You remember that feeling when a show finally stops being "just a comedy" and starts actually building a world? That’s exactly what happened with What We Do in the Shadows Season 3. Honestly, it’s a bit of a miracle. Most sitcoms start to get a little stale by their third year, but the writers for FX basically threw a grenade into the status quo and watched the bats fly out.
The season starts with a massive power vacuum.
After Guillermo de la Cruz—everyone’s favorite overworked, under-appreciated familiar—absolutely slaughtered the Vampiric Council at the end of Season 2, our main housemates were left in a weird spot. They should’ve been executed. Instead, they got promoted. Nandor, Nadja, Laszlo, and Colin Robinson suddenly found themselves running the Vampiric Council for the American Tri-State area. It’s like giving the keys to a nuclear reactor to a group of toddlers who only care about velvet capes and ancient grudges.
The Promotion Nobody Was Ready For
Transitioning from being outcasts to being the local government is the central engine of What We Do in the Shadows Season 3. It’s brilliant because it forces these characters to interact with a world they’ve ignored for hundreds of years.
Nadja and Nandor sharing the throne is pure comedy gold. They’re like two siblings fighting over a single toy, except the toy is the right to decide who gets their head ripped off in a bureaucratic dispute. You’ve got Nadja, who is clearly the more competent one but is constantly sidelined by Nandor’s ego, and then there’s the "Guidance Counselor" (played by Kristen Schaal) who is just trying to keep the whole thing from imploding.
But let’s talk about Guillermo.
His arc this season is the real heartbeat of the show. He’s no longer just a guy who cleans up dust and fetches virgins. He’s a bodyguard. A Van Helsing. A lethal weapon who happens to be really good at organizing a schedule. Watching him navigate the guilt of being a vampire hunter while serving the vampires he clearly loves—in a weird, codependent way—is what gives the season its stakes. Pun intended.
Why the Wellness Center Episode Changed Everything
If you ask any fan about the peak of What We Do in the Shadows Season 3, they’re going to bring up "The Wellness Center." This is the episode where Nandor the Relentless has a full-on midlife crisis. Or, well, a mid-unlife crisis.
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He joins a "vampire wellness center" that is basically a cult. They claim they can turn vampires back into humans. It’s led by Jan, played by Julian Barratt, and the whole thing is a pitch-perfect parody of 1970s health retreats and modern-day pyramid schemes. Watching Nandor try to do 80s aerobics to "Sultans of Swing" while wearing tiny shorts is a visual I will never be able to scrub from my brain.
It’s funny, sure. But it’s also kind of heartbreaking?
Nandor is lonely. He’s been alive for centuries and he’s starting to realize that maybe he’s missed the point of it all. This season leans heavily into the loneliness of immortality. It’s not just about the jokes anymore. It’s about the fact that these people are stuck together because nobody else would have them. They’re a found family of monsters.
The Tragic, Hilarious Life (and Death) of Colin Robinson
We have to talk about the energy vampire in the room.
The biggest swing the show ever took happens in What We Do in the Shadows Season 3. We finally get some lore on energy vampires. Up until now, Colin Robinson was just the guy who bored you to death in the breakroom. But this season explores his 100th birthday.
Laszlo, of all people, becomes his best friend. It’s an unexpected pairing. Laszlo is usually the most selfish character on the screen, yet he spends the entire season taking Colin on adventures. Why? Because Laszlo found a book in the Council library explaining that energy vampires expire exactly at age 100.
The finale, "The Farewell," is a masterpiece of tone. It manages to be genuinely sad when Colin "dies" and turns into a pile of gray goo, only for the show to pull the rug out from under us in the final moments. The birth of "Baby Colin"—a tiny infant with the adult face of Mark Proksch—is perhaps the most cursed image in the history of cable television. It’s horrifying. It’s perfect. It changed the trajectory of the entire series.
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Breaking Down the Travel and Lore
One of the best things about this season is how it expands the geography. They go to Atlantic City. They go to the Sire’s lair. They even travel back to the Old Country.
In "The Casino," the show explores how vampires handle the neon-soaked, windowless chaos of a gambling floor. They think the "Big Bang Theory" slot machines are actual shrines. They lose their "ancestral soil" and lose their powers, turning them into bumbling, weak versions of themselves. It’s a great example of how the writers use the environment to strip away the vampires' dignity.
Then there’s the Sire. The oldest living vampire.
He’s basically a giant bat-monster who can’t speak and lives in a department store. The fact that the roommates have to treat him like a senile grandfather is a great twist on the "ancient powerful being" trope. It makes the world feel lived-in. It suggests that even the most terrifying monsters eventually just want to eat some garbage and be left alone.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Writing
A lot of critics look at What We Do in the Shadows Season 3 and think it’s just a "monster of the week" show. It isn't.
The serialization here is tight. Every small detail, from Laszlo’s sudden interest in birdhouses to Guillermo’s ancestor's portrait, pays off. The writing room, led by Paul Simms and Stefani Robinson, knows exactly how to balance the absurd with the emotional. They understand that for the jokes to land, we have to actually care if Nandor leaves for a trip around the world or if Nadja opens her own vampire nightclub.
They also aren't afraid to let the characters be genuinely awful.
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They are killers. They are arrogant. They are often incredibly stupid. But the show never asks you to forget that. It just asks you to enjoy the ride while they fumble through a modern world they don't understand.
Key Takeaways for the Ultimate Fan
If you're revisiting the season or watching it for the first time, keep an eye on these specific threads:
- The Power Dynamics: Notice how the seating arrangement in the Council chamber shifts. It mirrors who actually holds the cards in the house.
- Guillermo's Wardrobe: As the season progresses, Guillermo starts wearing more tactical gear. He’s shedding the "sweater vest" persona and becoming the guardian he was born to be.
- Laszlo’s Secret: Watch Laszlo’s behavior in the background of early episodes. The writers planted hints about his knowledge of Colin’s fate long before the reveal.
- The Sound Design: The show uses silence and awkward pauses better than almost any other comedy on air. The sound of a vampire awkwardly flying into a window never gets old.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Rewatch
To truly appreciate the craft of this season, you need to look past the prosthetics. Look at the chemistry. This cast has reached a level of comfort where they can improvise and bounce off each other with surgical precision.
Start by grouping the episodes into "The Council Era" and "The Crisis Era." The first half is about the joy of power; the second half is about the fear of loss. When you watch it through that lens, the character beats hit much harder.
Check out the "After the Shadows" specials if you can find them. They offer a great look at the practical effects used for the Sire and the various creature designs. Most of the stuff you think is CGI is actually high-end puppetry and makeup.
The next step is simple. Go back and watch the finale, "The Farewell," and then immediately jump into the Season 4 premiere. The transition is seamless and explains exactly how the "Baby Colin" situation works. It’s a masterclass in how to end a season on a cliffhanger that actually matters.