In this week where we're looking at what you need to know to write WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS aka some of the things that WHAT WE DO does so well, there's one more thing to mention.
(Actually there are so many more things we could talk about, like the wonderful and specific characterizations of each of the vampires. But we've only got five things!)
It's a thing that was easy to miss in the early episodes of WHAT WE DO, in large part because the show presents as a pretty traditional sitcom, each week offering its own stand-alone little bit of hilarity. Vampires in Staten Island--what more do you need?
But in fact the series has a significant ongoing storyline--two in fact, that are really one. On the one hand, from the opening episode we've got the disintegrating relationship between the vampires and the greater vampire kingdom. Ancient vampire royalty The Baron shows up in the pilot and is horrified that the foursome have not taken over Staten Island. In later episodes they try to do what he wants, and fail. And then Guillermo accidentally kills him, leading to group being put on trial before the Vampire Council.
In the second year things get worse, with vampires being sent to kill them off and on throughout the season. And now in the third things have flipped and they've been made the new Vampire Council themselves.
Meanwhile the other arc which is ongoing but only revealed at the end of the first season is that Guillermo is actually a Van Helsing, and it seems to be in his very nature to kill vampires. Suddenly the death of the Baron has a whole new layer, as does Guillermo accidentally burning Nandor with holy water in the finale, or throwing stakes away and them ending up embedded in the pictures of the three main vampires. The second season will see him struggling with that identity in hilarious ways, and killing A LOT of vampires.
Really these two arcs are two sides of the same coin, which amounts to a hilarious remix of the classic Dracula vs. Van Helsing storyline, with the Staten Island Vampires caught right in the middle.
Understanding that that's going on underneath it all is a useful way of thinking about the show. First, it begs the question "If this is true, what else is true?" If Guillermo is a Van Helsing who inadvertently keeps doing Van Helsing things, what are some other possible twists? What are some other Van Helsing-y kinds of skills he might have or natural talents he might apply? Maybe he can learn ancient languages almost instantly. He is very hard to kill. His blood makes vampires sick. He has some kind of magical power set.
Or are there problematic parts of Van Helsing that become part of Guillermo's struggles? Like maybe he naturally repels attractive humans? Or anyone he loves will absolutely die?
The bigger arc also sets up future conflicts. For now, Guillermo sees himself as the Staten Island vampires' protector. But will that last forever? Can it if they're now the Vampire Council? There's so much room to play with.
That's what a bigger story arc does: it creates problems, opportunities and possibilities. It's a lot like character desire (in fact usually it emerges from them) applied to the macro scale.
Now You Try!
Knowing what we know about the bigger arc(s) of the show: the Vampires vs. the Staten Island Crew; Guillermo Van Helsing; and the Vampires vs. Van Helsing of it all, brainstorm some possible story ideas. You might find it useful to think of it as a two step process: first, forget that this is a comedy and just try to think of some serious stories or problems that could happen. Allow yourself to consider any crazy, dark or even tragic possibility.
Then, see if you can come up with the WHAT WE DO version--the version where Guillermo is accidental, reluctant or has his life made worse in his Van Helsingness; the version where the Staten Island Crew succeeds over powerful vampires in silly or accidental ways; the ways that Vampires vs. Van Helsing can go to a hilarious place.
TOMORROW
When I do these Five Things pieces, I'm going to try to do a sort of one page precis on the weekend with a couple further opportunities or suggestions--knowing what we know about the show and where's at, what might you capitalize on?, kind of a thing. So look for that tomorrow.
