10 things you need to know about the FX series of what we do in the shadow

By Rosie Knight

In 2014, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi launched their vampire comedy "What We Do in the Shadows". The documentary-style film centers on a group of undead roommates in New Zealand and subverts vampire movies with a loving lens. Five years later, the spirits of cult hit came back with a new series from the film that presents a brand new circle of leeches. While we were shooting on the Toronto set, we learned everything you need to know about the show. its premiere will be on March 27th. (Read our premiere review without spoiler here.)

It's a very different kind of story from vampires

In the post-Twilight era, vampires have had a huge change of tone in the way they are seen, and unintentionally deconstructing this myth is something that writer Stefani Robinson finds unique and hilarious in the series: "The Concept that we were commenting on the nature of vampires in pop culture, but I think what makes the series so funny and gives us more history to mine is that they are not glamorous, glitzy vampires You're used to. It's about the most mundane practicalities of being a vampire, which, I think, is funnier. "

It's on Staten Island, but they're not there yet.

While the original film took place in New Zealand's birthplace of Clement and Waititi, the new series takes place in the exotic nature of Staten Island, a place so remote and strange that most of the team members are not Are not there yet. "Well, we film the series here [in Toronto] and we filmed the pilot in Los Angeles, so we have not filmed anything yet. I went there a few years ago when I was writing the pilot, and it seemed like there were some dilapidated mansions there that seemed like the right time, "Clement explained. One of the writers, Tom, is from Staten Island. so we have to ask him something authentic, and it gets more and more ridiculous: "Would you like to see a car like that on Staten Island?"

There is in the same world that the film

Although there is no plan for an official crossover yet, the FX series exists in the same world as the original movie, and the New Zealand spin-off, Wellington Paranormal. And somewhere, the other crew is probably still following New Zealand vampires as the documentaries make the new series about these demons of Staten Island.

The cast and the crew are big fans of vampire movies

As you can imagine, the vampire group is omnipresent behind the scenes of what we do in the shadows, and it's a mix of iconic horror movies, the creative team and the actors citing an eclectic selection as well as several encyclopedic novels of inspiration. The films form a very good line-up for a vampire movie frenzy, with influences such as Fright Night, Martin, Lost Boys, Nosferatu, Interview with a Vampire, Vampire's Kiss and Bram Stoker's Dracula.

The series filmed in the X-Mansion

The night we spent on the Toronto set, the show was shot in the incredible Casa Loma. Even though what we saw that night is strictly secret, it was pretty amazing to see the show unfold in the magical movie site that was used as Xavier's school for talented young people in X- Men, as well as for the hilarious setting Lucas Lee (played by Captain America himself, Chris Evans) clashes in Canadian superhero film, Scott Pilgrim.

What we do in the shadow follows the vampire rules of the lost boys

Clement is clearly passionate about the "rules" of lost boys, and he let us know what lessons they learned from the vampire gun and how he shaped what we do in the shadows. "We respect the rules of the vampires of the 70s and 80s, with a little bit of 30. They can turn into bats, they can not go to the sun, they do not shine in the sun, they die. many books, vampires must be invited in private buildings, but this is a documentary, so this is the real rule, which means that they must be invited in all buildings. "One of the rules Waititi's favorite vampire was, however, a bit too esoteric to get there. "In order for a vampire to leave your village, steal his socks, fill them with garlic and throw them in the river, and he has to follow them to find his socks," he laughs.

Clement and Waititi two directed episodes

The series is directed by four different directors, Waititi and Clement returning to the bar. Other talents behind the camera will be Jason Woliner and Jackie Van Beek, from New Zealand. Clement explained that having a variety of directors done a lot to make long night shoots – which often go from 5 pm to 5 pm – a little easier to survive. We joined the team on such a cold, dark night, and can attest that vampires are not only cursed by eternal life, but also by extensive nighttime sessions.

The creative team is outstanding

Waititi and Clement not only return to the presidency, alongside new additions, but the writers' room is led by Atlanta alumnae Robinson and Paul Simms (who also worked with Clement and Waititi in Flight of the Conchords). The couple is clearly excited about the project, Robinson confessing to be another long-time fan of vampire stories: "I love vampire movies and the one we often refer to is Interview with a vampire and who is still a part I was Twilight's target demographic when he came out, so I would have a fairly extensive knowledge of Twilight, I would say. "

There could be an Egyptian What we do in the shadows

When someone asked the question why the series had been shot in the United States, the answer was simple: it had been done by an American studio. This led Clement to an interesting revelation about a possible future for the ever-growing franchise. "If another country asked us, it would be settled here, when they showed the pilot to the market, we learned that Egypt was going to produce a version, so we'll see if that happens" , teased the designer.

There's a new type of vampire in town and he's … annoying

The show presents a new type of vampire that we have not seen on the screen yet. Mark Proksch plays Colin Robinson, a so-called energy vampire. It's a relativizing and devastating representation, and for Clement, imagining an office worker who sucks the soul does not become a real monster has not been a big leap. "We had studied the vampires a lot, trying to find out if people thought these vampires really existed, people would talk about these energy vampires and the psychological portrait of this type of person and I thought: And what if it was so supernatural? "

What we are doing in the shadows will be presented on March 27 at 10 pm on FX in the United States, on April 2 on FoxTel in Australia and on the BBC in the UK this spring, with a specific release date to be announced.