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Despite how overexposed vampires may be in the current pop culture landscape, FX's What We Do in the Shadows still manages to entertain. Based on the New Zealand mockumentary film by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement from 2014, which itself is based on their mockumentary short film from 2005, this American mockumentary series follows a tightly-knit trio of vampires, Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), and Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), living together in Staten Island. The show also revolves around Nandor's human servant Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) and their energy vampire roommate Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch).
Since the Emmy-nominated series is officially coming back for another season, here's everything we know so far about What We Do in the Shadows Season 4.
Editor's Note: This piece was updated on June 5 with the teaser trailer.
When Will What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 Premiere?
The first two episodes of What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 will premiere Tuesday, July 12, 2022, at 10 PM EST on FX. They will be available to stream on Hulu the day after. The season finale date has not been announced yet.
Is There a What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 Trailer?
FX released a teaser trailer for Season 4 on June 4, showing off the vampires dancing and partying at a nightclub to the classic Boney M. disco jam "Rasputin," with a baby Colin in tow.
How Many Episodes Are in What We Do in the Shadows Season 4?
The episode count for What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 has not yet been revealed. However, the past three seasons have each consisted of ten episodes that are less than thirty minutes per entry, so Season 4 will most likely also consist of ten episodes that are less than thirty minutes per entry.
Who Is in the Cast of What We Do in the Shadows Season 4?
Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillén, and Mark Proksch are all expected to reprise their respective roles for What We Do in the Shadows Season 4. Kristen Schaal and Nadia's doll will also return.
Moreover, Season 3 ended with Colin being reincarnated as a baby with a grown man's head, and executive producer Paul Simms already confirmed that Colin will still be a baby with a grown man's head in Season 4:
"I will say, yes, he’s a baby. We’re not going to be cheap and rip people off and go like, “Well, guess what? I grew up overnight.” Almost the entirety of Season 4 is about him maturing and sort of imagination of the fact that as much as we love them, children can also be energy vampires because they make a lot of noise and talk about a lot of boring stuff."
Proksch and Simms also spoke about the type of parent Laszlo might be in Season 4.
"Laszlo is such a blowhard and just a windbag and an idiot," said Proksch. "That the last thing you would want is to entrust into his care a helpless anything."
Simms, on the other hand, gave a lengthier explanation of what kind of parent Laszlo might be:
"Yet, at the same time, I think Laszlo despite himself having to show Colin a good time during what he thought was his last moments on earth, has developed some kind of affection. Laszlo is supposed to go to England but stays behind because there are beings that require actual care and he has this sense of duty. He also probably has some scientific interests in the experiment of nature vs. nurture. Can he form this Colin into a different creature than what he was?"
One thing's for sure: taking care of Baby Colin Robinson will not be easy. Fellow executive producer Sam Johnson even added, "Ten minutes with a crying baby and he will be regretting pushing his only helper into a coffin."
Will There Be More Celebrity Cameos in What We Do in the Shadows Season 4?
The last three seasons of What We Do in the Shadows featured many high-profile guest appearances from the likes of Mark Hamill, Dave Bautista, and Tilda Swinton just to name a few, so expect to see similar guest appearances in Season 4. Simms promised at a New York Comic Con press roundtable in 2021 that there are "a few special ones that are on our wishlist that might come up in Season 4." Meanwhile, the cast shared their dream cameos for the new season: Iggy Pop, William Shatner, Lisa Kudrow, Kristen Wiig, Catherine O'Hara, Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Amy Sedaris, and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Only time will tell if any of these high-profile celebrities appear in Season 4.
When Was What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 Filmed?
Production for What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 officially began in September 2021. Three months later, Harvey Guillén confirmed on Instagram that filming for Season 4 had officially wrapped.
Just like with the ending of Season 3, Proksch told Deadline that filming scenes as a baby "will be done separately on green screen and other effects." Simms elaborated that the baby at the end of Season 3 was made with "a combination of prosthetics, building bodies [that] puppeteers operate, and some practical and digital stuff put in," so the team will most likely employ a similar combination for Season 4.
What Is What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 About?
While we don't know much about the plot of What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 at this time, Simms did say in an interview with Collider from October 2021 that it will acknowledge that shocking cliffhanger ending:
"I think the biggest thing is that we’re not gonna rip anyone off and it’s not gonna be like, we come back in Season 4 and it’s like, 'Oh, all that stuff happened, but it’s all undone at the snap of a finger.' Everything that happened at the end of Season 3 is what Season 4 is all about. The whole thing plays out and it’s not gonna be, 'Oh, that was a trick, or that was a dream,' like on Dallas. It’s not gonna be that he grew up overnight and it’s just Colin again. It’s a lot about trying to figure out what his fate is, as he grows."
Simms didn't specify where each character would be geographically, but we can assume the main cast will all be back in Staten Island at the beginning of the season.
The executive producer also explained in another interview (via Screen Rant) that Season 4 will further explore Guillermo's ancestry:
"In Season 4 Episode 4, you’re going to meet all of Guillermo’s family in a way that makes him very anxious. We’ll learn that if he has Van Helsing's DNA, then so does the rest of his family even though they might not realize it themselves. But we haven’t even shot that yet. We’ll also learn in Season 4 that Guillermo is feeling the effects of having dedicated 10 years of his life to these vampires and neglecting his family and his responsibilities to them and how he tries to make amends for that."
Based on this quote, Season 4 may see Guillermo having to choose between his vampire masters and his vampire hunting family.