Detective Laszlo Is My Favorite on ‘What We Do in the Shadows’

Each season of What We Do In the Shadows reveals more about our weird little vampire family. And each season brings new shades to Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry), who reinvents himself with hilarious results. In season 5, we’re seeing less Jackie Daytona and more of Laszlo’s Columbo era as he tries to figure out what is going on with Guillermo (Harvey Guillén). At the end of the second episode, it’s clear that maybe Laszlo’s detective streak isn’t working for him (although he is the only vampire perceptive enough to know that something is off with “Gizmo”). Still, seeing Laszlo dive deep into his noir roots is genuinely funny.

Laszlo has become my favorite character on What We Do In the Shadows, thanks to Matt Berry’s hysterical performance. The comedian has mastered the art of line delivery, so much so that you can hear his voice any time you think of the phrase “My sweet cheese, my good time boy” or “the most devious bastard in New York City.” For some reason, Berry just has this way of talking as Laszlo that stays with you. Did I go to Six Flags in New Jersey and ride the Jersey Devil all while thinking “Nandor! I’ve been double-crossed by the devil!”? Yes, yes I did.

While Detective Laszlo hasn’t had any iconic lines yet, the air with which Berry is carrying himself through season 5 has me rolling on the floor laughing. The payoff of what he thought Guillermo was up to was so rich. All we relly needed from those first two episodes was Laszlo doing his best Humphrey Bogart.

Laszlo is on the case

At the end of season 4, Guillermo asked his friend Derek (Chris Sandiford) to turn him into a vampire since Nandor (Kayvan Novak) kept refusing. But the transformation didn’t take, and apparently being turned by a vampire who is not your master is the gravest sin a familiar can commit. Laszlo once again proves himself to be the most aware (and good-hearted) vampire of the bunch, as he sets about conducting experiments on Guillermo to get to the bottom of his issue. He also keeps the secret from Nandor, despite conducting experiments in their shared home. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen an altruistic Laszlo. Season 3 saw him trying to save Colin Robinson’s (Mark Proksch) life, or at least check items off his bucket list. And season 4 saw him singlehandedly raising Baby Colin as his own son, and the ensuing grief when Colin evolves into a grown man.

I hope that this isn’t the end of Laszlo’s detective era. But I must admit, I’m excited about his mad scientist era as well. Who knows what debunked medical tools he has lying around in his big open suitcase?

(featured image: Russ Martin/FX)