50 Fun Facts About What We Do in the Shadows

Which Flight of the Conchords star created the TV series What We Do in the Shadows?

Jemaine Clement created the series and wrote its first episode, which Taika Waititi, his co-director on the original film, directed.

On which network did What We Do in the Shadows premiere in March 2019?

FX screened the first episode for a New York Comic Con crowd in October 2018, five months before the series began its six-season run on air.

In which New York City borough do the vampires of What We Do in the Shadows share a house?

Staten Island is as far as they got: their ancient master wanted the New World conquered and was furious to find they had not even taken over the island.

What We Do in the Shadows is based on a 2014 film from which country?

New Zealand's mockumentary grew out of a short film its two directors shot in 2005, and most of that short's cast came back for the feature.

Who plays Nandor the Relentless in What We Do in the Shadows?

Kayvan Novak's former warlord learns he has some 200,000 living descendants, then frightens a 94-year-old one to death by floating up to her window to say hello.

Nandor the Relentless was once a soldier of which empire?

The Ottoman Empire's fierce warrior once ruled a kingdom of his own, and centuries went by before he learned that it no longer existed.

In What We Do in the Shadows, which actor plays Laszlo Cravensworth, a part written specifically for him?

Matt Berry's Laszlo was an English nobleman until Nadja bit him and turned him into a vampire, and the two of them later married.

In What We Do in the Shadows, Laszlo and Nadja claim which Beach Boys hit began as their own song?

Kokomo is the old 'seafaring song' they fall back on when they revive their musical act, and the booing crowd turns around because everyone already knows it.

In What We Do in the Shadows, Laszlo trims his garden topiaries into the shape of what?

Vulvas are his subject, his wife's and his mother's included, and a werewolf urinating on one of the hedges sets off a feud with the local pack.

Who plays Nadja of Antipaxos in What We Do in the Shadows?

Natasia Demetriou plays her twice over: from the second season she also voices the ghost of Nadja's human self, which moves into a doll.

In What We Do in the Shadows, how does Nadja's reincarnated lover Gregor die in each of his lives?

Decapitation ends each of Gregor's lives, and the culprit turns out to be Laszlo, who had secretly been behind the beheadings for centuries.

Who plays Nandor's long-suffering familiar in What We Do in the Shadows?

Harvey Guillén's familiar serves for more than a decade in the hope of being made a vampire, only to find he is a gifted vampire killer instead.

In What We Do in the Shadows, Guillermo learns he is descended from which famous vampire hunter?

Abraham Van Helsing turns up in the family tree after Guillermo sends off DNA tests for the household, and his knack for slaying later makes him the vampires' bodyguard.

In What We Do in the Shadows, what kind of vampire is Colin Robinson, who feeds by boring people?

Energy vampire Colin Robinson drains people by boring or frustrating them, and because daylight does not hurt him he holds an office job and feeds on his coworkers.

In What We Do in the Shadows, what happens to Colin Robinson when he turns 100?

He dies and is reborn: a baby claws its way out of the dead Colin Robinson's chest and grows back to adulthood within a matter of months.

Who plays the Guide, the Vampiric Council's floating envoy, in What We Do in the Shadows?

Kristen Schaal first appeared as a one-episode guest, a character also called the Floating Woman, then kept coming back until she joined the main cast.

Which actor plays Baron Afanas in What We Do in the Shadows?

Doug Jones plays the fearsome ancient vampire, who admits on a drunken night out that 'Baron' is really a pun on 'barren': he cannot have children.

In What We Do in the Shadows, how does Guillermo accidentally kill Baron Afanas in season one?

Opening a door to sunlight burns the Baron as he staggers home from a drunken night out, and the three housemates are put on trial for his murder.

In What We Do in the Shadows, too much hypnosis leaves the vampires' neighbour Sean with a case of what?

Brain scramblies set in after Laszlo and Nandor both hypnotise Sean at his Super Bowl party, where he had only been joking that his neighbours were vampires.

In What We Do in the Shadows, which actress plays Jenna, the LARPer Nadja turns into a vampire?

Beanie Feldstein's Jenna turns out to have a rare vampire power, invisibility, which first shows itself when she is fed up with being ignored at a party.

Which vampire-hunting club does Guillermo join in What We Do in the Shadows?

The Mosquito Collectors of the Tri-State Area use bug hunting as a front, and Guillermo only stumbles on them while looking for virgins for his master.

In What We Do in the Shadows, who plays Simon the Devious, owner of the Sassy Cat nightclub?

Nick Kroll's Simon rules Manhattan's vampires and agrees to an alliance with the housemates, then breaks his word the moment he has what he asked for.

In What We Do in the Shadows, what is Laszlo's cursed hat made from?

Witch skin is what Nadja insists makes the hat cursed, and sure enough Simon the Devious's club explodes moments after he cheats Laszlo out of it.

Which SNL alum plays Evie, the emotional vampire who dates Colin Robinson in What We Do in the Shadows?

Vanessa Bayer's Evie feeds on pity by telling co-workers tragic stories about herself, which makes her a rival Colin Robinson cannot drain, so he dates her instead.

In What We Do in the Shadows, which office does Colin Robinson run for in season five?

Comptroller is the office Colin Robinson runs for, until he exposes himself on a video call and Evie takes over his campaign and wins.

Which former child star plays Topher, the familiar revived as a zombie, in What We Do in the Shadows?

Haley Joel Osment, the boy who saw dead people in The Sixth Sense, plays a slacker familiar who is accidentally electrocuted and brought back from the dead.

In What We Do in the Shadows, Benedict Wong plays Wallace, a rival of Laszlo's with which trade?

Necromancer Wallace, who also runs a souvenir shop, charges $350 to revive a dead familiar, and Laszlo's doubts are borne out when the man comes back a zombie.

Tired of waiting for Nandor, Guillermo pays which vampire to turn him in What We Do in the Shadows?

Derek, a vampire hunter turned vampire who works in a convenience store, takes Guillermo's money for the job, and Nandor later wants Guillermo dead for going behind his back.

In What We Do in the Shadows, Marwa, who appears in season four, is what relation to Nandor?

His resurrected ex-wife is one of 37 wives Nandor wishes back to life so he can pick one to remarry, and he later wishes that she like everything he likes.

What kept Jerry, the vampires' fifth housemate, absent for about fifty years?

A long sleep: the others were supposed to wake Jerry on New Year's Eve 1996 and simply forgot, so his slumber ran on for decades more.

In the last season of What We Do in the Shadows, Guillermo lands a mail-room job in which industry?

Finance is where Guillermo starts over, in the mail room of Cannon Capital Strategies, and Nadja and Nandor soon follow him into the office.

Which actress plays a version of herself as leader of the Vampiric Council in What We Do in the Shadows?

Tilda Swinton chairs a council seated with stars who had all played vampires on screen before, each appearing as a fanged version of themselves.

Which actor joins the Vampiric Council only by video call?

Wesley Snipes dials in as a half-vampire the council is split on welcoming, since his Blade was also a vampire killer.

Which Star Wars actor plays Jim the Vampire, who says Laszlo owes him rent, in What We Do in the Shadows?

Mark Hamill's Jim has hunted Laszlo for 167 years over a single month's unpaid rent on a California beach house, and demands the money or a duel.

The witches' talking familiar Black Peter is what kind of animal?

A goat with a human voice, Black Peter lures Laszlo and Nandor into a trap so that a coven of witches can abduct them.

Who plays the controlling familiar who manages vampire rapper Richie Suck?

Fred Armisen plays Doctor Tom, the familiar-manager who refuses to let Richie Suck perform on the opening night of Nadja's club.

Which film director appears as himself in season four of What We Do in the Shadows?

Jim Jarmusch drops into Nadja's club with Sofia Coppola and her husband Thomas Mars, a fitting guest given that he directed the vampire romance Only Lovers Left Alive.

Which British comic plays Laszlo's father, Lord Roderick Cravensworth, in What We Do in the Shadows?

Steve Coogan's ghostly lord says he has come back to make amends with his son, but Laszlo is right to be wary: his father is scheming to take over his body.

Which 1966 song plays over the opening credits of What We Do in the Shadows?

You're Dead, written by Norma Tanega, was inherited from the 2014 film, which had already run it over its own opening credits.

In which Canadian city was the first season of What We Do in the Shadows filmed?

Toronto stands in for New York City on screen, so the corner of America the vampires keep failing to conquer is really a Canadian one.

Which vampire film did the makers of What We Do in the Shadows cite as their model for in-camera effects?

Bram Stoker's Dracula was the touchstone, so when Nadja suddenly appears beside a student in the park, the actress had simply stepped out from behind a tree.

In What We Do in the Shadows, what happens when Nandor tries to say 'God' at his citizenship test?

His mouth catches fire at the word, so Nandor fails the test he had only sat because the country of his birth no longer exists.

Which executive producer left What We Do in the Shadows in 2021 after allegations of abusive behaviour?

Scott Rudin said in April 2021 that he was stepping back from film, streaming and Broadway work, and that August the network confirmed he was no longer an executive producer.

What We Do in the Shadows won its only Emmy for which craft?

Costumes brought the show's only Emmy from 35 nominations, for the episode 'The Wellness Center', while all four of its nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series came up empty.

Which spin-off about two police officers from the original film aired before What We Do in the Shadows?

Wellington Paranormal follows Officers Minogue and O'Leary, who call at the vampires' flat in the film and overlook the corpses, through four seasons of their own from 2018.

At which festival did What We Do in the Shadows hold its world premiere in 2019?

South by Southwest billed its March screening a world premiere, even though a New York Comic Con crowd had watched the first episode five months earlier.

In What We Do in the Shadows, which alias does Laszlo adopt while hiding out as a bartender in Pennsylvania?

Jackie Daytona is born when Laszlo flees a vampire he owes rent, and the new bartender wins over the whole town by backing the local girls' volleyball team.

What does Nandor throw to win his duel with a werewolf?

A chew toy goes off the roof and the werewolves' champion leaps after it, settling a feud between two sides bound by a pact since 1993.

Which three characters from the original film sit on the Vampiric Council in What We Do in the Shadows?

Viago, Deacon and Vladislav turn up for the trial played by their original actors, even though the film's two creators had said they did not expect to appear in the series.

How does What We Do in the Shadows explain its own ending in the final episode?

The documentary crew stops filming because it has enough footage, so Nadja hypnotises the audience into seeing a more satisfying ending, one of three film and TV spoofs.