Entertainment NOW

2 • September 4 - 10, 2022 Entertainment Now By Joshua Amy TV Media L ook alive, everyone! Fol- lowing a refreshing change to its formula this time around, TV's best vampire comedy, "What We Do in the Shadows," closes the coffin on Season 4 Tuesday, Sept. 6, on FX (and on Hulu the next day). The mockumentary-style sitcom (referred to hereafter as "WWDITS") has hypnotized audi- ences and critics alike during its run, following a group of vampire roommates who have invited a film crew to document their day- to-day lives. Set in their shared home on New York's Staten Island, the series delves into the antics of centuries-old beings attempting to survive in modern times. Increasingly out of touch with a fast-changing world, the undead heroes consist of three traditional vampires — the clueless-but- mighty Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak, "Fonejacker"), the often-frustrated Nadja of An- tipaxos (Natasia Demetriou, "Ellie & Natasia") and the lascivious aristocrat Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry, "The IT Crowd") — and one energy vampire (think middle management or your most boring uncle). Unlike his blood- sucking roommates, the monoto- nous and pedantic Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch, "Decker") "feeds" on the energy of humans and vampires alike. In order to carry out their dark bidding during daylight hours, the vamps make use of Nandor's hu- man familiar, Guillermo de la Cruz (Harvey Guillén, "Werewolves Within," 2021), who more than makes up for his master's naivety. After watching 1994's "Interview with the Vampire," Guillermo dreams of one day becoming a vampire. That dream is compli- cated slightly when he discovers that he is both a descendant of the vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing and a vampire-killing wunderkind. Sitcoms, as a genre, typically benefit from fairly static char- acters and circumstances, but at the end of its third season, "WWDITS" challenged that no- tion with the surprisingly heartfelt (and, less-surprisingly, disgusting) death of Colin Robinson. Shortly thereafter, Nadja was summoned to the Supreme Vampiric Council in London, Nandor traveled to his homeland and Laszlo tricked Guillermo into a crate shipped overseas while he stayed behind to raise the infant energy vampire that crawled out of the husk of Colin Robinson (gross). As of writing, Season 4 has seen the housemates return from their prospective journeys — none of which went according to plan — to find their home in shambles without Guillermo's constant upkeep. While Laszlo is convinced that Baby Colin, aka "The Boy," will not grow into an energy vampire, any parent or caregiver will know just how draining child-rearing can be. Also, since Colin's office job no longer pays the bills, Nadja opens a vampire nightclub à la "Blade" (1998). But after a failed launch, Baby Colin draws in a crowd with his love of show tunes. Nandor's lonesome travels, meanwhile, have left him craving love. With the help of both Guill- ermo and a djinn, he resurrects all 37 of his deceased wives to enact a twisted version of "The Bachelor." Ultimately paying off and exhausting nearly all of his 52 wishes, Nandor marries his sup- posed true love, Marwa (Parisa Fakhri, "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."). This season has also seen Guillermo refuse to put Nandor's needs ahead of his own. Decid- ing he has neglected his own life long enough, the familiar enacts a "Guillermo first" policy — bar- ring his duties as Nandor's best man, Nadja's nightclub accoun- tant and Laszlo's co-parent to Baby Colin, that is. Cover Story Natasia Demetriou and Matt Berry in "What We Do in the Shadows" A biting finale: Vamps close out fourth season of 'What We Do in the Shadows' Ready Rental 3 x 4 Hayley Siefert 3 x 2 Letters & Numbers Sudoku Fill in the grid so that every row,every column, and every 4x4 box contains the digits 1 through 9 AND the letters A-F. Solution on page 12. Advertise Your Business In Call Advertising at 217-477-5105

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