‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Season 2’s vampires are a perfect escape when cooped up worrying about coronavirus – MEAWW

The coronavirus pandemic has seemingly sucked out the joy from the lives of many across the globe. A quick look at any form of social media will tell you that way too many people feel that March 2020 has lasted almost as long as a year. And its apparent why. People are cooped up inside their homes with nothing to do. Socializing with friends and family has been reduced to video chats on FaceTime and Zoom and Messenger. No ones having out in bars drinking. No ones playing (or watching) sports. And no one knows how long this will last.

Stuck at home, many have resorted to binging films and shows with renewed fervor, and for some, the flavor of the month has been to watch pandemic-related content. Of course, watching Contagion -- the 2011 Steven Soderbergh film -- or the Netflix documentary series Pandemic, or other documentaries on the SARS epidemic or Avian Flu is only likely to increase ones already-rising anxiety levels.

The focus, instead, should be watching something so bizarre, it makes you forget about real-life apocalyptic conditions. The immense popularity of the Netflix documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness makes sense in this regard. Who wouldnt want to obsess over a gun-toting, polyamorous, flamboyantly gay connoisseur of big cats, who tried to have his archenemy murdered?

But absurdity need not only come from real life. Fiction has more than enough of it. And when the absurd meets the hilarious, how is one to find a better deal. Lo and behold, the upcoming second season of FXs vampire mockumentary series What We Do in the Shadows. Created by Jemaine Clement, who co-wrote the original 2014 film of the same name with Taika Waititi, the series centers on the misadventures of Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Laszlo (Matt Berry), and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), four vampires who have been living together for hundreds of years. Nandors human servant Guillermo (Harvey Guilln) also lives with them. And together, they get into a lot of supernatural shenanigans.

Is it even possible to conjure up something even remotely as absurd a concept? Its not a rhetorical question. Few comedy shows have come close to the film or the series. Fewer still have been this hilarious.

At a time of immense uncertainty, widespread death and panic, and one that comes with a sinking feeling of doom, to lose yourself in a world of mythical creatures who are, in fact, as dumb and conniving and terrible as humans, who struggle to get through the day (or night -- sunlight could literally kill them), is literally a blessing. Imagine having the same problems as Nandor or Nadja or Lazslo or Colin. Imagine trying to relate to Guillermo, who at the end of season 1 discovered that he was a descendant of the vampire-hunter Van Helsing. Its almost freeing to try and fail to empathize with any of them.

What We Do in the Shadows, while being absurd and funny, also does not lack heart. It is littered with oddly touching moments here and there. It also helps us put things in perspective. Most of us have been stuck inside our homes for weeks now. These immortal beings have been stuck inside theirs for centuries. If those infected by the virus (or just those with symptoms) feel ostracized, they can only relate to the vampires, who have to keep their identities secret to avoid ostracism.

Ultimately, its a respite from things that occupy our heads, especially now, when quarantines and social distancing have forced us to spend quality time with our thoughts. No one makes a show thinking, Oh wait, this will be great for a season of the pandemic. But few things help in times like these, times that no one foresaw and no one knew how to prepare for. It may be an unlikely combination. But when ennui and anxiety peak, this vampire mockumentary provides a kind of joy. Its definitely better to have a laugh at the melodramatic and clumsy immortals and contemplate our own mortality.

What We Do in the Shadows Season 2 premieres on FX on April 15 at 10 pm ET/PT.

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'What We Do in the Shadows' Season 2's vampires are a perfect escape when cooped up worrying about coronavirus - MEAWW

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero