'What We Do In The Shadows' Spin-Off 'Wellington Paranormal' Headed To The CW And HBO Max
The What We Do in the Shadows spin-off series Wellington Paranormal has already had three seasons and a Christmas special in New Zealand, but not one episode has yet aired in the United States. That's about to change. The CW and HBO Max have jointly acquired the show, which follows a pair of cops (who first appeared in the original What We Do in the Shadows movie) as they look into a series of local supernatural events. Under the new deal, episodes will first premiere on The CW and then be available to stream on HBO Max the following day.
Back in 2018, I wrote up a story about Wellington Paranormal, a new TV series that served as a spin-off of the great horror-comedy film What We Do in the Shadows. But the show had been in the works longer than that – we first reported on it in 2016. Since then, Wellington Paranormal has aired multiple seasons in New Zealand while us chumps here in the United States sit around, waiting. Thankfully we'll have our chance to see it soon, because of a new deal with The CW and HBO Max.
As THR reports, "The CW will get the first airings of the show, which is set to be part of its summer schedule (a premiere date is still to be determined). HBO Max will stream episodes a day after their broadcast debut, as will the broadcaster's ad-supported streaming platforms." The series was created by What We Do in the Shadows filmmakers/stars Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, and tells the story of Sergeant Ruawai Maaka of the Wellington Police who "enlists the aid of Officers Minogue and O'Leary to tackle paranormal events in New Zealand's capital city. In a police reality show style, the series follows these kiwi cops as they investigate cases such as the demon possession of a teenager, a noise complaint at a haunted house and a blood bank robbery."
Here's a trailer.
Wellington Paranormal
The cast includes Mike Minogue and Karen O'Leary, who reprise their roles from the What We Do in the Shadows film, and also Maaka Pohatu. This isn't the first series to spin-off from the What We Do in the Shadows movie – there's also the excellent FX show What We Do in the Shadows, which is technically a continuation of the film since several characters from the movie pop up in cameo appearances from time to time.
Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi have also been talking about another potential spin-off – the film We're Wolves, which would follow the werewolf characters seen in the film. There's been no word on when or even if we'll actually see that, but here's hoping Clement and Waititi get around to it someday.