When Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi first brought a documentary crew into a flat in Wellington, New Zealand, nobody really knew if the joke could travel. The 2014 film was a lightning-in-a-bottle moment for mockumentary fans. So, when FX announced they were transplanting the concept for a series, the skepticism was thick. People worried. Could you actually make What We Do in the Shadows New York City a reality without losing that low-budget, indie charm?
It turns out, you can. In fact, Staten Island—the "forgotten borough"—became the perfect breeding ground for ancient vampires who can’t figure out how to pay a cable bill or navigate a zoning board meeting.
By shifting the setting to the grimy, bureaucratic, and strangely suburban sprawl of NYC’s outer reaches, the show found a vein of comedy that the original movie couldn't touch. It isn’t just about being a vampire. It’s about being a vampire who has to deal with the New York City Department of Buildings. That is a very specific kind of hell.
The Staten Island Setup: Why Geography Matters
Location is everything. If the show were set in Manhattan, it would be too sleek. Too Sex and the City but with fangs. By placing Nandor, Nadja, Laszlo, and Colin Robinson in a crumbling Victorian manor in Staten Island, the writers tapped into the inherent "outsider" energy of the borough itself. Staten Island is NYC, but it also isn't. It's a place where people go to be left alone, which is ideal for a group of bloodsuckers who haven't updated their wardrobe since the Ottoman Empire.
Think about the Council Room scenes. When the vampires travel into Manhattan to meet the Supreme Vampiric Council, the contrast is jarring. Manhattan is where the power is. Staten Island is where the junk mail piles up.
This geographical divide allows for a massive amount of world-building. We get to see the "Night Market" hidden under the 59th Street Bridge, a sprawling subterranean bazaar where familiar supernatural creatures haggle over enchanted trinkets and human organs. It feels like a real, lived-in version of What We Do in the Shadows New York City that extends far beyond the walls of their house.
The Colin Robinson Factor
We have to talk about the energy vampire. Honestly, Colin Robinson is the smartest addition to the lore. While the original film focused on traditional "bloody" vampires, the series realized that the most dangerous predator in a modern office environment isn't a guy with fangs—it’s the guy who talks about his dreams for forty-five minutes.
Mark Proksch plays Colin with a terrifyingly accurate banality. He’s the personification of "per my last email." By putting an energy vampire in the middle of a New York corporate setting, the show creates a relatable horror. We've all met a Colin Robinson. We've all felt our souls leave our bodies during a PowerPoint presentation. His presence anchors the supernatural absurdity in a reality that feels painfully local to anyone who has ever worked a 9-to-5 in the tri-state area.
Real Locations and Surreal Situations
The show does a fantastic job of referencing actual New York landmarks while keeping the "Shadows" vibe intact. Remember the episode where they try to get a pride parade organized? Or when they accidentally end up at a Super Bowl party? These are quintessential American experiences viewed through the lens of ancient, confused immortals.
Local Lore and Guest Stars
The cameos are where the show really flexes its New York muscles. You’ve got appearances from icons like Tilda Swinton, Wesley Snipes, and Danny Trejo, all playing "themselves" as members of the council. But it’s the smaller, local-feeling interactions that kill. Like Laszlo’s brief stint as "Jackie Daytona," a regular human bartender in Pennsylvania. It's not NYC, but it captures that gritty, blue-collar East Coast energy perfectly.
The production actually films mostly in Toronto for tax reasons—let’s be real, that’s how TV works—but the set design captures the essence of a decaying Staten Island estate with obsessive detail. The taxidermy, the velvet drapes, the layers of dust; it all feels like a house that has been sitting in the damp New York air for two hundred years.
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The Evolution of Guillermo de la Cruz
If the vampires are the heart of the show, Guillermo is the spine. Harvey Guillén’s portrayal of the long-suffering familiar turned badass Van Helsing descendant is the best character arc on television right now.
Initially, Guillermo was just a punching bag. A guy who desperately wanted to be a vampire but was stuck cleaning up half-eaten corpses. But as the seasons progressed, especially as he navigated the literal and figurative underground of New York, he became the most capable person in the room. His struggle is the ultimate New York story: the overworked assistant who is actually more talented than his bosses but can't get a promotion.
He lives in a literal closet. If that isn't the most New York City thing you've ever heard, I don't know what is.
The Bureaucracy of the Undead
One of the funniest things the show explores is how much paperwork is involved in being a monster. Whether it’s trying to get a "green card" for a vampire or dealing with the logistics of owning a nightclub in a residential zone, What We Do in the Shadows New York City leans heavily into the administrative nightmares of the city.
Take the episode where they attend a local council meeting. They want to turn the whole neighborhood into a vampire-only zone. Instead of using supernatural powers to mind-control the room, they get bogged down in the three-minute speaking limit and the pedantry of their neighbors. It’s brilliant because it suggests that the true enemy of an ancient warlord isn't a stake—it's a middle-manager with a clipboard.
Why the Comedy Sticks
Mockumentaries are hard. They can get repetitive. But this show avoids the "Office" tropes by leaning into high-concept physical comedy and incredibly tight writing. The dialogue is snappy, often improvised in feel, and deeply weird.
- The Baron's Night Out: Watching an ancient, terrifying vampire lord discover the joy of eating a pizza crust (and then immediately vomiting it up in a gout of purple flame) is peak comedy.
- The Bat Transformation: It’s a simple "BAT!" yell from Laszlo, but it never gets old. It’s a recurring gag that feels like a secret handshake with the audience.
- The Creature from the Lake: The show isn't afraid to get gross or weirdly sentimental, often at the same time.
Navigating the Legacy
As the show moves toward its final seasons, the stakes (pun intended) have actually started to matter. We’ve seen character deaths, rebirths, and massive shifts in the status quo. It’s rare for a comedy to maintain this level of quality over multiple years, especially one based on a cult film.
The secret sauce is the chemistry. Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Mark Proksch, and Harvey Guillén have a comedic rhythm that feels like a veteran jazz band. They know when to step back and let someone else riff. When Matt Berry bellows a line, he’s doing it with the confidence of someone who knows his castmates are going to catch the pass.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans and Newcomers
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the world or just want to appreciate the craft of the show, here is how to engage with it:
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- Watch the 2014 Movie First: It provides the DNA. You don't need it to understand the show, but the cameos in Season 1 will land much harder if you know who Deacon, Vladislav, and Viago are.
- Pay Attention to the Background: The set decorators for the Staten Island house are geniuses. There are jokes hidden in the portraits, the books on the shelves, and the clutter in the basement that you won't catch on a first watch.
- Track the Van Helsing Lore: The show actually takes its vampire mythology somewhat seriously. The rules about silver, crosses, and invitations are consistent, which makes the moments they break those rules more significant.
- Follow the Production Design: Look at how the costumes evolve. Nadja’s outfits, in particular, are a masterclass in gothic fashion that somehow feels both ancient and bizarrely trendy in a "Brooklyn flea market" kind of way.
The series is a rare example of a spin-off that might actually eclipse its source material. It took the core idea of "vampires are just roommates" and expanded it into a sprawling, hilarious, and occasionally touching exploration of what it means to be an outsider in the biggest city in the world. Staten Island may never be the same, and honestly, neither will the mockumentary genre.
Next Steps for Your Viewing Experience
To get the most out of your "Shadows" marathon, start by tracking the specific New York boroughs mentioned in the scripts. The writers have a very specific "local" sense of humor—especially regarding the rivalry between Staten Island and the rest of the city. Watching the series with a map of the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) handy actually makes the "travel" jokes significantly funnier.
Additionally, check out the "After the Shadows" segments or behind-the-scenes interviews with the costume designers. The sheer amount of physical work that goes into making the actors look "dead" while filming in high-definition is a testament to the show's high production value. You’ll appreciate the craft significantly more when you see the layers of lace and prosthetic work involved in a single scene.