Our favorite vampires… and familiar are back for more adventures in today’s world. Yet despite their vast life spans, they are still a bunch of self-centered s***heads. Season 2 picks up right where season 1 leaves off and… dare I say it raises the stakes (yeah pun’s galore). How, you may ask yourselves as you read this can Jemaine Clement elevate the overly successful first season carrying over into the second? The answer is simple, don’t change anything. The first season is near perfect so they can only go down from here if the second season crashes and burns. Thankfully, for all of us, it doesn’t.

In fact, the second season is slightly better than the first adding more depth to the characters personalities and just overall more comedy, drama, and horror elements. What Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi have created is a sandbox that offers limitless possibilities as the story progresses. Luckily, if this show hasn’t crossed your radar, you’re in luck – both seasons are primed to be binged in one weekend. Right from the opening credits hilarity ensues picking up the vampire hunter plot line.

Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), Nandor the relentless’ (Kayvan Novak) Latino familiar is in full force vampire hunter mode as the vampiric council has sent vampire assassins after the council figures out that Nandor, Laszlo (Matt Berry), and Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) are still alive. It’s head scratching how naive these vampires are still. The mockumentary style absolutely works well for this series – all vampires are completely awkward, and the camera crew brings out the worst in all four. Which vampire can be the weirdest on camera?

Nadja and Laszlo have found a new familiar – who they absolutely adore, Topher. Topher (Haley Joel Osment) plays a douche-e familiar who cuts corners to please his masters and the detest of Guillermo who does everything for Nandor at the expense of having a life of his own. Topher is apathetic about becoming a vampire and it infuriates Guillermo.  Keeping in line with season one we get a plethora of guest stars along with Haley Joel Osment including Benedict Wong (“Doctor Strange”, “The Martian”) Craig Robinson (“The Office”, Hot Tub Time Machine”), Nick Kroll (“Big Mouth”) and Mark Hamill (“Star Wars”). All added extra amounts of humor to their roles.

Guillermo and Nandor’s relationship gets tested even further this season as Guillermo still isn’t made a vampire entering his 11th year as a familiar. At times you feel sorry for Guillermo as he gets pushed around doing nearly every house chore living to serve. It’s welcoming to see Guillermo stand up for himself and take charge of his life. Guillermo has this subtle ferocious humor just how Michael Scott from The Office had. It’s pleasant to see how influential past mockumentaries have been on We Do in the Shadows from the awkward camera looks, the talking heads to the use of the hilarious “Up Dog” joke. Only Colin Robinson can be trusted to take on that joke Nate, Dwight’s assistant in The Office.  

Everything in season two is amped up. The outrageous situations the protagonists get into make for such a unique compelling storyline. Everything from the mythology to the new creatures we are introduced to make this one of the best shows on TV. Colin Robinson is by far the standout of the second season offering one of the best episodes throughout the show. The way his vampire can relate to real life is incredible becoming an internet troll. The question begs to be asked, are all internet trolls energy vampires? They do seem to drain the life out of everyone and the fact that Colin had several laptops just to troll people is priceless.  

Another highlight comes from Laszlo as he goes on the run from a vampire named Jim (Hamill) creating a pseudo personality of Jackie Daytona in a small Pennsylvania town as a bar owner. Las…. Jackie Daytona gets involved with the local volleyball team acting as their spiritual cheerleader. One of the best moments is when Jim comes to the bar Jackie owns – every line of dialogue keeps you in suspense – wondering if Jim will realize that without the toothpick, Jackie is Laszlo. Every character gets their moment to shine – balancing the comedy throughout.

One disappointment this season brings is the lack of certain season one storylines that were fleshed out. Where has Jenna been after being turned into a vampire – it would have been pleasant to catch up with her. All we got to see is her first kill in season 1 but we follow up with her roommate who becomes a vampire hunter. Is she still LARPing to find victims or is she in hiding – the hope is she makes a glorious return in season 3. Overall, season 2 only adds to the success of season 1 making the vampires more cringy while having the most ridiculous and outrageous adventures. This show is highly intelligent and is very self-aware of itself as the camera crew is involved – something that is barely touched upon in previous mockumentaries.

The best episodes this season include “Colin’s Promotion”, “On the Run”, and “The Return”. Just so happens that these episodes air back to back to back and are in the middle of the season. The series has been renewed for a 3rd season so one can only hope the quality doesn’t decrease as the show has proven to be a powerhouse. If I were to rate season 2 of What We Do in the Shadows, I’d rate it a 4.9 out of 5.

What We Do in the Shadows season 2 premiered in 2020 and can be seen on the channel FX or streamed on Hulu. What We Do in the Shadows season two has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%. What We do in the Shadows was created for TV by Jemaine Clement adapted by a story created by himself and Taika Waititi and stars Harvey Guillén, Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, and Mark Proksch.

So, tell me guys, have you seen What We Do in the Shadows season two and if so, what do you think about it? Do you agree or disagree with me? Comment below or send me an email and let me know what you think.

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