Ok, a quick recap: in 2014 Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi made a fake documentary (or, if you will, mockumentary – to paraphrase This is Spinal Tap) about four vampires living together in New Zealand. It was, frankly, hilarious.
In lieu of the proposed sequel, (focusing on the film’s werewolves, and called We’re Wolves) in 2016, the two developed a TV spin-off, following another group of vampires living on New York’s Staten Island. Instead of starring (although both Clement and Waititi have made several guest appearances) this time around the action focuses on Nandor (Kayvan Novak), a former prince in the Ottoman Empire; Laszlo (Matt Berry) who, er, acts exactly like Matt Berry; Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Laszlo’s wife, who also has a possessed doll of herself (don’t ask); energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) who bores the hell out of people then feeds on their negative energy; and Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), Nandor’s familiar, and unlikely kick-ass vampire killer – which tends to interfere with his desire to join the ranks of the undead.
At the end of Season Two, the gang were – for reasons – about to be executed by the local Vampiric Council. Luckily for them, Guillermo stepped in to rescue them, killing a hell of a lot of vampires in the process.
Season Three picks up with vampires imprisoning Guillermo – shocked at his newly-revealed vampire-slaying abilities – and the Supreme Vampiric Council (represented here by Wiatiti) – instead of seeking revenge for the massacre, promoting the four to leaders of the local vampiric council. For Laszlo and Colin Robinson, this mainly means taking advantage of the extensive vampire library – Colin researching his origins and Laszlo looking at porn. For Nandor and Nadja, there’s a (fairly mild) power struggle to see who’s in charge. The main change in dynamic, however, is a welcome recurring role for Kristen Schaal – an employee of the council (who previously appeared in the first season) who guides the inept vampires in their new duties.
Otherwise, it’s pretty much business as usual, with appearances from the world’s oldest vampire, a siren, werewolves, and Nandor taking up aerobics. For a series which has previously boasted appearances from the likes of Wesley Snipes, Tilda Swinton and Mark Hamill, there’s a high bar for guest stars, and while there are some great appearances from characters both old and new (who we won’t spoil, other than to say one of them rhymes with ‘Count Dracula’, which causes some confusion) they’re not quite as stellar as before. Still, there’s lots of silliness, with Laszlo being sleazy as hell (always a joy), Colin Robinson being as dull as ever (that’s a good thing, honest) and some genuine – and in one case shocking – character developments for a few of the gang.
Although still one of the sharpest comedies on TV, season three does occasionally start to feel mildly formulaic. Some of the wilder ideas of previous seasons are missed and the banter between characters feels more subdued than before. Even Colin Robinson is more interesting than previously. Fortunately, the show looks set to address this in the upcoming fourth season, with the last couple of episodes drastically shaking things up, and promising a radical, but needed change. These characters and the show are a joy to watch – arguably more so than the film – and the longer they and the show remain undead, the better.
WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS – SEASON 3 is available in the UK on BBC iPlayer from November 2nd
