Based on the 2014 film of the same name,What We Do in the Shadowshas staked quite the unique claim in the TV landscape. The mockumentary horror-comedy stars a group of Staten Island vampires (Kayvan Novak,Matt Berry,Natasia Demetriou, andMark Proschas our “emotional vampire”) and their endearing, wannabe-vampire human companionHarvey Guillénon their quest to assert vampiric domination in the human world. Of course, this being aJemaine Clement/Taika Waititijoint, things rarely go as planned, with these vampires' eccentricities dryly, hilariously getting in the way time and time again.
If you’ve been loving the three seasons of the FX comedy thus far, but need to sink your fangs into other shows like it, we’ve got your back (you’ll just have to invite us in, first; vampire rules and all that). Here are 7 shows likeWhat We Do in the Shadows, some of which are horror-comedies, some of which have that similar awkward energy, all of which are worth your time.
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Ash vs Evil Dead
Developed by originalEvil Deadfranchise maestrosSamandIvan Raimi, and bringing back the groovy charms ofBruce Campbellas its inimitable hero,Ash vs Evil Deadplays as a raucous continuation and bookend to the trilogy that originally ended with 1992’sArmy of Darkness. Campbell’s Ash Williams begins the series broken by his horrific misadventures, but must come to terms with picking up his chainsaw and boomstick once again when the forces of evil become too pronounced to bear. Over the course of three seasons, Campbell is joined by familiar faces likeTed RaimiandLucy Lawless(acquitting herself to this world perfectly, as you may imagine) alongside new, endearing heroes likeRay SantiagoandDana DeLorenzo. The motley crew gets into all kinds of blood-soaked horrors, all tinged with that madcap sense of humor perfected so well by Raimi — while taking its time to explore the ramifications of being Ash, to boot.
Flight of the Conchords
The only “horrors” presented inFlight of the Conchords, the HBO series about the titular New Zealand comedy band (Clement andBret McKenzie), are of the cringe-inducing, socially awkward, “everything going wrong” variety. But the New York ofFlight of the Conchordsfeels similar to the New York ofWhat We Do in the Shadows, and not just because these two shows share Clement and Waititi as key creative architects (though, like, that’s definitely a big part of why you’re getting this rec). LikeShadows,Conchordsfeatures delusional people trying to achieve a big goal — in this case, become world-famous musicians — despite their own follies and idiosyncrasies. As Jemaine and Bret try their darndest to book gigs, get girls, and reign in their clueless manager Murray (Rhys Darby, present), the show explodes in surreal musical numbers to heighten what it all feels like in their minds. Endearing, catchy, and beyond charming,Flight of the Conchordsis essential viewing for those who dig the low-key comedy of Clement and Waititi.
Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace
Garth Marenghi’s Darkplaceis the kind of cult hit, one-season-wonder that, if you’re on board with its very odd wavelength, will instantly become your new obsession. Featuring a deep bench of exquisite British comedy talent (includingShadows' Berry, proving here that there ain’t a line reading he can’t decimate),Garth Marenghi’s Darkplacepresents a fake show within a fake show about fake author Garth Marenghi (Matthew Holness), whom I might pitch as “Stephen Kingmeets Ron Burgundy.” Marenghi was such a literary horror phenom that he was given carte blanche to make a 1980s TV show, “Darkplace,” of which he wrote, directed, and starred in all the episodes. These episodes are jam-packed with gags, purposeful camp, and some of the funniest visual humor you’ll ever see. And on top of that, the show’s framing device is a retrospective of “Darkplace,” with Marenghi and all the other (fictional) actors giving added context and irony to the terrible show they’ve made.Garth Marenghi’s Darkplaceis such a feat of specific, purposeful comedy.
Los Espookys
Los Espookys, likeWhat We Do in the Shadows, is a horror-comedy rife with a specific willingness (need?) to be “quiet,” to ground even the most surreal of situations in character-driven pathos. Creators/starsJulio Torres,Ana Fabrega, andFred Armisencraft an immediately intoxicating world influenced by auteurs as wide-varying asEd WoodandWes Anderson, all told in subtitled Spanish. Alongside essential performersBernardo VelascoandCassandra Ciangherotti, the onscreen team makes “spooky tableaus”; fake scenarios of horror and doom to trick their clients into thinking they’re real. Each mission givesLos Espookysa wide playground of imagination and natty production design while also zeroing in on the small, human reasons for all these shenanigans. Deadpan silliness at its absolute finest,Los Espookysplays by its own immaculately constructed rules.
Before The CW became the home for DC soap operas andArchiecharacters fucking,Reapereffortlessly took the aesthetic and narrative aims of The CW’s preceding networks, the WB and UPN, and ran it into a natural end zone. Playing something like “ifBuffy the Vampire Slayerwas really into pop-punk,” the horror-comedy finds hapless everymanBret Harrisontrading in his dead-end job at a Home Depot-esque store for a gig working for the actual, literal Devil (Ray Wise, perfection). As one of the Devil’s “Reapers,” Harrison tracks down owed souls with a new set of supernatural powers, bringing them back to Satan while wrestling with a simultaneously burgeoning conscious (and endangering his slacker best friendTyler Labineand workplace romanceMissy Peregrym). Melding breezy daffy humor with nostalgia-inducing 2000s vibes,Reaperis the TV equivalent of an Extreme Sour Warhead.
Wellington Paranormal
AnotherWhat We Do in the Shadowsspin-off from Waititi and Clement — in fact, this show aired in New Zealand before FX’sShadowsaired over here! Does that mean TV’sWWDitSis technically a spin-off ofWellington Paranormal? My head is spinning!
Which means I should call the folks ofWellington Paranormal, now airing in the US on The CW. The goofball police officers (who first appeared briefly in the film) of the horror-comedy mockumentary are called to paranormal, supernatural, and creature-featuring cases, giving the series elements ofThe X-FilesandReno 911!And whileWellingtongives you exactly what you’d want and expect from another Waititi/Clement horror-comedy series, it plays with a somewhat zippier and wilder pace, willing to go broad in a way differentiated from the more subtle FX show (while still retaining that wondrous, awkward charm prevalent in so much of Waititi and Clement’s work). High-stress silliness, impressive SFX makeup, and an expansion of an already well-specified world all putWellington Paranormalon your must-watch list.
Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell
I love howWhat We Do in the Shadowsdives into the bureaucratic minutiae of normally exciting genre tropes.Your Pretty Face Is Going to Helltakes that impulse and centers it as its premise, asking us what if Hell was a boring, white-collar office space? Granted, it’s a live-action Adult Swim comedy, meaning it packs a ton more chaos, gore, outlandishness, and performative surrealism than your slower-pacedShadowsepisode. But if you prepare yourself aptly, strapping yourself in for the wild 11-minute rides making up the horror-comedy, you’ll find it always boils down to this inherent, irresistibly ironic premise: Hell is other people that you have to work with to make Hell work.
KEEP READING:Harvey Guillén Teases ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Season 3 and Discusses His Journey to the Hit FX Series
