In the media, Vampires are usually depicted as deadly creatures who come out at night to wreak havoc on human beings. These bloodthirsty creatures are powerful and dominant as they seek out their next meal. However, Reginald the Vampire attempts to add a unique layer to the vampire genre. The new Syfy series does include the powerful and attractive vampires that fans have grown accustomed, but in this teen comedy, the protagonist is a very unlikely hero.
Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man: No Way Home) stars as Reginald, an ordinary and insecure guy who’s been pushed around his entire life. Reginald works at the Slushy Shack alongside his crush, Sarah; his pretentious manager, Todd (Aren Buchholz); and the neurotic Ashley (Marguerite Hanna). In an unexpected turn of events, Reginald becomes a vampire, which does not go over well within the vampire community. The heartwarming series depicts what happens when a unique individual comes to accept himself in a world that typically doesn’t reward the underdog.
In an interview with Digital Trends, the cast of Reginald the Vampire share how the feel-good series goes against stereotypes, celebrates originality, and embraces its inclusive message.
Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Digital Trends: Reginald the Vampire is framed as a vampire series, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a workplace and romantic comedy that champions an underdog. From your perspective, what is the message that viewers can take away from the series?
Jacob Batalon: Going with the theme of the underdog, I would say that we are the own heroes of our own story. We don’t need Hollywood or society to tell us we need to be a certain way in order to win. As pop culture and movies grow, we tend to gravitate toward these stereotypical ideas of what it means to be a hero. I would say we are all unique and different and special, and we all have things to offer the world that not everyone else can. With that in mind, “be your own best self” is what I would say the message should be.
Em Haine: I think you nailed the fact that it’s not just a vampire show of what we classically think of when we think of that genre. I love that people are saying it’s a workplace comedy. I think I heard Harley (Peyton), our creator, say that too. It’s very much these people existing in this world that we’ve made and going through real-life struggle. but in a comedic and silly and absurdist kind of lens.
When I read it, I laughed. I haven’t seen any of it. I hope other people are going to laugh when they watch it. Also, you’re going to have your heartstrings tugged at a little bit. It’s an imperfect hero’s story, and we’re all kind of coming of age within that. There’s a little bit of everything.
Aren Buchholz: I think when reading the scripts, too, there were times that it actually made you laugh out loud when you’re reading. Some of the things that Harley came up with when it comes to the vampire world, you’re like, “Why didn’t anyone think of that before? Because that’s hilarious!” You’re like, “Oh! Of course, they would do that,” but no one’s ever done it in a silly way. A lot of unique, absurd craziness.
Marguerite Hanna: Jumping off of what Em said, a lot of people in their 20s, or even in their 30s, where you’re in a job and it’s not the career that you want to settle in, and you’re clawing at trying to figure out what to do with your life and what kind of people to surround yourself with. How to belong, and who you are like. That’s what the whole show is about. I think that’s really universal.
Haine: Yeah, that’s it for sure.
Buchholz: Totally. If you were to take every one of our characters, you could easily stereotype them and put them in a box. But as the season goes on, you unearth the complexity of everyone. That’s how it is in real life. We tend to stereotype and put people in boxes. People are complex, and we’re all different, and we should celebrate that.
Reginald the Vampire will premiere on Syfy at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Wednesday, October 5.
