What We Do in the Shadows boss had a "simple" mission to stay funny in Season 2

The Hollywood Reporter

"The show is very simple. It's about a bunch of vampires who've been roommates for 200 years who live in Staten Island. You don't need to know a lot of backstory to enjoy," explains showrunner Paul Simms. In speaking about Wednesday's return of the FX comedy, Simms adds that he looked at The Office model in crafting Season 2. "The Office was about the tedium of working in an office and nothing really ever changes, or when something changes it quickly goes back to being tedious," he says. "In this show, it's sort of like, take that and multiply it by hanging out with the same people for 200 years and being sick of each other. Within each episode, of course, we try to tell a good, solid story. But but we really did set out to not make it something that you had to watch every episode and that there are a lot of big developments. It seems like that would not make sense anyway. Part of what's funny about the show is that these vampires had 200 years during which they could have done anything they wanted — they could've learned any language, written 1,000 books, become proficient in any musical instrument — and all they've really done is sat around and bickered with each other. There are things that they're doing that get them to engage with the outside world, but their lives aren't going to change that much." ALSO: Season 2 has settled into its absurdist groove while taking What We Do in the Shadows in a refreshing new direction.