"The Roast" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of the American mockumentary comedy horror television series What We Do in the Shadows, set in the franchise of the same name.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.291 million household viewers and gained a 0.09 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised Doug Jones' performance and humor, although some were frustrated with the lack of progress in Guillermo's secret.
In an attempt to lift his spirits, Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) suggests throwing him a roast, although it was the Guide's (Kristen Schaal) idea originally, but she was ignored.
For the roast, the vampires invite many guests, including Baron Afanas (Doug Jones), Sean (Anthony Atamanuik) and random pedestrians picked from the street to fill the empty chairs.
Back at the house, Laszlo reveals to Nadja that the reason behind his unresponsive state was because he was thinking about which order to organize their book collection.
In July 2023, FX confirmed that the eighth episode of the season would be titled "The Roast", and that it would be written by supervising producer Sarah Naftalis and Lauren Wells, and directed by Tig Fong.
It's only when viewed as part of a piece of lightly serialized storytelling that certain elements start to grate, especially the frequent, insistent reminders that Nandor will kill Guillermo, and then himself, when he finds out the truth — which he's clearly not going to do until the last possible moment of the season.
The fact that Laszlo's depression turns out to have nothing to do with all this season-arc bullshit feels like at least a wink to how silly caring about the long-term plot on this show is.
But more than anything, it's a showcase for the show's makeup and visual effects departments, who I imagine spent a significant portion of their budgets for the season on this week's episode.
"[5] Proma Khosla of IndieWire wrote, "What We Do in the Shadows is nothing if not a skilled sitcom, and the writers manage to expertly maneuver us back to equilibrium.
"[6] Melody McCune of Telltale TV gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "'The Roast' is a nice mix of high-stakes action and the show's trademark quippy, dark humor.
Baron Afanas was but an attendee of the titular tribute to Lazlo, but once the he got wind of A) Guillermo's Van Helsing roots and B) the fact that it was Nandors familiar who nearly killed him back in Season 1, all bets were off.