Mark Proksch Breaks Down His Favorite Episode From WWDITS’ Final Season

Colin Robinson is rarely the life of the party, but in the latest episode of What we do in the shadowshe finds himself in great demand when his friend’s wife tries to persuade him to enter into an unusual arrangement.

“I think in this case, Colin is the forbidden fruit.” Marc Proksch told exclusively Us every week of his character’s turn in the episode of Monday, November 25. “Joel and Colin’s relationship is such that Becky maybe feels a little left out at times, but she also sees him as an emotional support. And sometimes it can turn into sexual tension.

It’s rare for Colin, an energy vampire, to be the target of romantic attention, but “PI Undercover: New York” sees him become an object of lust for Becky (Kim Quindlen), who is the wife of Joel, Colin’s friend (Zach Wood). When Colin and Nadja (Natasia Démétriou) go to Joel’s house for dinner, they discover that Joel and Becky are having marital problems, which Joel thinks could be solved if Colin would just sleep with Becky. Colin refuses – but not before he and Nadja have a truly awkward evening (even by Colin’s standards).

“You don’t really know what their motivation is for anything,” Quindlen said. We by Becky and Joel. “It’s just a few weirdos, and that’s what made it so much fun.” … It feels like there could be a thousand different reasons why they do what they do. It’s almost more fun to not restrict things and just say, “Whoever these people are, we’re just going to play them for a second and then let them go on their merry way.” »

Proksch has been playing Colin since WWDITS debuted in 2019, but this episode was special because it allowed him to film many scenes with Demetriou, who isn’t one of his usual on-screen sparring partners. (It’s also one of the series’ final episodes, as FX confirmed last year that the comedy would end with season 6.)

“This episode is probably my favorite of the season,” Proksch said. We. “Natasha and I are very close friends and we rarely film together. I would say she is my favorite to film with. I love them all, but she’s my favorite just because it’s so rare. And she’s honestly one of the most brilliant comedians around. We make each other laugh and we have a great relationship. You become very close to people after spending six winters in Toronto with each other, so I hope that dynamic comes through.

While the lead actors have worked together for a long time, Quindlen, a Chicago-based comedian, had no trouble fitting in while filming her guest role.

“They made it so easy for me,” she said We. “It was really intimidating, not because of them, but just because it’s such a funny and smart show, and coming into it as an outsider, you feel like the new kid on the first day of school. Everyone at school is really nice, but you’re always like, “I don’t want to ruin anything.” »

She certainly didn’t make a mistake, as Proksch described her as “so funny” and showrunner Paul Sims praised his talents in a press release.

“Kim Quindlen’s online videos are incredibly funny, and I couldn’t believe she hasn’t done more work in TV or film,” he said. We. “One of our goals this season was just to use the funniest people we knew, and while Kim might not be as well known as the others, she’s now one of my favorites. “

Quindlen, for his part, appreciated the actors’ ability to improvise. (They usually film each episode as written before shooting another version full of their own improvised jokes.)

“That’s something I’m going to miss so much about this show is that every take brings something new,” Proksch said. We. “Having that freedom to create your own lines and do it every take is incredibly rare in this business. And so much fun.

For this episode, Proksch got to flex his improv muscles when Colin learns that Joel has abandoned his baseball fandom. in favor of Top Chef. Inasmuch as Top Chef a fan himself, Proksch was able to add many fun facts that he knew from his own viewing.

“It was about 50/50,” he said of the split between storyline Top Chef scraps and his own improvised scraps. “It was really fun because I like Top Chef. Every time I get into something I love, it’s a bonus for me. This interests me.

But like Colin, he is not just that in baseball. “My nephew is a great baseball player. He plays for Duke and I love watching his games,” Proksch said. “I played baseball until I got bored. But I can’t survive a regular series game for the rest of my life.

What we do in the shadows airs FX Mondays at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes premiere the next day on Hulu.