Warning: Major SPOILERS lie ahead for What We Do in the Shadows, Season 6, Episode 11, 'The Finale'!Guillermo is in emotional disarray and Colin Robinson is there to help with the What we do in the shadows end of the series. Season 6 of the FX comedy is wrapping up the spinoff of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement's acclaimed vampire mockumentary after a perfect run of acclaimed seasons. The season followed Guillermo as he began to build a life away from vampires by entering the workforce, while the vampires did everything from summoning the ghost of Laszlo's father to discovering his long-lost roommate, who wants to conquer the New World.
THE What we do in the shadows The series finale, titled “The Finale”, finds Guillermo and the core group of vampires being introduced to the news that the documentary team that has been following them for six years is wrapping up filming. Although the vampires are quick to dismiss this, especially when they reveal that they were once the subject of a documentary in the past, Guillermo finds himself in a downward emotional spiral, struggling to process the change. As the group continues with their undead lives, they also try, in their own way, to help cheer him up.
The set What we do in the shadows The season 6 cast saw the return of Harvey Guillén as Guillermo, Kayvan Novak as Nandor, Natasia Demetriou as Nadja, Mark Proksch as Colin Robinson, Matt Berry as Laszlo and Kristen Schaal as The Guide, as well as Doug Jones in a recurring role as Baron Afanas. Ending most of the characters' arcs well and still leaving enough room for possible future stories, the mockumentary about vampires comes out on a high note.
Before leaving the show, TelaRant interviewed Harvey Guillén and Mark Proksch to discuss What we do in the shadows' series finale, as filming was emotionally cathartic for the former, as he was a “emotional destruction“during and after filming ends, how does Colin Robinson feel about the end of the documentary, the Usual suspectsstyle twist that was originally part of the episode, and Guillén's excitement over Mike Flanagan's story Chuck's life.
Guillén was “A kind of emotional destruction“Filming the What we do in the shadows Series finale
He also confirms that the final full-circle shot was an intentional choice
ScreenRant: It's great to see you guys again and bittersweet to talk about the series finale, but it's a lot of fun and really rounds out the show well, as you both told me it would before. Harvey, I'd love to talk to you first, because when we talked briefly about the ending before, you mentioned how exciting it was to film this. Given that it's very emotional for Guillermo as well, I'm curious if you found that parallel almost cathartic for you while filming that ending.
Harvey Guillén: It was because it was the last day of filming the series that I've been working on for seven years, from pilot to end. It was the last scene of the show, so it was perfectly timed. That was all Paul Simms, who I later asked if that was on purpose, and he said, “Yes, that was on purpose.” I guess if you knew that, I don't know, maybe I'm just the most emotional person on set [laughs]or that he's human, it would make sense that Guillermo would be going through an emotional rollercoaster, because, remember, he's the only human.
These vampires have been alive so long that these things don't intimidate them. They're like, “Yeah, it's just another chapter.” It's a blink of an eye to them, but to a human who, you know, time is ticking, we're not immortal, and every day that's wasted not doing what you love, or wasted not achieving your goals and dreams just means that you have less time on this Earth to achieve it. All of this hit Guillermo at once, so it's a very sad moment. What is he if he isn't that familiar vampire, vampire bodyguard, vampire nightclub swindler, Van Helsing? [Chuckles]
Like, who is he if he isn't all these things to someone else. I think it was a good lesson that we can all learn, that you need to be happy with yourself and not try to be an accessory or accommodation for someone else, or for a bigger picture. You have to be happy with who you are, and I think Guillermo has had to learn that this season by entering the job market and seeing what he's made of, and I think he'll be fine.
But it was very sad filming that scene. We start the series with Guillermo opening the door to the documentary team and welcoming them into his home. And we ended up with them literally walking away from him in the same hallway, and I was a wreck. And then, we broke up right after that, and I was kind of an emotional wreck. I was hugging Sarah Naftalis, who is one of our presenters and also one of our amazing writers. And it was like, “Wow, it's over. It's done.” And it was just a sad moment, but a happy moment, because we shared these memories forever, and now it's out there. You will live forever.
Colin Robinson's efforts to cheer up Guillermo are sincere
“…proximity generated intimacy, to a certain extent…”
Talking about this being kind of a blip in the vampires' eyes, Mark, I want to turn to you, because even though we know there was a documentary before, we still see Colin showing some recognition that Guillermo is going through this sadness. I'm curious if you think Colin feels any sadness or disappointment that this documentary is coming to an end, given that he's always been a little different than other vampires?
Mark Proksch: I think it's twofold. I think he sees a food source coming out of the house. I think whenever he gets a chance to drain people who aren't the vampires, it's probably a good thing because he considers them his friends, the vampires. I also think it's just a moment where Colin feels bad for Guillermo. As much as we're all very flippant towards each other, I think the closeness has bred intimacy, to some extent, between the roommates, so I think it's more of him to feel compassion. If Colin Robinson is able to do it.
It would be a rare twist for any of the vampires to feel this way about Gizmo, but I like that even though it was combined with a joke of him saying a motivational line and then walking away, it still makes that moment a little more meaningful.
Harvey Guillén: Now that I think more, Mark points out that there have been times when vampires show, in any way they can, that they care. I remember there was a scene where Mark's character asked Guillermo, “Yes, spill the tea.” Like, he really wants to know what's going on in your personal life. And Natasia's character Nadja is also asking, and so is Laszlo, because they've all been trying their best to be nice to him but they don't know how.
That was one of my favorite moments, I think, in the show where they want to invite him, and he's about to leave at that table they were at at the casino, and everything is ruined when Sean walks in with, like, a table full of clams or something, and he ruined the moment. It was supposed to be this sweet, sweet moment where they're finally leaning in, and they're listening to him, and they're going to hear him say what he wants to say, which is his sexuality is going to come out. at that time, and they were generally interested. It hurts and then someone breaks the ice, and that's what makes this comedy so good. The writers who break that sweet moment with the most hilarious [thing of] Sean throwing something on the table, “I got free clams because I said I found a piece of glass in my pasta,” or something like that, and just like that [, the vampires forget].
But they try. There were so many moments when Colin Robinson tried his best, and it just didn't work out. But this is an ongoing joke. If you look back on the series, there are moments, really quick moments, not big enough for Guillermo to grab onto, but they're there. Their human side has always been there and has been linear throughout all seasons.
Guillén would love to see a Guillermo and Nandor spinoff
“…I like it, they belong together, it's cool.”
So, Harvey, I really wanted to get back to you, because you mentioned that Guillermo is going to be fine after this, but I'd love to hear what you really think is the next step for Guillermo. Because obviously we see that Batman elevator tease with Nandor in his coffin, but what do you think might be next for him?
Harvey Guillén: As we were filming this, we thought, “It seems like this is great, because it leaves it open for everyone to come back, but it seems like this could be a jumping point, an offshoot for Nandor and Guillermo to fight crime together.” Like, imagine a world where someone is immortal, can fly, has superhuman strength, and then you have someone with Van Helsing blood running through him, who is very smart and fast and great in combat.
It's a very good duo that could be a show in itself. So I guess they go away and solve crimes together and be partners. Not the man in the tuxedo [and Kid Cowboy]. [Laughs] But they go out together. And I feel like they have an adventure and each other. In the end, they ended each other, which was what everyone wanted from the fans. They finished each other off. So I like that, they belong together, it's cool.
Proksch had a lot of fun with the ending Usual suspects Parody (which was not chosen)
“…our team did an incredible job recreating the look and feel.”
Mark, I want to get back to you, because I also love that in Nadja's attempt to hypnotize the documentary, we get into that Usual suspectsstyle ending, which is one of the most iconic endings in cinema history. I'd love to know what it was like for you to recreate this through the crazy world and lens of Shadows.
Mark Proksch: Yes, whenever you take your character that you've been playing for a long time and put that character in a situation that breathes new life into it, it's always positive for an actor. When Colin Robinson became a baby, that was something fun and challenging for me to figure out. And this was no different, you know, trying to put Colin Robinson in a film noir like The Usual Suspects, keeping in mind his whole story that we shot before that was very exciting for me and a lot of fun.
And just touching on that world of The Usual Suspects, our team did an incredible job recreating the look of it and the setting. Everything was so precise that it made my job a lot easier, because you just get into that character and that world. So, it was really, really fun. As you mentioned, it's an iconic film, it's a great film, and I think anyone who knows the film will be pleasantly surprised.
Guillén and Proksch have some favorites What we do in the shadows Cameo
Proksch also wishes an iconic actor had reprized his divisive role
So the next question is for both of you. We've seen so many amazing vampire cameos throughout the series. We even had True BloodAlexander Skarsgård from just two episodes ago. I'd love to hear from you both, what was your favorite cameo in the vampire genre to see and/or work on during the series?
Harvey Guillén: Mark could have had more, because I didn't really get to be on the Council, the Vampire Council, and they had all these big cameos. Which, by the way, most filmed remotely. I don't think they were even there.
Mark Proksch: They weren't there, no.
Harvey Guillén: No, I'm trying to think of vampire cameos. We had a huge number of great guest stars that showed up and, I mean, I couldn't just pick one. We had Mark Hamill, that was a big problem. I remember we were all waiting for Mark Hamill to arrive, like it was Downton Abbey or something. [laughs]like at the door, when he walked in, because he's so iconic. We had Haley Joel Osment, like, we had so many people. In terms of vampires, I couldn't say specifically, maybe for my personal opinion. [preference]Danny Trejo was a big problem.
So I got to work with him on a project, and he's lovely, but I never worked with him on the show. Patton Oswald was another guest who was supposed to be a similar character to Guillermo, so we were really lucky. I was excited when Marissa Jaret Winokur joined the cast because I'm a huge fan of musical theater and she [from the] Tony Award-winning hairspray, Tracy Turnblad, you know. So we had a lot of people who came to play with us and we were very lucky to have them all.
Mark Proksch: Yeah, as far as vampires go, those Vampire Council scenes were filmed separately, so, like, Paul Rubens, I would have loved to have met him, but he was filmed separately. Tilda Swinton, that was separately. This was all done in Los Angeles long after the fact. But as Harvey said, we were very, very lucky to have such guest stars and cameos. Sofia Coppola, Jim Jarmusch. I would love to have Gary Oldman as a vampire. Who is actually a full-time Palm Springs resident, oddly enough, you don't think of him in Palm Springs.
But yeah, we've always been very, very lucky with our special guests, like Steve Coogan, just people that you wouldn't necessarily see on American television, and that's a credit to the writing and the production of the show, getting it the respect that it needs. for names like this to get on the show. It was truly a privilege to work on a show like this.
Guillén feels”Very lucky“To be part of Mike Flanagan's world with Chuck's life
“Once you are part of that world, you feel it.”
Harvey, I just want to talk to you quickly because I'm a huge fan of Mike Flanagan. I love that you are a part Chuck's lifeof the cast, and I'd love to hear what your experience was like and maybe what you can share about who your character is in the world of Chuck's life.
Harvey Guillén: Yes, Mike is a fan of What We Do in the Shadows, and he and his wife, Kate Siegel, have admired their work for years and years. I met them at an event and they were so adorable. They called me and said, “Hey, would you do us an honor by coming out here?” [the movie]are we filming in the south and just being part of it? “I can't say much about what it is, but I will say it's a very quick thing that he was very kind about. He said, “I want to put you in this movie, and it will be very quick in a few days.” But it's getting rave reviews after its premieres at TIFF and will be released in theaters next year.
I'm really excited to be part of the Flanagan world, because Kate actually produced a movie after this, and I joined her in that movie, and I came in as one of the leads in it. That will come out next year too. So working with Kate and Mike has been amazing and we just want to keep working together. It's really great. Being part of this world is very special. Once you are part of that world, you feel it. You're like, “Oh, everyone works with each other on everything constantly.” It's great to be invited to play. I'm very lucky, very lucky.
On What we do in the shadows Season 6
What We Do in the Shadows documents the nocturnal exploits of vampire roommates Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) as they navigate the modern world of Staten Island with the help from his former human friend and current friend, Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), as well as his familiar vampire bureaucrat, The Guide (Kristen Schaal).
After a brief stint as a vampire, Guillermo is reevaluating his life. Who is he but a familiar who will do anything to please his Master in hopes of one day being turned into a vampire? Meanwhile, the vampires are also reevaluating. When their former roommate reappears after a 50-year nap, they realize how little they've done in half a century – no goals achieved, no dreams pursued, no part of the New World conquered (except their street and part of Ashley Street).
In the sixth and final season of the Emmy-nominated comedy, Nandor, Nadja, Laszlo, Colin and Guillermo will enter the workforce, visit New Hampshire, attend a human dinner party, celebrate the Baron and conjure a demon – all while trying to find the your place and your purpose in this crazy and confusing world.
Check out our previous What we do in the shadows Season 6 interviews with:
Source: ScreenRant Plus