Kayvan Novak and Kristen Schaal on What We Do In The Shadows’ batty, beautiful series finale
[Editor’s note: This piece contains spoilers for What We Do In The Shadows.]
What We Do In The Shadows closes with a wonderfully weird shot of Nandor The Relentless (Kayvan Novak) and Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) descending into a tunnel on Ashley Street in the former’s upgraded coffin. The two go on this fun ride together after reaffirming their moving friendship—and tonally, it's pretty damn fitting way for the series to bow out.
The very meta “The Finale,” which aired December 16, provides closure now that the documentary crew is done filming New York Citaaay’s laziest vampires. This development forces Guillermo to make a pivotal life decision, while Nandor, Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), and The Guide (Kristen Schaal) carry on as normal. Well, Nadja does try to briefly hypnotize us, the audience, which leads to a wacky The Usual Suspects homage. The show has remained nothing if not audacious, which is a huge part of why it will be missed.
To reflect on the series' journey and end, The A.V. Club spoke to Novak and Schaal (who were in banter mode) about Nandor’s final gesture to Guillermo, his crush on The Guide, her rejection of his feelings, and the melancholy that came with filming the show’s sixth and final season.
The A.V. Club: Based on how the final season had been going, were you both looking forward to a reality in which Nandor and The Guide ended up together? Do you think that would’ve made for an interesting twist?
Kristen Schaal: I don’t mind because I would’ve loved to do more scenes with Kayvan. I think she might still end up with him probably in the year 2063 or something. He needs to work on his relationship skills, but he’s too tired for that.
Kayvan Novak: [Speaking with Nandor’s accent] Yeah, I would agree with that. I have very much enjoyed working with Christian.
KS: Um, it’s pronounced Kristen.
KN: That’s what I said. [Laughs] See, this is what it’s like on set. I say, “Hey, Christian, I’m looking forward to working with you,” and I’ll get “It’s Kristen.”
KS: I feel like this is the first time I’ve corrected you.
KN: I said Kristen before you rudely interrupted me. You see, this is what Nandor and The Guide’s relationship would’ve looked like. Nandor would call The Guide The Geed or something, and she’d interrupt him.
AVC: This is a funny snapshot indeed. Kristen, what was it like to play this version of The Guide, who’s getting romantic affection from Nandor? In the series finale, there’s also a mini love triangle with Cravensworth’s Monster.
KS: You know what? Any attention The Guide gets is welcomed by me. She's always on the outside hoping to get a little taste of something on the inside. So that was fun. Every time I look [at the script] and when I highlight The Guide and read my lines, I’m just thrilled when there are any. I love that.
AVC: Kayvan, why do you think Nandor develops feelings for The Guide at this point in his long life?
KN: I think he's kind of run out of options. Nothing against The Guide. [Laughs] I think she’s the last viable option for him for romance. I mean, who else is there?
AVC: I think some fans would say Guillermo exists.
KN: I’m not sure, but I just think he’s never going to have sex with Guillermo. He just isn’t going to do it. But I guess he thought about having sex with The Guide and then she was like, “Dream on.” That’s what makes him realize, “Oh, you’re right; this is ridiculous.” I’m glad she gave him that [reality check]. I think it would have been weird if the two had kind of gone down that tunnel at the end of the episode instead of Nandor and Guillermo.
AVC: In an alternate world, do you think Nandor and Guillermo would be romantically together?
KN: Only in the world of erotic fan art, which already exists.
AVC: Let’s talk about that Usual Suspects-like scene. Kristen, you portrayed a normal human detective and brought a different energy to the show. And it was jarring to see daytime on Shadows.
KS: It was so exciting and it was scary because, yes, it was a new energy. You’re right, it was the first time we had a call time before sunset. We got to take in some vitamin D. It was fun to work in that scene with Mark Proksch. He was such a good Kevin Spacey, and I tried to channel my best Chazz Palminteri too. What was so funny was when I watched Usual Suspects, and I've seen it so many times, you never think that when they're doing the close-ups on Chazz's face looking at the bulletin board, you never wonder: What is he looking at? When it was my turn to shoot those close-ups, there was nothing to look at. It was just space, and I was like, “Oh, man, he is such a good actor.”
AVC: That’s funny because the bulletin board you’re looking at has such attention to detail with its Easter eggs about the characters, including Nandor. Kayvan, do you wish you were a part of that scene?
KN: I did because I'm a fan of the movie as well. I guess I just didn't fit in that particular puzzle. I do like it when they mentioned me during that last bit. I got goosebumps while watching it. That was cool. But no hard feelings because I got to go down that tunnel with Guillermo at the end.
AVC: Speaking of that tunnel moment, how significant was it that Nandor invites Guillermo into the coffin and admits that he sees him as a friend and equal? You and Harvey have such sweet chemistry here, and it felt like a moving way to end WWDITS.
KN: I think it was necessary. What if he hadn't done that? It would have felt wrong. It’s a testament to the writers having a very clear understanding of where this relationship could go in the eyes of the audience, what the audience wanted from them, and how they would tease the audience to the point where it would feel sweet and touching. Nandor’s gesture for Guillermo now just felt right. It felt like the perfect time for him to do that. Not a moment sooner. It was just beautifully judged in my opinion.
AVC: Colin Robinson has a line in this episode about how people tend to shit on series finales because the expectations are sky-high. Before you got the script for this finale, did you have any expectations of your own or ideas about what you wanted to happen?
KS: Oh, man, this is the first show I've ever been on where we knew that it was ending ahead of time. I was grateful for that because it didn't leave us with something like, “Oh, crap, they just pulled the plug and now we have no conclusion.” I think that the writers ended up doing such a good job of having closure more than I would have ever thought. This defied my expectations of the finale because there are so many layers to it. It’s also funny and satisfying.
KN: I was aware that the writers left it quite late to decide what they were going to do with the last episode, and, understandably, they needed that time to make good decisions. It’s a bit of pressure. But they also didn't give themselves too long to overthink what it would be. And I think that that shows in the final execution of that last episode. They've done it beautifully.
AVC: Would you ever want to reprise playing these characters?
KN: Yeah, I mean, I’ll always love playing Nandor.
KS: Oh, I would always go back.
AVC: It could be a Community-style “six seasons and a movie” situation for What We Do In The Shadows.
KS: Thank you! I mentioned the same thing to Kayvan once and he had no idea what I was talking about. But I do think that’s what we should do.
AVC: What were the final days on set like?
KS: It was a bit melancholy. Knowing that the season was ending was surreal because I remember we filmed a scene in the library with Mike O’Brien and Harvey Guillén. As soon as we wrapped, rather quickly you could hear the drills taking the screws off the set. Everything had started to come down. I was still in costume going, “Oh my god.” So by the time you get to the last of it, you've been baptized in it enough to know that it's over. Of course, in your mind, you’re still depressed about it.
KN: Getting to Canada for the final season and going into work momentum was normal, like we’re filming a new season of Shadows and doing everything that entails. And then slowly, it’s this creeping feeling of “Oh no, the end is getting nearer and nearer.” It was more about the thought of saying goodbye to all the people. That’s the worst bit. Otherwise, it’s cool that we got to do one more whole season. But yeah, there were some sad goodbyes at the end and Matt Berry’s birthday cake.
AVC: How do you feel Shadows fits into today’s TV landscape? Do you think it’s necessary to have a comedy with constant jokes and laughter?
KS: I think that nonstop laughter is one of the hardest things to pull off, and that's why I'm so proud to be on this show. It doesn't take a break from finding what's funny. But it was still able to make you feel like you want to come back to these characters again and again. There was still enough heart in it that you were invested. I also think we got a pass by being demonic characters so that we could explore anything. No subject was off-limits, and that made it very fun. Still, one of the hardest things to do is make a really funny show, and I hope that people make more of them. It's really important for culture.
KN: I mean, the show is 100-percent committed to the craft of jokes and comedy. Every calorie burned was to get that laugh and it was burned by a lot of very talented, skillful people who knew how to do that. Everyone can pick up their phone and everyone's got an instant sketch show on it now. They just start scrolling and you've got 10 seconds here, 15 seconds there, 30 seconds there. Every other person is doing character comedy or sketch comedy, and there’s some dude who falls over in the supermarket. Do you know what I mean? All flavors of comedy are out there for you. So to put it all together and to go, “I’ve put my name on this and I'm going to do it for 23 minutes and it's going to have flying, vampires, fucking, and all sorts of shit.” That takes skill, commitment, and pedigree. You’ve got to have the right people in the right room at the right time with the right people behind it. FX's mantra is not “fearless” for nothing. Although how long it remains fearless, that's what we're all here for. That's the threat, isn't it? When are they going to have to change it to “fear less”? The next thing might be FX FL.