‘It’s sad and amazing’: Staten Island vampires discuss ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Season 6, what to expect in the series finale and whether they’d reprise their roles (2024)

Editor’s Note: This story contains spoilers from seasons 5 and 6 of “What We Do in the Shadows.” Proceed with caution.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — After six seasons on the air, the vampires are calling it a night.

“What We Do in the Shadows,” FX’s Emmy-winning mockumentary comedy based on the 2014 cult-classic film of the same name by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, has charmed audiences for years with its earnest hilarity; outlandish characters; outrageous and more-than-occasionally obscene plot lines and details (topiary sculptures of vulvas, anyone?); and successful turn at physical comedy rarely seen on TV today.

But everything good must end.

Gearing up to say goodbye was, understandably, quite difficult, series stars Natasia Demetriou and Matt Berry told reporters from the Advance/SILive.com and other media outlets during a set visit earlier this year. The show — set on Staten Island but filmed in Toronto, Canada — wrapped filming in late spring.

“You can’t deny it,” said Demetriou, who plays Nadja. “We’ve known this is going to be the last season since we started ... It’s sad and amazing, it’s been a huge part of our lives.”

Pieces of selves in characters

Perhaps one of the more iconic attributes about Nadja and Laszlo — outside of their magnificent clothing and tendencies to go from zero to 100 instantaneously — are their intonations.

But did you know both Demetriou and Berry drew inspiration for their characters’ voices from their own lives?

“I’m Cypriot,” said Demetriou, “so [Nadja’s] voice came from my family, from my dad’s side of the family. It seemed appropriate when I got the script, when the whole thing started. ... I just really was like, this makes sense to me that she would have that voice.”

In the case of Berry, it hits even closer to home.

“I was asked by Jemaine (Clement) to do this, and then I said well what sort of accent would you like me to do? Because I was, you know, sort of ready to do whatever he wanted,” said Berry. “And he said I’d like you to speak in your own accent. Exactly how you sound now. So that’s it, I just did what I was told.”

Goodbye, Dolly

A quintessential addition to the vampire mansion was Dolly, a porcelain doll that harbored Nadja’s human spirit. First introduced in Season 2 (before joining the gang basically full time in ensuing seasons), the character is voiced by, who else, Demetriou.

The actress admitted she’s become incredibly attached to the prop-turned-Nadja pillar.

“I’m so deranged around that doll,” said Demetriou. “It’s so lifelike. ... Obviously you go through your head and you’re like, ‘Am I ever going to be in a show or film again where there’s a doll that’s made in the likeness of me? There’s a me trapped inside it?’ No. I don’t know. Probably not.”

Demetriou joked she’d tried to steal Dolly many times, “but they’ve got a close eye on the doll.”

What to expect in the series finale — and taking a look back

As for what else is to come in Season 6 — and what to expect in the series finale — Berry summed it up with a simple: “You won’t f------ believe it.”

“Yeah, I can’t beat that,” Demetriou told reporters. “It’s f------ brilliant.”

Reflecting on the series as a whole, Berry had a hard time pinpointing a singular favorite moment over its multi-year run.

“It’s rare that you’re caught in something that is sort of like freeing, and because of the nature of the characters, and the fact that they’re sort of fantastical and the undead, they can say and do absolutely anything,” said Berry. “In comedy these days, that’s pretty impossible. That has just been the biggest gift that we could all have had ... The fact that we are making comedy, and we’re kind of free to try anything out through these characters, has been, you know, a blessing.”

Demetriou, who called the series “one of the most creatively fulfilling shows ever,” similarly couldn’t pinpoint one specific highlight.

“It’s just been amazing. ... It was my first big job, so for me, I’m still like, I won’t ever work again,” laughed the actress. “This is the biggest job I’ve ever done.”

Trouble for Nadja and Laszlo?

This season, Laszlo will attempt to create new life by reanimating a cadaver, while Nadja will enter the workforce.

But the couple will also have to navigate the friction caused by Jerry (Mike O’Brien), a long-forgotten roommate who has been in a “super slumber” for 50 years. Jerry reminds Nadja and Laszlo of an unresolved tiff between the couple, which is quickly reignited.

“It’s quite realistic that, you know, you show a married couple, they’re not going to always kind of get on. But the downside of it for us was they’re having a row, and they’re not speaking to each other.

“That meant we didn’t do as many scenes with each other. So that wasn’t fun for us.”

As for the problems Jerry causes?

“I think [Jerry’s] a piece of s---, ruining a happily married couple’s life,” quipped Demetriou.

Would they reprise their roles?

Though they lamented the series drawing to a close, and having to step away from the characters they’ve so skillfully built over six seasons, don’t expect to see Berry and Demetriou reprise their roles as Laszlo and Nadja in, say, a decade.

“I think they’ve done pretty much everything,” said Berry. “You know, they’ve been through some pretty crazy things.”

“There’s also the issue that, as much as I wish we were vampires, we’re not,” said Demetriou, with Berry nodding in agreement. “So if in 10, 15 years, we’re supposed to be frozen in time when we return, yeah I mean the CGI budget would have to be [clicks tongue]. You’d have to sort of green screen out some Zimmer frames.”

Looking back, the show was everything Demetriou wanted.

“I just love playing this character,” said Demetriou. “I get to be in a comedy show that really puts being funny at the top of everything, and that to me is why I wanted to get into acting: To be funny. ... I really love having a laugh.”

What’s on tap for the sixth and final season

Season 6 of the series will follow fan favorite familiar-turned-failed vampire Guillermo (Harvey Guillen) as he reevaluates his life and gets a new job. Meanwhile, the vampires will reevaluate everything, too. When their forgotten roommate, Jerry, appears after a five decades-long “super slumber,” Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Nadja, Laszlo and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) realize they haven’t accomplished — or conquered — much of anything in the last 50 years. On a hunt for purpose and meaning, the group — which includes The Guide (Kristen Schaal) — will enter the workforce; visit New Hampshire; go to a human dinner party; fete The Baron; and conjure a demon.

The 11-episode final season of “What We Do In The Shadows” premieres on FX on Oct. 21 at 10 p.m. Episodes will stream on Hulu the next day.

Be sure to keep an eye out for more of the Advance/SILive.com’s stories from the set of “What We Do In The Shadows.”