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What We Do in the Shadows: Paul Simms on the Final Season

Writer and executive producer Paul Simms discusses the funny, unsentimental approach to What We Do in the Shadows’ final season—and the choices behind its story and 11 episodes.
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For What We Do in the Shadows Season 6, writer and executive producer Paul Simms wanted a funny ending, not a sentimental farewell. In an interview with Cheryl Eddy published October 15, 2024, he explained why the team chose to finish the series, how Guillermo’s changed ambitions drive the story, and why the final season has 11 episodes.

Why end the series with Season 6?

Simms said the creative team wanted to stop before the show felt stale. At the end of each season, the writers thought they had run out of ideas, then returned from a break with fresh ones. The risk, he said, was continuing until people felt the series was “long in the tooth” or “losing its bite.” His summary of the decision: “Leave them wanting more, you know what I mean?”

What tone did Simms want for the final season?

Simms said the goal was not to make a self-conscious “very special season” or sentimental goodbye. He wanted the show to stay funny, mixing self-contained stories with longer arcs without continually reminding viewers that the series was ending. The intended farewell would come through the characters and comedy rather than a sustained valedictory mood.

What happens to Guillermo after becoming a vampire?

Guillermo’s brief transformation into a vampire changed the direction of his story. Simms recalled that the writers once imagined Guillermo achieving vampirism as an endpoint: once he reached that goal, the team wondered what he would want next. But the experience showed Guillermo that being a killer was not who he wanted to be. As Simms put it, “He’s not a killer, even though he got caught up in all that, he didn’t want to do that.”

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In Season 6, Guillermo tries to return to ordinary life and start over. His vampire housemates, however, convince themselves that they should follow him and help. Simms described Guillermo as the center of their lives in a way they do not fully recognize, which helps explain why they cannot picture him leaving without them.

Does the documentary crew become part of the finale?

The documentary setup gets explicit attention in the Season 6 opening when Jerry, a new character, asks who the footage is for. Simms said the question reflects concerns the writers had considered about vampire secrecy, the crew’s presence, and who might watch the finished documentary. Those questions feed into the finale, but Simms said the crew would not take over the story in the way the documentary crew does in the final season of The Office.

Why does the final season have 11 episodes?

FX offered the team the option of making as many as 12 episodes, Simms said. They chose 11 because they did not want to draw out the goodbye. FX and The Walt Disney Company confirmed the season’s 11-episode count in their official announcement. The original U.S. premiere began October 21, 2024, with three episodes on FX, followed by next-day streaming on Hulu; that is the original schedule, not a guarantee of present-day availability in every region. Disney’s Season 6 announcement.

Which guest performers and returning characters did Simms mention?

Simms said the team kept a list of funny performers they admired and used the final season to work with some of them, naming Mike O’Brien and Tim Heidecker. He also noted that familiar characters return, although the season’s guest approach emphasized new faces and performers the team wanted to work with. The interview does not provide a complete guest roster.

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What was Simms’s favorite kind of scene?

Asked to name a favorite moment, Simms pointed to “Private School,” the episode in which the characters try to get Baby Colin into a private school. He liked the contained, sketch-like comedy of the group attempting one task, alongside the series’ more elaborate effects and spectacle. It illustrates the balance he wanted to preserve: ambitious supernatural situations, but also simple comic scenes built around the characters.

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