Happy Sunday, Streamers.
I’ll keep it brief, as we’re behind on getting this one out today. This week, we’ve got a comedy we’ve slept on for too long in our Rec Room and a spooky round of Stream It or Skip It.
Now let’s get to it.
Rec Room: What We Do In The Shadows
What It’s About: This mockumentary-style comedy follows four vampire roommates and their one human bodyguard as they try to make the most of life on Staten Island.
Why You Should Watch: For goofy, mockumentary laughs
I loved the cult movie this show is based on (and you should all watch the original if you haven’t), so I always had a passing interest in the TV version. It just felt like the show would never hit the same highs as the movie (“werewolves, not swearwolves”). But Season 4 proved me wrong. Whereas some shows start to fall apart this late in the game, What We Do In The Shadows is only getting better, finding that unique TV sweet spot where it’s mature enough to draw upon its experience but still young enough to feel fresh. Every time the bit starts to feel drawn out, they find a way to launch into new, inspired chaos. In Season 4, that chaos is via the recurring bit of “The Boy,” a child version of Colin (one of the main characters) birthed out of Colin’s dead body cavity at the end of Season 3. Most of the season follows the characters as they stumble through this parent-child relationship, trying to care for this unwanted boy version of their friend. The decision to hilariously portray “The Boy” through child actors with Colin’s adult face CGI’d onto their heads, along with Nadja’s (who is consistently the show’s funniest wild card) decision to start a nightclub (“gonna bust loose on the club roof sucking throat juice like it’s Grey Goose”), exemplifies the whip-smart writing that makes What We Do In The Shadows such a fun time. Throw in frequent and unexpected guest stars like Tilda Swinton, Mark Hamill, and Haley Joel Osment, and you have a comedy binge you can sink your teeth into (sorry).
Who’s In It, and Where You Probably Know Them From:
Matt Berry - This comedian has been popular in the UK for years, appearing on shows like Snuff Box, Toast of London, and The IT Crowd.
Kayvan Novak - Another British comedian/TV vet, you likely wouldn’t recognize him in the States outside of a small role in Syriana.
Natasia Demetriou - Continuing the theme, Natasia has mostly appeared on UK shows and comedies, except for that strange Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga Netflix movie that starred Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams.
Harvey Guillen - This guy has been popping up in bit parts on US comedies for years, including The Good Place, Archer, Documentary Now!, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
Mark Probsch - You might recognize him as Nate in the later seasons of The Office or as Daniel ‘Pryce’ Wormaid, the worst criminal ever in the early seasons of Better Call Saul.
Who Made It, and What Else Have They Done: Jermaine Clement, the comedian behind Flight of the Conchords and the original What We Do In The Shadows film, created the show. For all you parents out there, he’s also the voice of the crab in Moana (“Shinyyyy!”).
Where You Can Watch: Hulu
Stream It or Skip It?
First, the results from last week. You are all fired up for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, with 86% of you voting to stream it. The Mandalorian (Season 3) fared equally well, with 67% of you opting to check it out. No one seems to like pizza, as 59% of you voted to skip Chef’s Table: Pizza.
This week we have two pieces of content up for a vote. Let us know in the polls - are you going to Stream It or Skip It?
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Netflix’s upcoming prestige-creepy-serial-killer-reenactment series. Down?
Hocus Pocus 2
Fun revival? Or shameless nostalgia play? The Sanderson sisters return to Disney+ September 30th.