We’ve been hearing rumblings of adaptations of and sequels to What We Do In The Shadows ever since Taika Waititi’s hilarious vampire mockumentary became a cult hit back in 2015. This week, a report from Stuff confirmed that at least one of those projects is finally in production, a mockumentary cop TV show called Wellington Paranormal that follows a paranormal unit of the New Zealand police as they investigate all kinds of supernatural activity, presumably poorly and with much deadpan humor. Mike Minogue and Karen O’Leary will return as the two cops we saw stumble into the vampires’ house in the movie, and Stuff mentions that “one or two werewolves pop up,” as well as Cori Gonzalez-Macuer’s insufferable dude-bro vampire Nick. The show’s six 30-minute episodes are set to air on New Zealand’s TVNZ 2 in mid-2018. Hopefully someone out there, whether it be a content-hungry streaming service or some cable channel, can pick it up for wider distribution.
We first got word of this spin-off in 2015, when co-creator Jemaine Clement told The A.V. Club he and Waititi had put together a pitch and “mini-pilot” for the show despite being told it likely wouldn’t get funded. A year later, reports emerged that the show was definitely happening. It’s since changed its title, but not much else. Stuff reports that Waititi has had creative input on Wellington Paranormal’s script, but as producer Paul Yates told the website, “he’s been slightly busy with some hero movie.” If the reports are true, he’s also busy adapting What We Do In The Shadows for American television, as well as working on a spin-off film starring the original movie’s gang of reluctant werewolves.
[via Birth.Movies.Death.]