Freddie (What We Do in the Shadows)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Episode 9
- Jake Bender
- Zach Dunn
| "Freddie" | |
|---|---|
| What We Do in the Shadows episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 9 |
| Directed by | DJ Stipsen |
| Written by |
|
| Cinematography by | Michael Storey |
| Editing by |
|
| Production code | XWS04008 |
| Original air date | August 30, 2022 |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Freddie" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of the American mockumentary comedy horror television series What We Do in the Shadows, set in the franchise of the same name. It is the 39th overall episode of the series and was written by co-producers Jake Bender and Zach Dunn, and directed by DJ Stipsen. It was released on FX on August 30, 2022.
The series is set in Staten Island, New York City. Like the 2014 film, the series follows the lives of vampires in the city. These consist of three vampires, Nandor, Laszlo, and Nadja. They live alongside Colin Robinson, an energy vampire; and Guillermo, Nandor's familiar. The series explores the absurdity and misfortunes experienced by the vampires. In the episode, Guillermo's boyfriend visits, while Laszlo decides to take Baby Colin out of the nightclub for a tour.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.356 million household viewers and gained a 0.13 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received extremely positive reviews from critics, who praised the humor, performances and character development.
The nightclub has proved to be a success, even attracting human celebrities like Sofia Coppola, Thomas Mars and Jim Jarmusch. When Coppola and Mars ask Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) for the "celebrity special", they are killed by vampires, while Jarmusch believes it to be a work of special effects.
Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) reveals that he started a relationship with a man named Freddie (Al Roberts) during his time in England, and Freddie is coming over to visit. Nandor (Kayvan Novak) meets Freddie and develops a crush on him, just as his relationship with Marwa (Parisa Fakhri) has grown stale. Unwilling to steal Freddie from Guillermo, Nandor uses his first wish from the mini lamp to transform Marwa in an exact copy of Freddie. Both couples then spend their day walking through New York, unaware of each other. At the nightclub, Laszlo (Matt Berry) presents Nadja with a new contract, which she must sign if she wants to keep Baby Colin (Mark Proksch) playing. When she refuses to the new terms, Nandor decides to take Baby Colin with him on a new tour. After failing to find a replacement, Nadja settles for hiring "Le Cirque Erotique" for a performance. Baby Colin's tour begins in Binghamton, but things go awry when he grows into puberty overnight, and he is booed for his poor performance.
For the nightclub, a cirque performer performs autofellatio, which impresses the crowd. However, the crowd gets disappointed when the act lasts just a few seconds. Realizing that Baby Colin was the biggest reason for the nightclub's success, Nadja admits their glory days are behind them. Guillermo discovers Nando and Marwa-Freddie, which is also witnessed by the real Freddie. Both Freddies are horrified, so Nandor uses hypnosis to calm them down. Nevertheless, Guillermo confronts Nandor for his actions, saying he had to make it about himself when Guillermo just wanted to spend time with his boyfriend. The next day, the real Freddie leaves for England, and Guillermo is forced to live with Nandor and Marwa-Freddie. Realizing his mistake, Nandor sends Marwa-Freddie off on a train to travel the world. Guillermo visits Freddie in London, but is heartbroken to discover that Freddie is now in a relationship with Marwa-Freddie.
Production
Development
In August 2022, FX confirmed that the ninth episode of the season would be titled "Freddie", and that it would be written by co-producers Jake Bender and Zach Dunn, and directed by DJ Stipsen. This was Bender's third writing credit, Dunn's third writing credit, and Stipsen's first directing credit.[1]