Sometimes you know youre watching something special as its happening.
It happened with the Dinner Party episode of The Office, and the Remedial Chaos Theory episode of Community, and, mostly recently, the On the Run episode of FXs vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows, henceforth known as the Jackie Daytona episode. Written by Stefani Robinson (whos also credited with the Atlanta episodes Juneteenth and Woods someone give her a ton of money to make whatever she wants NOW), the Jackie Daytona episode was an instantly great episode of television, with an Emmy-worthy performance from Matt Berry, and it also solidified something I was feeling around the time the Nadja doll was introduced: What We Do in the Shadows might be the funniest show on television. Im tempted to say it is the funniest show, full stop, but theres strong competition out there. Lets go through some of the competitors.
Shows That Arent Technically On TV; Theyre On A Streaming Service
This leaves out I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Russian Doll, Solar Opposites, Never Have I Ever, Ramy, Big Mouth, and Pen15. I love them all, but for the purposes of this important thought exercise, only non-streaming shows are eligible.
Barry
Extremely funny! But also extremely dark and depressing.
Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Its Always Sunny is still wildly funny after 14 seasons and has shown an admirable willingness to adapt to a different era, but Im not sure you could make the case that its at its peak. The Gang Texts was great, but was it better than season fours The Nightman Cometh? Shadows is either at its peak, or its going to continue to get better.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Not sure nows the time to make the case for B99 being the best anything.
Bobs Burgers
The most consistent show on TV, and I watch it the way Netflix subscribers do The Office, but it doesnt provide the same level of belly-laughs as Shadows.
Rick and Morty
The funniest animated show, Id argue, but not the funniest show overall.
The Other Two and Los Espookys
Too good to be one-season wonders, but Id like to see more before declaring them the best. Although, I will say, both shows had better debut seasons than Shadows
Insecure
A little too real for anyone in their 30s (me).
Documentary Now!
Inconsistent. Some episodes are among the funniest things Ive ever seen on TV (Original Cast Album: Co-Op), others are tough to get through (Batsh*t Valley).
Joe Pera Talks With You
I love Joe Pera Talks With You, but until Adult Swim announces whether its coming back for a third season, its not qualified. Im never not thinking of the bean arch, though.
The Righteous Gemstones and Succession
I originally considered excluding these shows, as theyre both an hour long and, rightly or wrongly, I rarely consider anything over 30 minutes to be a comedy. But both are uproariously funny, and the stiffest competition to What We Do in the Shadows. That said, Im crossing The Righteous Gemstones off the list for the same reason as The Other Two and Los Espookys above: its only been on for one season. Therell be plenty of misbehavin to come, though. Maybe after season two! So its down to What We Do in the Shadows vs. Succession (at least until someone yells at me for forgetting Last Man Standing or a 4 a.m. Adult Swim special with 47 views on YouTube, or something).
Now, I love Succession and miss it dearly and often think about my boy Squiggle and slime puppy and the various ways Brian Cox says f*ck off, all of them perfect but Im not always in the mood to watch a show about a bunch of toxic billionaires. It can be A Lot and, especially lately, Im not in the mood to watch A Lot. Thats one of the reasons why I look forward to What We Do in the Shadows every week. Its a silly show about a group of vampires living together in Staten Island; its the epitome of hilarity ensues.
As my colleague Brian Grubb accurately put it, It is so good and so, so funny. Legitimate belly laughs at least once an episode, and more than that, by a lot, in the last handful. Im still laughing thinking about Colin Robinson trying to get people to fall for an updog joke, and Colin Robinson quoting Dilly Dilly two years after everyone else stopped using it, and Colin Robinson saying, Door on the floor, we aint here no more. Id call Colin Robinson the MVP of season two, but, really, its five-way tie between Robinson (Mark Proksch), Guillermo (Harvey Guilln), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Nandor (Kayvan Novak), and Laszlo (Matt BAT Berry). Six-way, if you include the Nadja doll.
But, youre probably not wondering, why would you ding Barry for being too dark when Shadows has a casualty count in the hundreds? Its the same reason Looney Tunes is hilarious: its cartoonish violence, and cartoonish violence is very funny. No one is running into a painted hole in the wall, but there are teen girl vampires murdering Sweet Birthday Baby from Russian Doll and sperm-extracting witches and a literal troll and Guillermo (last name Buillermo?) channeling his inner Van Helsing. Gizmo, as Nadja calls him, might not be the funniest character on Shadows, but hes the emotional core, the one who keeps the plot from drifting too far into empty slapstick. Hes increasingly turned to the dark side (shout out to Mark Hamill), while the vampires have gotten wackier. The mailer-daemon stuff, for instance, only works because its Guillermo who usually takes care of the chores, and without him, the vampires, Nandor especially, are clueless. Its a beautiful balance that keeps Shadows from being empty calories.
Also, and I cannot stress this enough, Jackie Daytona.
Lets raise our glass of human alcohol beer served by a regular human bartender and toast to What We Do in the Shadows, the funniest show on TV.
Go here to read the rest:
'What We Do In The Shadows' Might Be The Funniest Show On TV - UPROXX
- At Least Three Women Were Infected With H.I.V. After 'Vampire Facials' - The New York Times - May 1st, 2024
- Vampire Facials Presumptively Linked to HIV Transmission - The Cut - May 1st, 2024
- Brad Pitt's 30-Year-Old Vampire Movie Was Originally A Female Story (You Won't Believe Who Almost Starred In It) - Screen Rant - May 1st, 2024
- 'Abigail' Surpasses Universal's Last Two Vampire Films at the Box Office - Collider - May 1st, 2024
- NY Premiere of Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire" Season 2 - Clinton Herald - May 1st, 2024
- 'Vampire facials' at unlicensed spa likely resulted in HIV infections: CDC - Fox News - May 1st, 2024
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- CDC: 3 women infected with HIV through vampire facials - FOX 26 Houston - May 1st, 2024
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- 'Vampire Facial' Linked To 3 HIV Cases | WOC 1420 - iHeart - May 1st, 2024
- At Least 3 Women Contracted HIV After Getting "Vampire Facial" At Spa, US Health Body Finds - NDTV - May 1st, 2024
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- Everything Featured in the IGN x ID@Xbox Digital Showcase: Vampire Survivors, Jackbox Naughty Pack, Palworld - mxdwn.com - May 1st, 2024
- How 'vampire facials' infected three women with HIV - BBC - May 1st, 2024
- May's TV Releases, From 'Bridgerton' to 'Interview with the Vampire' - Collider - May 1st, 2024
- 'Vampire facials' were linked to cases of HIV. Here's what to know about the beauty treatment - MSN - May 1st, 2024
- 'Vampire facials' linked to HIV cases, CDC warning - AOL - May 1st, 2024
- 'Vampire facials' likely infected 3 women with HIV. Here's what health experts want you to know about these beauty ... - Yahoo Life - May 1st, 2024
- Who Does Matt End Up With in The Vampire Diaries? - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 21st, 2024
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- Abigail Directors Reveal the Method to Their Vampire Madness - Syfy - April 21st, 2024
- 'Abigail' takes audiences on bloody vampire heist The Daily Texan - The Daily Texan - April 21st, 2024
- New Teaser For Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire Reveals 'Laws Of The Vampire' - Age Of The Nerd - April 21st, 2024
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- Abigail Review: Dan Stevens and Melissa Barrera in an Exuberantly Over-the-Top Vampire Horror-Comedy - Hollywood Reporter - April 21st, 2024
- 'Interview With the Vampire' Season 2 Trailer Learn the Laws of the Undead - Collider - April 21st, 2024
- New Interview with the Vampire Teaser Shares the Laws of the Vampire - ComicBook.com - April 21st, 2024
- 'Abigail' Review: This Ballerina Vampire Has the Perfect Bite - The Mary Sue - April 21st, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 to Include 'Cool Twist' Not Seen in Original Books - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 21st, 2024
- Review: New York City is Vampire Weekend's muse on 'Only God Was Above Us' - America: The Jesuit Review - April 21st, 2024
- Ikki Unite, the Feudal Japanese Vampire Survivors-like, Arrives on Switch and Steam - Co-Optimus.com - April 21st, 2024
- 'Abigail' review: A vampire bloodbath with pools of sticky stuff - Detroit News - April 21st, 2024
- 'Blood Hunt' #5 Demands a Heavy Price to Bring Down the Vampire's Reign - Marvel - April 21st, 2024
- Vanpires Are Back: 17 Vampire Books to Read - The Everygirl - April 21st, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire season 2 will be bigger, and include a huge twist that's not in the books - Gamesradar - April 21st, 2024
- A vampire ballerina and hired hitman hit the screens this weekend - WDIV ClickOnDetroit - April 21st, 2024
- Abigail's Directors Tell Us Why They Included The Vampire Ballerina Twist In The Movie's Marketing, But I Still Wish It ... - CinemaBlend - April 21st, 2024
- 'I get bored easily': Jacob Anderson reveals 'worries' about Interview with the Vampire season two - El Paso Inc. - April 21st, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Teaser Trailer Unveils the Laws of Being a Vampire - ComingSoon.net - April 21st, 2024
- 'I get bored easily': Jacob Anderson reveals 'worries' about Interview with the Vampire season two - Yahoo New Zealand News - April 21st, 2024
- Amazingly Accurate Real-Life BG3 Astarion Shows The Vampire Ready For Combat - Screen Rant - April 21st, 2024
- Interview With the Vampire Star Teases Teases Major Season 2 Twist - ComicBook.com - April 21st, 2024
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- Zendaya Becomes A Kick-Ass Buffy The Vampire Slayer In Photo-Realistic Art - Screen Rant - April 21st, 2024
- Nosferatu: First Footage Shows Off Bill Skarsgard as the Vampire - TheWrap - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend and Amber Coffman Cover Grateful Dead's Peggy-O - Pitchfork - April 12th, 2024
- Watch: Goose Welcome Vampire Weekend for Half-Hour Jam on Night Four at The Capitol Theatre - jambands.com - April 12th, 2024
- Woman found dead in Italian church was dressed like vampire and looking for ghosts - Express - April 12th, 2024
- Goose Welcome Vampire Weekend for Half-Hour Jam on Night Four at The Capitol Theatre (A Gallery + Recap) - Relix - April 12th, 2024
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- Review: Vampire Weekend's 'Only God Was Above Us' sinks its teeth into nihilistic perspectives - Washington Square News - April 12th, 2024
- Watch Vampire Weekend Join Goose for a 31-Minute Redition of "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" | Exclaim! - Exclaim! - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend's Only God Was Above Us: Review - Consequence - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Covers The Grateful Dead's 'Peggy-O' On SiriusXM - Digg - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Covered Grateful Dead With Amber Coffman On SiriusXMU: Watch - Stereogum - April 12th, 2024
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- Review | Vampire Weekend's 'Only God Was Above Us' is sure to get stuck in your head - UI The Daily Iowan - April 12th, 2024
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- Vampire Survivors Headed to PS5 and PS4 This Summer - News - VGChartz - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors teams up with Contra for new DLC and fangs its way onto PlayStation consoles this summer - VG247 - April 12th, 2024
- The face of a 500-year-old vampire with a brick between her teeth - Metro.co.uk - March 24th, 2024
- Scientists recreate face of 16th-century vampire buried with brick inside mouth - WION - March 24th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero