WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS is a mockumentary, basically. There's an unseen camera crew that is recording everything for some supposed future documentary, just like in MODERN FAMILY, PARKS & REC or THE OFFICE.
At this point there's conventions that people expect to come with that, like talking head moments or cutaways to one of the characters looking directly into the camera and rolling their eyes (aka Jim and Pams).
One other convention that has become pretty much sacrosanct is that you never see the documentary team, or even have them directly referenced beyond that cutaway glance. Toward the end of THE OFFICE there's a moment where Pam is going to say goodbye to Michael in an airport and in order to do it she has to take off her mic, and it was kind of revolutionary simply because she did that. Like documentaries, mockumentaries never do that.
THE OFFICE has a number of other interesting moments like this in its last season, too. But WHAT WE DO is the first show I know that has played with this convention from the start. In a number of episodes the crew are actually victims: in 106 one of the team gets eaten; in 205 Colin Robinson drains the cameraman. Also, the show is not above having the cast speak directly to the documentary team, as in 104 when Nandor apologies to the crew after saying they're going to eat everyone.
On the one hand, by breaking that rule of leaving the film team alone, those moments really grab you. The expectation is so ingrained in us at this point, the change feels transgressive in an exciting way. And transgression is great for humor.
But there's also an insight in there about using everything you've got. If you've got a documentary crew as part of your conceit, they're another thing you have to work with, another toy to play with, if and when you want. The fact it hasn't been done can make that hard to realize, but once you do, you may find there's lots of room to play.
Now You Try!
What are some other things WHAT WE DO could try doing with relationship to the crew? Feel free to go way past what you think is likely or maybe even right for the show, i.e. "The Cameraman becomes Nandor's new familiar." It's only by pushing those limits that we figure out where the lines for the show actually are. (Also, it often leads to some really fun ideas that can work.)
