Harvey Guillén, Kayvan Novak, and Mark Proksch Talk “Shadows” End
As the hit FX comedy "What We Do in the Shadows" draws to a close, we talk to the cast about its queer inclusivity.
Perhaps the most heinous crime of the Emmys is that What We Do in the Shadows, the FX hit that just kicked off its sixth and final season, has not taken home a statuette for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Not to stray too far into the woods about this, but it’s funnier than Hacks (which I think is very funny), it’s funnier than Abbott Elementary (which I also think is very funny), and it’s certainly funnier than The Bear (but then, Edgar Allan Poe is funnier than The Bear).
But if comedy is purely defined by laughs produced, then minute-for-minute, Shadows has been the drop-dead funniest show on television since 2019. Nothing comes close to achieving its insane comedic melange of absurdist, raunchy, morbid, silly, and even legendary (season one’s jaw-dropping vampire tribunal) humor.
Other comedies may be more subtle and sophisticated, sure, but few make you laugh as hard, as often, and as honestly as Shadows.
The series was inspired by the offbeat 2014 indie film of the same name by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, in which a household of vampires grappled with the trials of living night-to-night, paying the bills, keeping the household tidy (of human guts and blood), and so forth.
The series, set in suburban Staten Island, went much further by incorporating gags for nearly every famous monster of filmland (this year it’s Frankenstein’s turn at, um… bat).
“There were times when we were having conversations where we were like, ‘What monster have we not used?'” says Paul Simms, the show’s executive producer and showrunner.
“I think we always talked about a chupacabra, but we never figured out the actual right way to do it, partially because even in folklore, the descriptions of the chupacabra vary so wildly.”
The series is notable for its powerful queer sensibilities as well as its laissez-faire attitude about sex — everyone literally bangs everybody else at some point, and nobody, um…bats an eye. More directly, one of its main characters, Guillermo, a familiar played with magnificent nuance by Harvey Guillén, came out as gay a few seasons back.
“He felt fearful of being his authentic self,” Guillen says of Guillermo remaining in the closet for so long. “I think that that’s why a lot of queer people relate to horror and horror comedy. We’ve always been the person who’s been on the outside. We’ve always been the outsiders.”
Guillen himself is gay and, as a result of the series, has been embraced by the LGBTQ community. “There’s so many things that I’ve checked-marked that people hadn’t seen on television before,” he says proudly.
“Like a queer Latino on television kicking ass. When I was growing up, those were not characters that I saw on TV at all. And now to have that encompassing one character on a TV show that’s a comedy, it’s been a blessing.”
Mark Proksch, who plays energy vampire Colin Robinson, who drains his subjects by being an insufferable drone, is happy the show embraced its queer sensibilities. “What I really love about our show is that we depict sexual fluidity in a way where it’s just commonplace,” he says. “The one thing that [the vampires] are actually enlightened about is their sexuality. We’re idiots about everything else.”
“It’s not an LGBTQ show,” adds Kayvan Novak, who plays the lovably buffoonish old-world vampire, Nandor. “It doesn’t have a disclaimer saying this show is LGBTQ and all the characters in it are bisexual and trisexual and non-binary and yada-yada-yada. It doesn’t really deal with labels, and I think that is to its strength.
“It’s a lesson in inclusivity, and the way that you actually encourage inclusivity is not necessarily by putting a sign up that says, ‘If you don’t like this, this, and this, then you’re not welcome in here. Go away.’ People like what they like and they take what they want. [Our show does it] in a very elegant way.”
As Shadows (bat)wings toward a finale, the cast all agree: no one will be disappointed in how it (mummy)wraps.
“I can’t wait for the rest of the world to see this season and particularly the finale,” says Simms. “I think it’ll surprise people, and it’ll amuse people. I’m happy with it.”
“I was concerned at first because I didn’t know how we would end it,” says Guillén. “And for me, when I got to the ending, I was like, ‘Wow, this is perfect.’ It’s left in a way where…anything’s possible, and things aren’t always what they seem.”
“It’s good to go out on a high note,” adds Proksch. “And I really do think this season is the funniest — and I have nothing to gain by saying that. The finale is so perfect for our show — it’s not a letdown. It’s not going to make people groan. It’s a great finale.”
New episodes of What We Do in the Shadows air weekly on Mondays on FX and stream the next day on Hulu through Dec. 16.
The entire series is streaming on Hulu. Visit www.hulu.com.
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