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[Editor's note: The following contains major spoilers for Season 6 of What We Do in the Shadows.]
Summary
- The FX series 'What We Do in the Shadows' ends with Nandor and Guillermo going all-in on their friendship, sans the documentary crew.
- Co-stars Kayvan Novak and Kristen Schaal reflect on the show's end, proud of what it was able to accomplish over six seasons.
- The final episode highlights little character growth, emphasizing the ensemble's consistent and unchanging dynamics.
After six seasons, the FX comedy series What We Do in the Shadows has come to an end and the documentary crew has left the mansion, leaving vampire roommates Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) to continue their lives off-camera. Throughout the season, Nandor was knocked off-kilter with Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) moving out of the mansion and figuring out what it means to stand on his own two human feet. At the same time, The Guide (Kristen Schaal) not only found a friend in Jerry the Vampire, the long-forgotten roommate that finally woke up from his slumber, but also receives a token of affection from Cravensworth’s Monster (Andy Assaf), finally making her feel just the slightest bit accepted by the vampires she’s spent so much time trying to win over. And once they’re officially left alone in the mansion together, with no cameras to talk to, Guillermo and Nandor decide to go all-in on their friendship.
During this interview with Collider, co-stars Novak and Schaal shared how much fun they had on set working with each other and the laughs that always came with that. They also talked about what they remember about the first time they worked together, a funny mishap Schaal had with her vampire fangs, how bittersweet it is to say goodbye to a series they’re still so proud of, why their characters haven’t really changed at all, the tribute to The Usual Suspects, how Novak felt about where things were left with Nandor and Guillermo, and all the ideas he has for possible spin-offs.
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Collider: What do you remember about the first scene that you guys did together? What did you most enjoy about working with each other on this?
KRISTEN SCHAAL: I remember Kayvan being so friendly. I just remember he would always have some tea or give me a treat. He’s just really easy to work with. You’re so charming when you come on set. He would come in a breath of fresh air, full of joy. He was so happy to be on that set, working on this show.
KAYVAN NOVAK: That’s true.
SCHAAL: You could always count on him to be in a good mood.
NOVAK: Thank you. It was my happy place, definitely. When I think of working with Kristen, I remember the first season, when she did her one episode. It was a quite brutal schedule with a lot of night shooting and a weird trolley that she had to stand on that was not secure and that she nearly fell off the front of. I remember being outdoors and being cold, and then being indoors and still being cold, and having to like wait for her to reposition because she did that shape shifting thing. And then, when she came back in Season 3, and she hadn’t worn her fangs in a while, she did this scene and the fangs are too big for her mouth. She couldn’t speak. They had to get her different fangs, and then she had to redo the scene and you could thankfully understand what she was saying. I found that really fun. She probably found that mortifying, but I found that hilarious, in that moment. But I know she was furious. She was like, “What are you doing to me? What the fuck are these things I’ve got in my mouth?”
SCHAAL: It was my fault because I did one episode in Season 1, and then they called me back for Season 3. It was the height of COVID and they were like, “Do you wanna come down and see if your fangs still fit?” And I was like, “No, I’m sure they do.” And then, I roll in and they didn’t give me my fangs until right before we shot the scene. In the two years since the show, I’d had a couple of root canals, so my mouth shape had changed, and I couldn’t talk. One of your main things to do, as an actor, is to say your lines, and I literally could not say them.It was an actor’s nightmare. I’ll never forget it. The lesson is, when they ask if you wanna come down to test the prosthetic that goes in your mouth, regardless of whether or not there’s a pandemic raging that they don’t have a vaccine for yet, just go.
Saying Goodbye After Six Seasons Was Bittersweet for the Cast of 'What We Do in the Shadows'
Image via FX How does it feel to get to the end of a project like this? Was there a sad last day on set, or did you just feel accomplished finishing a series, after all these seasons, and going out on top? How does it feel to say goodbye and leave a character like this behind when you’ve played them for a while?
SCHAAL: Honestly, for me, it’s a little bittersweet, because I’m really proud of the show and the show is so good. I do think we are leaving the show at a high point. I don’t think anyone could be like, “Oh, it lost its shine and I stopped watching it.” No one was saying, “I stopped watching,” after any season, which is a real point of pride. But I feel like my character has more to go. That’s how I feel.
NOVAK: After every season of shooting this, I’ve always felt a sense of immense pride mixed in with exhaustion. The last season was different because, going in, I knew it was the last season. And then, I forgot it was the last season. And then, near the end of the last season, I remembered again that it was the last season. Really, it was anticipating saying goodbye to everyone. You still feel that sense of accomplishment. You still feel that sense of pride that you did go out on top, whatever that even means. Going out on top, to me, is meaningless. There is no “on top,” there’s just doing good work. I think we all had a sense that we did good work, right up to the end, and I think that’s a rare thing.
SCHAAL: I also feel like we got a huge gift in knowing it was the final season, so we could give you this incredible finale. I’ve been on a lot of shows where we didn’t know it was ending, and then it’s like, “Oh, that’s too bad that we ended on a cliffhanger.” I’m talking about The Last Man [on Earth].
Kayvan Novak Says 'What We Do in the Shadows' Vampire Roommates Didn't Need to Change, but Did Make Small Improvements
Image via FX The final episode is all about how everything stays the same, but these characters have grown throughout the show. They’re vampires, so sometimes they forget how far they’ve come because time doesn’t have the same meaning to them. Do you feel like they learned anything?
NOVAK: No, and that’s the beauty of them. They don’t really learn. They just stay the same. If Nandor was a completely different person to who he was in Season 2, then he’s not Nandor anymore. He’s someone else. They don’t need to change, especially for the audience, because you’ve got an ensemble to enjoy.
I feel like Nandor has learned to express his feelings a little bit with Guillermo. That’s some definite growth.
NOVAK: Yeah, I’ll give him that. I wasn’t going to kiss him. The words were compensation for all the times he might have been a bit mean to Guillermo and could have handled things better.
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Kristen, The Guide just really wanted to be accepted as part of this group. Do you think she feels that she has been?
SCHAAL: No, I don’t think so. I think they’re more cool with having her around. Maybe all she needed was a little bit of approval, and then she’s moved on. I feel like The Guide may be a little less afraid of authority, towards the end of Season 6, than she was in Season 3. She’s maybe a little less of a rule follower. Those are some improvements for her.
I loved the little tribute to The Usual Suspects. What was your reaction to that? What was it like to get to wear a different outfit for that episode?
SCHAAL: It was crazy to not have fangs in my mouth and to just talk. It was so comfortable. It was really fun, and also just another feather in this show’s hat with how it can literally go anywhere. It’s just such a unique show that can pull something like that off. I really enjoyed that day.
What was it like to work with Cravensworth’s Monster?
SCHAAL: Andy [Assaf] was a dream to work with. He’s a local Toronto actor from Second City, and he was just so down and game. He was very funny and perfect for it. He spent a lot of time in prosthetics. My only regret about him is that he came on in Season 6 because I think we would have had fun together every season. We ended up having some, so we ran off to the beach together – me as The Guide and him as the Monster. We went out into the beaches of Toronto because we had a six-hour break and we weren’t sure what to do. We got permission, but it was funny seeing him running around the lakefront, looking like that. What’s weirder is how nobody batted an eye.
Kayvan Novak Thinks Nandor and Guillermo's 'What We Do in the Shadows' Ending Was a Nice Compromise
Kayvan, what did you think of the final moments between Nandor and Guillermo, and them ending up in the coffin together?
NOVAK: It was sweet. I’ve always immensely enjoyed my scenes with Harvey and working with him. The chemistry that we have together makes that relationship all the more believable. Him joining me in the coffin, I’m sure a lot of fans wish that he joined me in a bubble bath, and I’ve got the fan art to prove it. You don’t get everything that you wish for, but that’s okay. I think it was a nice compromise. They disappeared down the long, dark tunnel together. It’s possibly not the long, dark tunnel that some of the fan artists were hoping for, but again, you don’t always get what you wish for.
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It just made me want a spinoff. I would love a spinoff for any and every one of these characters but would definitely watch Nandor and Guillermo fighting crime together. What do you think would make the best spinoff for these characters?
SCHAAL: Oh, I would love it if The Guide tried to be an actress.
NOVAK: I would like to see The Guide at home with her crows. She’s got a lot of pet crows.
SCHAAL: Ravens. Yeah, that could be good.
NOVAK: She’s moved to Idaho and is just breeding ravens on her raven farm. I pitch a spinoff to FX almost every other week and I’ve heard nothing back about any of them.
SCHAAL: Really?
NOVAK: No. But honestly, logically, the way forward for Nandor and Guillermo, and I could definitely imagine this, is if Nandor and Guillermo launch a podcast so that they can stay semi-relevant, like a lot of people that start their own podcasts. It would be simple to film and it would just require them to entice or hypnotize a guest to come and join them. They’d chat to them for an hour, and then put it out and see what happens. The documentary is ending, so what else are they gonna do? Maybe Nandor could become an influencer or something. Or you could do a prequel about Nandor when he was Relentless and call it Relentless. You’d just need to throw a budget at it that’s similar to what they throw at Shōgun, which is never gonna happen. Or you could just go animated.
What We Do in the Shadows offers a comedic glimpse into the nightly lives of four vampire roommates—Nandor, Laszlo, Nadja, and energy vampire Colin Robinson—residing in Staten Island. Alongside their human familiar, Guillermo, they navigate modern challenges like paying rent, attending social events, and dealing with supernatural politics, all while maintaining their centuries-old habits.
Release Date March 27, 2019
Seasons 6
Streaming Service(s) Hulu
Showrunner Paul Simms
English (US) ·