‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Season 5 Is Another Hilarious Dose of Vampire Mayhem

Alci Rengifo

FX’s “What We Do in the Shadows” has managed to sustain that feel common to many good comedies in that every new season is a welcome return to its world, keeping what works while adding new elements. Plainly said, its concept of dysfunctional vampire roomies remains compulsively watchable. There’s a bit of the addictive appeal of those trashy early attempts at “reality TV” from when the concept was fresh. This is of course satirizing all of that through the idea of the undead balancing their cosmic crises with everyday problems. After attempting a few big twists over the last two seasons, this one gets back to basics and becomes an even better experience.

The main mockumentary subject is still human familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), who is now watching over a big Staten Island house that’s feeling too mundane. Everyone’s back to square one after a few recent failures. Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) saw her business burn down. Marwa (Parisa Fakhri) left and so Nandor (Kayvan Novak) is single again. Colin (Mark Proksch) is no longer a baby and has re-grown into a soul-sucking bore. Not only is Guillermo bored, he’s also decided to be assertive about his longtime goal as a familiar of eventually being turned into a vampire. Since his masters never get around to it, Guillermo goes to Derek (Chris Sandiford), a friend who works at a store who happens to already be a vampire. After promptly paying with cash stolen from Nadja, Guillermo is bitten by Derek and indeed, apparently gets transformed. But now he has to figure out how to break the news to the gang, since being turned by someone other than them means death.

By now it doesn’t need to be repeated again that the show is a spinoff of the acclaimed Taika Waititi movie from 2014. As a series, “What We Do in the Shadows” is now firmly its own brand. The ongoing blend of simple laughs and outrageous turns keeps working, especially because it is all connected to down to earth concerns. Guillermo going around his masters to get turned by Derek is the equivalent of going around your supervisor to get a promotion. It adds a strong secret that will be under the surface throughout the season, but also leads to some hilarious gags. After being turned, Guillermo becomes more confident and even mean. Nandor assumes it must be because they all forget Guillermo’s birthday. Laszlo is not so naïve and gets suspicious, later becoming an accomplice to the familiar. Nandor of course figures the two are getting closer because Laszlo is jealous of his Guillermo surely worships him. Kristen Schaal is great fun returning as The Guide, lounging around and helping with issues such as Nadja discovering her doll doppelganger may carry her spirit, but is woefully a virgin.

Few comedies are as fun as this one when it comes to following the characters in the outside world. A trip to the mall is like a stroll through another planet for this crew, though Laszlo has no time for workers approaching you with offers from the shops. When approached to help with a gay pride parade, Nandor needs to be told a float is not a chariot from which one drags dead enemies. Laszlo, who is bi, is totally in however and has fun with the whole venture, even making a float. When Nadja swaps spirits with her doppelganger, who then goes out to a bar desperately looking to be deflowered, it becomes embarrassingly good slapstick. The dialogue also gleefully pokes fun at other famous vampire titles like “Blade” as Guillermo tries to figure out just what kind of vampire he has been turned into. It also turns out Colin’s music to set the mood for sex is Dave Matthews Band.

Quite a lot happens this season and yet it’s not overloaded. “What We Do in the Shadows” works in quick servings, proving again why some of the best comedies rarely go beyond the 26-minute mark. You can tune in, take a break and then come back for more. The secret appeal is that we’re more alike with these vampires than we would like to admit. Everyone has struggled to get promoted by dismissive bosses, and we’ve all made snap decisions we then need to face the consequences for. In a world where everyone is forced to live with roommates, especially in the big cities, some of the show’s wackier antics won’t seem so supernatural. Guillermo is easy to root for, because he is everyone watching, but the rest of the long-fanged cast has also cast a spell that refuses to wear off.

“What We Do in the Shadows” season five premieres July 13 and airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on FX.