No matter what happens on “What We Do in the Shadows,” you know you’re going to laugh until it hurts. The same was true for the show’s Season 6 panel at Paleyfest in NEW YORK CITAYYYY on October 19, when showrunner Paul Simms and stars Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry , and Mark Proksch discussed the final season and how it felt to conclude the story of their Staten Island vampires. “We just felt like better too soon than too late, and we didn’t want to be doing it after we used everything up,” Simms said of deciding to end the show with Season 6.
“We knew it was going to be sad, but that also gave us a clear direction for the season. We thought about all the other shows [that have] done final seasons, and shows that are like a ‘very special final season.’ We were like ‘No; we want to make this purely funny from beginning to end, and not be too sad or sentimental about it.
” Later on, when talking about how their characters stay the same, Proksch pushed that idea further: “It keeps us from falling into the current comedy trap, which is heart,” he said to a huge wave of laughter. “We have small moments, but they’re earned, and they feel authentic —” “And then they’re squashed,” said Novak. “Yeah, they’re wiped away with a dumb joke,” Proksch continued.
“I think it kept the show fresh. You can jump in at any point in the series.” (Having recently made a friend who had never even heard of the show watch a random episode, “The Escape,�.
