Topher Delmonico is a zombie and a former familiar of Laszlo and Nadja. He appears in What We Do in the Shadows (TV series).
Biography[]
Topher was a graduate of Lehigh University, where he was a member of the Tau Omega Sigma fraternity and the Senior Vice President of the Entrepreneur’s Club. He then worked as a “social media consultant”, managing his friend’s Instagram accounts, and gained partial ownership of a cider company named Doze Apples.
Following the accidental deaths of multiple familiars, Topher was hired by Laszlo and Nadja to be their familiar and appeared to be extremely industrious, using his charm and his deviousness to quickly become a favorite. However, only Guillermo knew that he was actually a slacker who got little or nothing done aside from his apple cider business, and even worse, had no desire to become a vampire.
One night, Topher allowed two vampire assassins from the Vampiric Council to enter the home. After dealing with them, Guillermo scolded Topher in the yard and advised him to stay away from the nearby koi pond due to the electrical short from the heater. Topher attempted to reset the heater but was electrocuted and instantly killed.
As the vampires buried Topher in the yard, Nadja became upset and demanded Guillermo dig him up so they can resurrect him. They took Topher’s corpse to Wallace, a necromancer running a souvenir store, who agreed to bring him back for a $350 fee, despite Laszlo's serious doubts about his ability. Wallace carried out the ritual, becoming distracted with his phone halfway, and brought Topher back to consciousness.
Topher resumed living in the vampire residence but demonstrated very little intelligence and awareness, spending his time running around the house, climbing on the walls, eating birds and insects and trying to attack Guillermo in his room. Guillermo tried to warn the vampires that Topher was now a zombie, but they laughed off his concerns.
One night, Topher attacked Guillermo and was impaled with a wooden stake. Guillermo tried to high-five the stunned Topher to make amends and accidentally knocked his arm off. The two familiars fought and Topher tried to drown Guillermo in the koi pond. Nandor, awakened by Guillermo’s screams, pulled Topher off and tried to dispose of him by breaking his neck, throwing him in the pond and electrocuting him, but Topher remained undead.
The vampires finally realised Topher was a zombie and brought him back to Wallace, demanding a refund. The vampires were instead swayed by the offer of free nametag keychains. Wallace took ownership of Topher, setting him to work in his shop basement making keychains alongside numerous other zombies he had accidentally created.[1]
Behind the Scenes[]
- Topher’s severed arm prop was previously made for a scene from the television show The Boys, in which Haley Joel Osment’s character loses his arm. As some of the special effects crew worked on both shows, they decided to re-use the arm.[2]
Appearances[]
- What We Do in the Shadows (TV series)
- Season 2: "Resurrection"
- Season 5: "Exit Interview"
References[]
- ↑ Sawyer, Marika (writer) & Newacheck, Kyle (director) (April 15, 2020). "Resurrection". What We Do in the Shadows. Episode 11. FX.
- ↑ "Haley Joel Osment becomes undead in first look at FX's What We Do in the Shadows" - Entertainment Weekly