The success of 'Shadows' lies in its ability to poke fun at itself

Michael Ordona
Los Angeles Times
The vampires of FX's "What We Do in the Shadows" show up for their neighbors' Super Bowl bash. From left, Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) and energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch).

Some might be confounded by FX's hit mockuseries "What We Do in the Shadows," a surprise Emmy nominee for comedy series. But its brain trust insists there's nothing to be confused about — at least nothing a toothpick and a pair of jeans can't fix.

"My parents watch a lot of TV, but when I asked them about the first season, they said, 'It took us a while to figure it out.' I was like, 'What is there to figure out?'" says co-showrunner and writer Paul Simms.

He and fellow writer Stefani Robinson both chuckle from the safety of their respective homes via a Zoom call.

"There's nothing underneath," Simms says, laughing again. "This is about vampires living in the real world and it's silliness and for better or worse, there's no social commentary or homework or anything like that."

Robinson, who is also an executive producer, sums up the show succinctly. "The easiest way that I've been able to describe it is, 'The Office' with vampires."

"Shadows" emanates from the 2014 indie fave feature written and directed by "Flight of the Conchords'" Jemaine Clement (who developed the TV series and serves as co-showrunner) and Taika Waititi.

Following that film's mockumentary format, the show hangs around with a new set of low-key vampires hilariously embodied by Matt Berry (the libidinous Laszlo), Natasia Demetriou (Nadja, the most arcane of the three), Kayvan Novak (Nandor, with a hilarious Eastern European accent) and Mark Proksch (as office-worker-type "energy vampire" Colin Robinson, whose very dullness sucks the energy from others). They are cared for by their frustrated human familiar, Guillermo (Harvey Guillen), who wants to be a vampire but might actually be a vampire slayer.

The show is nominated for eight 2020 Emmys, including three writing nods, one each for Robinson and Simms, and a third to their colleagues Sam Johnson and Chris Marcil.

Though Guillermo is on a journey of self-discovery, the vampires, having had their formative periods hundreds of years ago, change at a glacial pace. It's one sitcom setup after another, but the solutions are unique because the blood suckers are super-powered undead and have no regard for human life. Stylistically, Robinson nails it with the "Office" comparison, but it's also like "Seinfeld" with vampires.

Simms says, "They've each had more time than any of us will have in our lifetimes to grow, to learn new things, and they've completely squandered all those opportunities. Just sort of sat around."