What We Do in the Shadows (2019)

Rather than coasting on their laurels five seasons in, the entire team is striving for bigger and better ideas, jokes, and effects.

Five seasons in, and it still feels like we've only scratched the surface of its biggest potential. From leaning into energy vampire mythology to posing the larger question of what it is that really makes someone a vampire, the show is delving into some truly exciting places while never losing sight of its identity.

In the four episodes screened for review, this comedy remains one of TV's funniest ongoing shows. Arguably less story-driven than in the previous season, “WWDITS'” returns to its primary roots with episodic raunchy, supernatural kookiness.

The reason this series remains so compelling, despite its increasing longevity, is the characters at its center, and Season 5 deftly explores emotionally rich ideas of family, loyalty, and belonging, even as it cracks vulgar sex jokes and douses the scenery in the arterial spray.

In other words, all of our plots are slowly moving around, but What We Do In The Shadows is, happily, a show more concerned with the fun of getting somewhere than the destination. [The score is the average of the grades for the first two episodes.]

Five seasons in, it’s remarkable how much What We Do in the Shadows has maintained its breathless comic energy, even as the machinations of its plot keep its characters in somewhat of a static loop. But that same stagnation keeps our lovable band of vamps striving for new experiences.

Of course, anyone who didn’t find “What We Do in the Shadows” funny for its first four seasons is unlikely to be turned by the fifth, but that really shouldn’t be how a show is judged at this point in its legacy. FX executives don’t need to worry about converting new comedy fans into creatures of the night as much as holding onto the ones who already believe. Based on the quality of the first four episodes of the new season, they can sleep well at night.

That loopy quality is what makes “WWDITS” so fun. Just when you think it’s headed down a familiar path, it pivots and finds a new vein.

Season 5 of FX’s What We Do in the Shadows delivers on last season’s cliffhanger ending, changing up character dynamics in a way that keeps the supernatural sitcom fresh.