Are you a fan of What We Do in the Shadows (either the excellent film or the excellent TV series)? Did you love the episode of The X-Files where Mulder and Scully appeared on an episode of Cops? Or do you just like laughing at silly, yet still smartly crafted, parodies of cop and paranormal shows? Well, then have I got a series for you to check out: Wellington Paranormal.
Here in the States (and over in the UK), we’re coming to this delightful series a bit late in the game. Three seasons have already aired in New Zealand and Australia. But, better late than never, as Wellington Paranormal is the perfect fun size bite of the What We Do in the Shadows universe created by Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement (who co-created this series as well) and can serve to tide you over until new episodes of the FX TV series return. Spinning-off the minor characters of Officer Minogue (Mike Minogue) and Officer O’Leary (Karen O’Leary) from the Shadows film (they briefly appeared as clueless cops who didn’t really get that they had stumbled upon some supernatural dealings), the series has a documentary film crew following the two officers as they are tasked by their Sergeant (Maaka Pohatu) to head the secret Paranormal Division in Wellington, New Zealand.*
*Since this series takes place wholly in New Zealand, it’s more closely linked to the film version of What We Do in the Shadows, rather than the US-based TV series. However, through four episodes, there hasn’t be any true cross-over with the film outside of pulling two characters from it to center the series on.
While Sergeant Maaka believes the truth is out there (although he’s very levelheaded about it), Minogue and O’Leary have a hard time accepting that there are ghosts, vampires, and werewolves roaming the city streets of Wellington. But arguing over the existence of the supernatural isn’t the real purpose of the series. No, it would be to see the ridiculous and silly situations that our two detectives can find themselves in – and how they consistently attempt to explain them away with “real world” reasoning (a werewolf might just be a large dog in blue jeans, after all).
The series wouldn’t work with the key combination of smart writing and strong acting, and luckily the show has both in spades. Minogue and O’Leary make the perfect team, bouncing off each other in almost every scene in the series (and they are in nearly every scene, as the documentary crew filming them appears to only have access to them and Sergeant Maaka). While Minogue claims they are like Scully and Mulder in the premiere (with O’Leary being a short, skeptical woman, and he being a brunette man), they have a fun, easy chemistry that works to make the show flow nicely, even when dealing with some of the less than convincing monsters they encounter (part of the show’s charm is the low budge feel to some episodes – this wasn’t made on a US TV budget). The writing is smart, funny, and nicely layered, with call-backs appearing throughout an episode. And, unlike so many shows today, the series is more or less episodic, so each case gets wrapped up at the end of each 20-minute installment, creating a great binge if you are just hopping into the series.
So, if you’re looking for a fun, funny, and wholly enjoyable new comedy, give Wellington Paranormal a look. It’s absolutely worth your time and it will fill that What We Do in the Shadows void.
Wellington Paranormal airs weekly on The CW. The first four episodes of the series’ first season are currently streaming on The CW online.
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