlantic adventure with his wife—Laszlo (Matt Berry) locked Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) in a crate filled with Oreos and Pedialyte.   

FX CanadaLaszlo’s actions were not a panicked response but instead a realization of his responsibility as caretaker of the creature that clawed its way out the deceased Colin’s chest cavity. As it turns out, Baby Colin (also played by Proksch), a creepy toddler with the face of his predecessor, is also a bit of an energy drain, not unlike his pop. “Colin is a very, very active child with way too much energy,” says executive producer and writer Paul Simms. “He is something of a drain on the energy of the household, but not where he’ll bore you to death; more the way you find yourself exhausted at the end of the day if you have a two- or three-year-old.” 

Inevitably, all the vampires do return to Staten Island, where they find their mansion on the verge of total structural collapse, mostly due to Laszlo’s inertia. (And, ironically, his purely theoretical obsession with the home improvement show Go Flip Yourself.) “The only person who would ever pay any attention to keeping the house in good shape is Guillermo, and with him gone, Laszlo is someone who is happy just to sit on a couch with an old horse blanket around him,” says Simms, whose creative team went to town destroying the elaborate set. “It was very fun for our production designers to take our old mansion that we have and make it even more decrepit to the point that walls are caving in and there’s raccoons running around.”  

FX CanadaHaving to spruce up the mansion prompts Nadja to realize her dream of opening the hottest vampire nightclub in the Tri-State area. “It’s better than anything you could ever imagine ever,” Demetriou enthuses. “It’s everything you could ever want. There’s no limits. They are the undead, so as crazy as you want to go in a nightclub, you can go there at Nadja’s nightclub.” It’s also an opportunity to explore a new side of Demetriou’s character.  “We’ve always talked about how Nadja was turned into a vampire when she was very young and never had a chance to be in the working world or be a boss,” says Simms. “One of the most fun things about the nightclub is her finally getting the chance to be in charge of something and see what that power does to her.”  

FX CanadaGuillermo, meanwhile, finds himself on a powerful emotional track that touches on his love for family and for others. “At the beginning of this season, Nandor has decided to get married and asks Guillermo to be his best man, which is a huge honour for Guillermo, who already is so fed up with the situation that he has one foot out the door,” Simms explains. “It’s really his love for Nandor that keeps him there.”  

Their world continues to expand with the introduction of more mystical creatures. In the season’s second episode (which airs right after the first on Tuesday), Nandor encounters a genie who grants him 50 wishes. “Nandor blows through all of them within about three episodes,” Simms reveals. Other supernaturals will make their entrance in the fourth episode, called “The Night Market.”  

“It is the biggest, most elaborate episode we’ve done,” says Simms. “All of the vampires go to the Night Market, which is where all of the supernatural creatures in the city gather in a hidden place to barter and trade with each other. It’s really an amazing episode, and we have the budget figures to prove it.”  

FX CanadaWith seasons five and six already ordered by FX, the creators promise that before the show’s end, they’ll tackle the identities of the documentary crew. “We’ve discussed it in the writers’ room a few times, and it is something that, before the series is over, we are going to—I’m not going to say ‘reveal’—but deal with,” says Simms. On that note, Kristen Schaal, who in season three joined the show as The Guide, suggests that the crew might consist exclusively of vampires, which is why they are unafraid of the characters living in the house. “That would be a great idea that now we can’t do because you just said it out loud in front of everyone,” Simms jokes. “Actually, that’s one idea I’d never thought of before, but that is a good one.” 

What We Do in the Shadows airs Tuesdays at 7 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. (repeating at 8 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 10 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.) on FX Canada