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what they do in the shadows

Here’s a “Quick Scoop”-style post tailored to your specs about “what they do in the shadows” – focusing on the TV series What We Do in the Shadows and a bit of its wider buzz.

What They Do in the Shadows

Quick Scoop

If you’ve been hearing about “what they do in the shadows” and wondering what the fuss is, it’s mostly people talking about the horror-comedy world of What We Do in the Shadows – a cult-favorite franchise about deeply dysfunctional vampires trying to live (well, un-live) normal lives.

What “What We Do in the Shadows” Actually Is

  • It’s a TV series inspired by the 2014 mockumentary film of the same name, created by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi.
  • The show premiered on FX on March 27, 2019 and runs as a comedy, fantasy, and horror blend.
  • It’s shot in a mockumentary style, as if a documentary crew is following vampires around in their everyday “flatmate” life.

In short: when people ask “what they do in the shadows,” they’re usually referring to what these vampires get up to when the cameras follow them at night – which turns out to be mostly chaos, bickering, and very bad plans.

Core Premise: What Do They Do?

The main TV series follows a group of traditional vampires living together on Staten Island, New York.

  • The housemates:
    • Nandor the Relentless – a former warlord, dramatic and oddly insecure.
* Laszlo – a hedonistic, overconfident English vampire.

* Nadja – his sharp, passionate, and often terrifying partner.

* Colin Robinson – an **energy** vampire who bores or annoys people to drain their energy instead of blood.

* Guillermo – Nandor’s human familiar, who desperately wants to become a vampire but discovers he’s descended from famed vampire hunter Van Helsing.
  • Their “shadowy” activities include:
    • Trying (and failing) to “conquer” Staten Island, including by going to city council meetings and awkwardly threatening local politicians.
* Navigating supernatural politics, like answering to a powerful Vampiric Council after various disastrous incidents.

* Dealing with mundane roommate problems: chore charts, rent, cleaning up blood, and who left a corpse where.

* Guillermo secretly becoming frighteningly good at killing vampires while still serving them coffee and doing their laundry.

The comedy comes from the clash between ancient, overdramatic vampires and completely ordinary modern problems (neighborhood watch groups, social media, zoning meetings, etc.).

Film vs. Series vs. “Franchise”

The phrase also connects to the wider What We Do in the Shadows franchise.

The original film (2014)

  • New Zealand mockumentary about vampire flatmates sharing a house in Wellington.
  • Praised as a smart, fresh, and very funny twist on vampire movies, with critics calling it “bloody good fun.”
  • Focuses on similar themes: messy roommate dynamics, nightlife, and practical problems like getting dressed without a reflection.

The TV series (2019–2024+)

  • Moves the setting to Staten Island but keeps the documentary style and tone.
  • Expands the world with more supernatural beings and different vampire types.
  • Continues to get strong reviews and fan buzz as one of the standout horror-comedies on TV.

Why It’s a Trending Topic

People are still talking about “what they do in the shadows” because:

  • Critical love: The franchise is consistently rated as clever, well-written, and fun – both film and series score high with critics and audiences.
  • Meme fuel: The deadpan humor, strange rules, and over-the-top vampire melodrama produce loads of shareable quotes and screenshots.
  • Crossover with fandoms: Tabletop RPG and vampire-fantasy communities often reference the show, sometimes trying to recreate its tone in games.
  • Ongoing coverage: Entertainment sites still run news, summaries, cast updates, and think-pieces about the show and its seasons.

On forums, you’ll often see people compare their role‑playing groups or chaotic friend groups to “doing What We Do in the Shadows ” – meaning goofy, messy, and not nearly as serious as the genre is “supposed” to be.

Mini Character Snapshot (Fun Example)

Here’s one quick “shadowy evening” scenario you’ll often see in the show, simplified:

  1. Nandor announces a grand plan to subjugate all of Staten Island.
  1. Laszlo gets distracted by some petty side quest, like dealing with raccoons eating garbage in a highly overdramatic way.
  1. Nadja complains that the men are incompetent and decides to do something more ruthless and efficient.
  1. Colin Robinson shows up at a city meeting and drains everyone simply by talking.
  1. Guillermo quietly cleans up, fixes everything, and accidentally saves them from total disaster again.

That, in essence, is what they do in the shadows : they make terrifying immortals look like wildly dysfunctional roommates who happen to drink blood.

Quick Fact Table: What We Do in the Shadows

[10][8] [5][1] [5][1] [1] [3][8][1] [6][9][7] [2][4]
Aspect Details
Franchise origin Started as a 2014 New Zealand mockumentary film by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi.
TV series debut Premiered on FX on March 27, 2019.
Setting (TV) Staten Island, New York, following vampire roommates.
Main characters Nandor, Laszlo, Nadja, Colin Robinson, and Guillermo.
Genre Comedy, horror, and fantasy in mockumentary style.
Critical reception Widely praised as smart, fresh, and very funny.
Fandom buzz Popular in online forums, memes, and RPG circles for its comedic vampire tone.

TL;DR

  • “What they do in the shadows” usually refers to the antics of the vampires in What We Do in the Shadows , a film-and-TV horror-comedy franchise.
  • They spend their nights plotting conquest, arguing over chores, navigating supernatural politics, and generally failing at modern life in very entertaining ways.
  • Strong reviews and constant online chatter keep it a trending, meme‑rich topic.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.