Wellington Paranormal

I’m excited to see a three-season (so far) TV comedy is finally coming to the US. “Wellington Paranormal” is a spin-off from the 2014 New Zealand mockumentary, “What We Do in the Shadows.” The movie is both subtle and over the top – a  horror/comedy about vampires who rent a house together in the New Zealand capital, Wellington. You’ll probably recognize Taika Waititi (“Thor: Ragnarok,” “Jojo Rabbit”) and Jemaine Clement (“Flight of the Conchords,” “Moana”).

In the original movie, the vampire lads run into all kinds of trouble, including the local cops, Officers Minogue and O’Leary. They’re by-the-book, but a bit dim.

O’Leary and Minogue (the actors’ real names as well) got a spin-off for New Zealand TV in 2018, but it hasn’t been seen in America until The CW and HBO MAX just picked up all 19 epsiodes. The concept is that the partners are recruited to a new team by Sergeant Maaka (Maaka Pohatu) because of their vast supernatural experience.

I buried the American debut date, because there isn’t one yet. All we know so far is The CW will debut episodes this summer with each then streaming on HBO Max the next day. There’s one Christmas episode so let’s hope that lands in late December.

If you’re as excited for “Wellington Paranormal” as I am, then you already know about the “What We Do in the Shadows” TV show. Another spin-off from the original movie, yet one more documentary crew follows a group of vampires that live in secret on Staten Island. Season 3 is currently filming in Toronto. New episodes will run on FX and the first two seasons are streaming on Hulu.