The cast and crew of What We Do in the Shadows are clearly exhausted. Not just because they’re at the end of several months of filming – production plans have been delayed for months due to various strikes over the last year – but because this is the final season, the emotional weight of that idea is heavy When I That was in the air as we sat down for back-to-back interviews with the creatives behind the show.
Yana Gorskaya, an executive producer and director on the show and an editor on the original film of the popular spin-off, was asked what she felt about all this coming When she was thinking about it, she felt like she was about to cry. “I’m right [the cast]. I would very much like to work with them again, but in this group? All of this happening at the same time? It seemed so unlikely and it broke my heart.
Despite this, however, everyone working on the show assured the media attendees in the room that Dark Shadows is still Dark Shadows, and while the final run will feature some of the series’ biggest and funniest moments, We intentionally made it feel that way. “We really wanted to be careful not to make the final season enjoyable for only the 10 percent of fans who actually watched everything,” said writer and executive producer Paul Simms. “We didn’t want that to be the case. So, ‘This old character is back and everything is tied up.'”
The series’ sixth and final season will build on the previous season’s finale, in which Nandor’s familiar Guillermo realizes he’s not cut out to be a vampire: that’s the whole reason he’s living with one in the show. first place. “He has to go out into the real world and try to live like a normal person and get a real job,” Sims said.
Naturally, Guillermo’s vampire roommate tags along, and inadvertently lands a role at the same Wall Street institution where the former acquaintance finds himself working. “Nadya’s costumes are going to be really interesting this year,” said writer and executive producer Sarah Naftalis. “Lots of pictures of Working Girl were printed. What would a vampire version look like? Her hair was getting crazier than ever. She wanted the lingo, she wanted the small talk, she wanted the stocks to go up, up, up !”
Actor Natasha Demetriou waxed poetic when asked about her character Nadja’s storyline in the final season. “I just love being a working girl. I can wear heavy shoulder pads and have hair that my Greek family doesn’t have. If hair and shoulders could be bigger, this is the season,” she said.
While Demetriou’s character is taking over Wall Street, her centuries-old husband Laszlo (played by Matt Berry) finds himself busy working in another, previously unseen part of the mansion where they live. Create a monster. “This is him [attempts] Once every 100 years,” Berry said. “[His lab is] Go through the basement. You’ll reach the basement after passing the basement.
With Laszlo preoccupied with his basement lab and Nadja busy on Wall Street, you probably won’t be surprised that the two unfortunately have fewer scenes together in the final season. “They were arguing and not talking to each other,” Berry said, before turning to Demetriou and asking, “That’s not funny, is it?” Demetriou agreed.
This sentiment feeds into the show’s coming to an end, with Demetriou noting that more and more is being packed in every day. “I accidentally mentioned to Yana yesterday that I was going to dye my hair one last time, just to chat, and she cried,” Berry said.
“There’s a lot of, ‘Don’t… don’t say it!'” Demetrio said, his voice shaking.
Despite the air of sadness that hangs over the show, there are still plenty of exciting things the cast and crew are eager to talk about, like one episode this season that featured more than 300 extras in one scene — —This is the most entertaining episode of the show. “The scale of this show never ceases to amaze me,” Demetriou said.
During our tour of the set, we visited the Emmy Award-winning costume department, where we saw countless vampire costumes worn by extras throughout the decades. While the set filled the room with elaborate costumes, we also saw simpler costumes for the extras furthest from the camera; according to department head Laura Montgomery, the show’s costumes were simply from Bought on the internet and slightly modified, the first costumes were not designed by the team themselves.
Another episode this season that proved to be a challenge for the cast and crew was the meta storyline of the film, which was filmed within the show’s own documentary. Executive producer and director Kyle Newachek, known for his work on the TV series “Workaholics,” even plays the film’s director. “I directed both sets at the same time. It was really tricky to execute. But I really enjoyed it. Really, really enjoyed it,” Newachek said.
Gorskaya, who co-directs with Newaček, discussed some of the challenging episodes she directed this season. One of them is a homage to Apocalypse Now, starring Kayvan Novak as Nandor and Marlon Brando’s Kurtz in the film. ): A rebellious former army colonel hiding out in the Cambodian jungle. She describes another episode as a cross between “Rear Window” and “Ghostbusters,” and you’ll find there’s hardly any connective tissue between the two films. “Our television budget is very stable,” Gorskaya said. “But these crews are resourceful and creative, and we always succeed in completing these big missions. It’s just careful planning, and it’s the only way we can get it done as planned.”
When Nandor isn’t delivering his best Marlon Brando appearance, his character is serving as a janitor in Guillermo’s office. “It gives him purpose, and he likes making minimum wage,” Novak said. “He was cleaning the office and also keeping an eye on Guillermo. He was kind of like a guardian angel, but at the same time he was basically just embarrassing Guillermo. Guillermo was trying to move on, but he wouldn’t let him.
In between interviews, media attendees were able to watch a scene the cast filmed for the season premiere, which focuses on their old vampire friend Jerry (played by Patrick Michael O’Brien), questioning why the crew hasn’t filmed it yet Arrive at the “New World”. Countless shots of the group trying to answer this question show just how much improvisation goes into this show, with each vampire doing something different but equally funny every time.
When talking about improv, Novak revealed the biggest difference between filming “Dark Shadows” now and when it first started. “I would never do that [improv] During the pilot period,” Novak said. “Now I feel more comfortable, confident and relaxed. Earlier you would have found a lot to worry about, now it feels like play.
Of course, fans of the show know that there are not three, but four vampires living under the same roof. Colin Robinson, an “energy vampire” who feeds on people who are bored to death, is also interrogated by Jerry for not doing anything in the past few decades. Mark Prokesh, who plays Robinson, also talked about the show’s improvisational nature, comparing it to his experience playing Dwight Schrute’s cousin Nate on “The Office.” “You need to get your lines done in the first two or three takes and then go from there,” Prokesh said. “It was definitely the writing of the show, [the improv] Just the cherry on top.
Prokesh also touched on his character’s arc in the final season, which included Colin Robinson’s search for true companionship, which is difficult for a character who has to bore people to survive. “Colin wants a friend! I think it’s a natural conclusion [to his story],” Prokesh said.
Needless to say, it sounds like Dark Shadows is trying to maintain a balance between making another season and a final season with storylines that will satisfy character arcs while also being truly sensational, depending on which episode this episode borrowed from Apocalypse Now How many. Regardless of how it all unfolds, the emotions of the cast and crew are flowing as they approach the final curtain, and it’s clear that the show has emerged from the film’s shadow and taken on a life of its own. It just belongs to you.
