The What We Do in the Shadows spinoff series Wellington Paranormal is getting a wide release. The CW and HBO Max have jointly acquired the rights to Wellington Paranormal, a spinoff of the 2014 vampire mockumentary that previously debuted on the New Zealand network TVNZ 2. As per the agreement, The CW will get first airings of Wellington Paranormal as a part of its summer schedule, while HBO Max will stream episodes a day after their broadcast debut. A premiere date hasn’t yet been set for the show.
After premiering in 2018, Wellington Paranormal is currently in the midst of its third season. The show stars Karen O’Leary and Mike Minogue reprising their roles as officers O’Leary and Minogue, a pair of police officers who appeared in the original What We Do in the Shadows movie. They are described as “two hard-working members of the Wellington, New Zealand, constabulary’s paranormal unit. Under the leadership of Sgt. Maaka (Maaka Pohatu), the unit investigates the surprisingly regular supernatural occurrences in the capital city.”
Similar to the deal with Wellington Paranormal, HBO Max also has full-season streaming rights to other original shows from The CW’s lineup, including Batwoman and Nancy Drew. Freshman shows like Walker, Superman & Lois, Kung Fu, and The Republic of Sarah will also be streaming on HBO Max after their respective on-air runs end.
The original What We Do in the Shadows movie became an instant cult classic when it was released in 2014. Written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, the movie is presented as a mockumentary, documenting the lives of several vampires living together in a Wellington flat. Clement and Waititi also star alongside Jonathan Brugh, Ben Fransham, Jackie van Beek, Stu Rutherford, Rhys Darby, and Cori Gonzalez-Macuer.
While Wellington Paranormal arrived first in New Zealand, the What We Do in the Shadows TV series brought the franchise greater recognition. Created by Clement, the spinoff follows four vampire roommates living in Staten Island, starring Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demtriou, and Harvey Guillen. Guest stars like Doug Jones, Beanie Feldstein, Mark Hamill, Dave Bautista, Wesley Snipes, and Haley Joel Osment have also been featured. The series has aired for two seasons on FX with a third season on the way.
The What We Do in the Shadows team has also been mulling over a sequel movie that would follow the werewolves from the original movie. Tentatively titled We’re Wolves, Waititi and Clement have both teased the project over the past several years, though there are still no concrete plans to make the sequel at this time, despite the success of the TV spinoff.
“We’re Wolves is the film that Jemaine and I keep pretending that we’re making,” Waititi said in 2019. “Every couple of years we say, we’re making this new film called We’re Wolves which follows the werewolves from the film… It took us seven years to write the [first] film, so you do the math.”
Waititi and Clement created Wellington Paranormal and executive produce with Paul Yates. The New Zealand Documentary Board produces the series. There’s no word yet on when the show will premiere on The CW and subsequently HBO Max. This news comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter.
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