Staten Island Documentary Crew

The **Staten Island Documentary Crew** are a human film crew documenting the lives of the vampires Nadja, Nandor, Laszlo Cravensworth, Colin Robinson and later Jenna, as well as Nandor’s familiar, Guillermo de la Cruz.

Like the New Zealand Documentary Board, the crew followed the vampire’s lives and used non-narrated actuality footage, interviews, archived photographs and stock imagery to compile the documentary, this time as a television series instead of a film. Extra footage was also gained from CCTV cameras and social media. However unlike the New Zealand film crew, they may not have been guaranteed protection from the vampires, as suggested by the death of a sound recorder by the hands of Baron Afanas.

## History

From 2019 onwards, the crew followed the residents of the Staten Island house through many notable events, the first being the arrival of Baron Afanas (who seemed confused at the documentary crew’s presence). They documented the vampires’ unsuccessful attempts to take over Staten Island Borough Council, their feud with a local werewolf pack, Colin’s rivalry and romance with the emotional vampire Evie Russell, the vampires’ attempt to team up with Simon the Devious and his vampires in Manhattan, Laszlo getting captured by Staten Island Animal Control and Nadja’s romance with Jeff Suckler, a.k.a. Gregor.

When Afanas reawakened, he unexpectedly attacked and killed the crew’s documentary sound recorder, which Nandor apologized for. The crew documented the vampires and the Baron having a “night on the town”, the Baron’s resulting death from sunlight exposure and the vampires’ subsequent trial under the Vampiric Council over his death. After the trial, Laszlo, Nadja and Nandor were sentenced to death via sunlight exposure inside a well. They were rescued by Colin and Guillermo, but the two failed to rescue two members of the crew stuck inside the well, it is not known if they survived.

The crew then documented Nandor’s attempt to gain American citizenship, Jenna’s transformation into a vampire, the vampires trying and failing to host the Bi-Annual Vampire Orgy, Nandor discovering his DNA test results and causing the death of his descendant Madelaine, and Jeff’s accidental death.

After a break, the crew returned to the house and documented the hiring, accidental death and botched resurrection of Topher, Laszlo and Nadja’s new familiar. They filmed the house holding multiple séances to tackle a ghost infestation, the vampires attending a Superbowl party hosted by humans, and the vampires thinking that they had been ‘cursed’ by Bloody Mary from a chain email. Meanwhile, they recorded Guillermo infiltrating a mosquito collecting club that turned out to be a group of vampire hunters. The group welcomed the documentary crew, but both parties were attacked while infiltrating a vampire house.

The crew documented Colin’s increase in power caused by a work promotion; at one point Colin became so powerful he made a camera crew member faint by simply talking to them. The crew then documented Laszlo temporarily running away to Pennsylvania to escape having to pay a debt to another vampire, Jim.

The crew then documented Simon the Devious coming to Staten Island and Guillermo leaving to serve another supposed vampire, Celeste, while Nandor’s former familiar Benjy took over. While filming Nadja and Laszlo returning to their musical career, Nadja wrote a song about how much she wanted to eat the documentary crew.

The crew filmed Nandor and Laszlo’s kidnapping by witches, who welcomed the crew. They documented the Vampiric Council’s second attempt at killing the vampires; the camera cut out while filming Guillermo slaughtering multiple vampires to defend them.

## Appearances

* *What We Do in the Shadows* (TV series)
	+ "Pilot" (offscreen, mentioned)
	+ "City Council" (offscreen)
	+ "Werewolf Feud" (offscreen)
	+ "Manhattan Night Club" (offscreen)
	+ "Animal Control" (offscreen)
	+ "Baron's Night Out"
	+ "The Trial"
	+ "Citizenship" (offscreen)
	+ "The Orgy" (offscreen)
	+ "Ancestry" (offscreen)
	+ "Resurrection" (offscreen)
	+ "Ghosts" (offscreen)
	+ "Brain Scramblies" (offscreen, mentioned)
	+ "The Curse"
	+ "Colin's Promotion" (offscreen)
	+ "On the Run" (offscreen)
	+ "The Return" (offscreen)
	+ "Collaboration" (offscreen, mentioned)
	+ "Witches" (offscreen, mentioned)
	+ "Nouveau Théâtre des Vampires" (offscreen, mentioned)

## References

Sarkies, Duncan (writer) & van Beek, Jackie (director) (April 24, 2019). "Animal Control". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 5. FX.
Clement, Jemaine, Robinson, Stefani, Scharpling, Tom and Simms, Paul (writers) & Waititi, Taika (director) (May 29, 2019). "Ancestry". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 10. FX.
Morris, Iain (writer) & van Beek, Jackie (director) (May 1, 2019). "Baron's Night Out". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 6. FX.
Clement, Jemaine (writer) & Waititi, Taika (director) (March 27, 2019). "Pilot". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 1. FX.
Simms, Paul (writer) & Clement, Jemaine (director) (April 3, 2019). "City Council". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 2. FX.
Lieb, Josh (writer) & Clement, Jemaine (director) (April 10, 2019). "Werewolf Feud". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 4. FX.
Scharpling, Tom (writer) & Clement, Jemaine (director) (April 17, 2019). "Manhattan Night Club". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 3. FX.
Clement, Jemaine (writer) & Waititi, Taika (director) (May 8, 2019). "The Trial". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 7. FX.
Robinson, Stefani (writer) & Woliner, Jason (director) (May 15, 2019). "Citizenship". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 8. FX.
Sawyer, Marika (writer) & Woliner, Jason (director) (May 22, 2019). "The Orgy". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 9. FX.
Sawyer, Marika (writer) & Newacheck, Kyle (director) (April 15, 2020). "Resurrection". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 11. FX.
Simms, Paul (writer) & Newacheck, Kyle (director) (April 15, 2020). "Ghosts". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 12. FX.
Bender, Jake & Dunn, Zach (writers) & Newacheck, Kyle (director) (April 22, 2020). "Brain Scramblies". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 13. FX.
Naftalis, Sarah (writer) & Johnson, Liza (director) (April 29, 2020). "The Curse". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 14. FX.
Gohd, Shana (writer) & Clement, Jemaine (director) (May 6, 2020). "Colin's Promotion". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 15. FX.
Robinson, Stefani (writer) & Gorskaya, Yana (director) (May 13, 2020). "On the Run". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 16. FX.
Clement, Jemaine (writer & director) (May 20, 2020). "The Return". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 17. FX.
Johnson, Sam & Marcil, Chris (writers) & Gorskaya, Yana (director) (May 27, 2020). "Collaboration". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 18. FX.
Meny, William (writer) & Newacheck, Kyle (director) (June 3, 2020). "Witches". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 19. FX.
Johnson, Sam, Robinson, Stefani & Simms, Paul (writers) & Newacheck, Kyle (director) (June 10, 2020). "Nouveau Théâtre des Vampires". *What We Do in the Shadows*. Episode 20. FX.