WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS Does It On TV In WELLINGTON PARANORMAL

Hey, have you seen this movie What We Do In The Shadows? The Kiwi vampire mockumentary co-directed by Thor: Ragnarok and Hunt For the Wilderpeople’s Taika Waititi and Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement? Maybe the funniest movie of the last ten years? If you haven’t, get on it, mates; if you have, boy do we have some exciting news for you.

We’ve known that the film would get a sequel/spinoff for some time now - We’re Wolves, centring on Rhys Darby’s lycanthropic gang from the original feature. But unbeknownst to us, somehow, until now, is the fact that a television spinoff has been in production for a month, entitled Wellington Paranormal, and focusing on the Wellington Police’s “paranormal unit,” led by the film’s police officers Mike Minogue and Karen O’Leary. You’ll remember Minogue and O’Leary from their brief, memorable turn in What We Do In The Shadows:

Speaking to New Zealand news outlet and toxic-comment generator Stuff, Clement explained the premise of the series, which follows Minogue and O’Leary - and new character Sergeant Maaka Pohatu - as they hunt down vampires, werewolves, zombies, demons, and ghosts around the greater Wellington area. Labeled as “[New Zealand police reality show] Police Ten-7 meets The X-Files,” it’ll be a typically low-key Kiwi approach to the paranormal, with the characters investigating “a very tense situation at the Bucket Fountain,” “a party in Khandallah that got a bit out of hand,” and more. Speaking as BMD’s resident New Zealander, I for one can’t wait to see Minogue and O’Leary tackle the zombies that prowl Courtenay Place every weekend. They’re trouble, that lot.

Wellington Paranormal's six-episode first season is set to air on TVNZ2 in mid-2018. It comes not only in addition to We’re Wolves, but also an American television remake of What We Do In The Shadows. Clearly, the New Zealand Documentary Board (Waititi, Clement, and producer Paul Yates) have their work cut out for them.