13 November 2019
Jemaine Clement on the real vampires in What We Do in the Shadows
What We Do in the Shadows is a dark comedy mockumentary following a trio of blood-sucking vampires, their deathly boring (literally) energy vampire roommate and their servant/familiar as they go about their daily – or nightly – lives in their spooky house in New York’s Staten Island. They’ve been rooming together for over a century – plenty of time to get on each other’s nerves.
Fans and critics alike are loving WWDITS. It was nominated for two 2019 Emmys and has a 94% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The show is a spinoff of the 2014 cult-favourite mockumentary film of the same name from New Zealand comedy geniuses Jemaine Clement (Legion, Flight of the Conchords) and Oscar-nominated Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi.
The pair met at university in Wellington, where they disliked one another on sight … until Jemaine saw Taika in action at an audition and realised how funny he was. They went on to collaborate as stand-up comedy duo The Humourbeasts. Taika guest-directed on Jemaine’s comedy series Flight of the Conchords, while Jemaine starred in Taika’s 2007 movie Eagle vs Shark, but even before then, the two had made an unassuming little short film called What We Do in the Shadows, that would, in time, become something of a monster. We don’t think it’s too soon to list their partnership among the great comedy collaborations like Monty Python, the Spinal Tap crew, and horror-comedy collaborators Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell, who spawned the Evil Dead franchise.
We asked Jemaine for some insight into the mockumentary, only to discover he’s as deadpan as his show…
Some people think that you can’t photograph vampires. Well, why don’t you have a look at the documentary and see what the actual truth is … The hardest thing about making a show like this is not being bitten by vampires.
Describe What We Do in the Shadows in three words.
Terrifying. Serious. Honest.
How does the series connect to the original movie?
This is a different group of vampires. They have some similarities. They love blood, for instance.
How did the costume and make-up departments help define the look of the show?
There are no costume and make-up departments. It’s all real. …These vampires are very old-fashioned. They kind of get stuck in the fashion of when they were alive. You know, a lot of ruffs, a lot of black. It’s hard to get them out of the black. Sometimes we’re like, “Why don’t you try a rainbow palette, some peacock colours?” But no. ’Cause they always want to hide in the dark and creep up on people. It’s kind of a camouflage in the night.
Tell us about the stunts and wirework in the show.
There are no stunts. They’re actually flying. For the main part, we let people see that… we don’t always capture it, because the vampires can move fast on occasion.
How much did you improvise on set?
What you do is, you suggest things to the cast, I mean, the vampires, and… they’ll go in that direction.
What was it like to work with Taika again?
Taika and I have worked together for a long time. Before we did documentaries, serious documentaries, we used to do comedy shows – theatre and film. So we’ve done a lot of different things. I think we even did a drawing once.
What were the challenges of filming this series?
Some people think that you can’t photograph vampires. Well, why don’t you have a look at the documentary and see what the actual truth is … The hardest thing about making a show like this is not being bitten by vampires.
Season 3 of What We Do in the Shadows is now streaming first on Showmax in South Africa.
Original African stories by local talent
Untying Kantai
Untying Kantai follows King Kantai, a man who has spent 30 years of his life working hard to provide for his family, only to be conned out of his life savings. Stream from 9 May, with new episodes weekly.
Big Girl Small World
Stream the new Kenyan romcom series Big Girl Small World from 8 May, with new episodes every week.
Empini S1
Stream the Showmax Original drama series Empini from 23 May 2024.
Original Sin: My Son The Killer
Original Sin: My Son The Killer follows the murder of Andrea Venter by Gerhard Jansen van Vuuren, who then went on the run from South Africa to Brazil.
Tracking Thabo Bester
From the makers of Devilsdorp and the director of Convict Conman comes the true-crime documentary South Africa has been waiting for. All the episodes are streaming on Showmax.
The Illuminated
The Showmax Original docuseries The Illuminated explores different religious movements in South Africa. All episodes now streaming.
Koek S1
The crime comedy Koek, starring Cindy Swanepoel. All the episodes are streaming on Showmax.
Ekhaya Backpackers S1
Stream the Showmax Original comedy series Ekhaya Backpackers. All the episodes are now streaming.
The Roast of Minnie Dlamini: The roast everyone's been waiting on
Empini, coming soon
More Mzansi gold
What to watch on Showmax in May 2024
Stream Barbie and Oppenheimer in South Africa now, only on Showmax. Plus a ton more great stuff coming in May.
The Mommy Club Season 2 Episode 11 recap: Cutting through
In episode 11 of The Mommy Club S2, Hermajesty hosts a ‘Healing with Hermajesty’ night picnic that turns sour. New episodes every Monday.
“This type of story has never been told in Afrikaans.” Koek director
SAFTA and Silwerskerm-winning director and cinematographer Johannes Pieter Nel talks about directing the critically acclaimed crime comedy Koek, now streaming on Showmax.
Youngins Season 1 Episodes 34-36: The heist
After Khaya reveals that he saw underaged photos in the principal’s messages, he and his friends plot revenge in episodes 34-36 of Showmax Original Youngins.