There’s a new vampire in town on What We Do in the Shadows—and he just so happens to have an SNL connection. Mike O’Brien, who was previously a writer and cast member on SNL, will play Jerry in the upcoming sixth (and final) season of the Emmy-nominated comedy series.
Jerry is described as a former roommate of Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), whom everyone got along with swimmingly. There’s just one tiny problem: Jerry fell into a “super slumber” back in 1976, and everyone forgot to wake him up. Oops.
FX just released the official trailer for Season 6. In the video, Jerry finally wakes up from his long nap and tries to grapple with all the changes—and shenanigans—that have happened during his slumber. “You let me sleep for 50 years?” he asks in disbelief. “What have you been doing?”
O’Brien first joined SNL as a writer in 2009. He also had a brief tenure as a cast member, having been a featured player from 2013-2014 for Season 39. He exited the cast after just a year, but continued to write for the show until 2015.
After SNL, O’Brien created the comedy series A.P. Bio, which he co-executive produced alongside Seth Meyers and Lorne Michaels. The sitcom premiered on NBC in 2018, then later moved to Peacock, where it aired until 2021.
O’Brien’s role in What We Do in the Shadows was first announced at Comic-Con in July, with the actor making a surprise appearance at a preview screening of the season premiere. “This season, our main goal was to use our favorite, funniest people that for five years we’ve wanted to use,” showrunner Paul Simmons told Entertainment Weekly.
What We Do In the Shadows Season 6 premieres October 21 on FX.