What We Do in the Shadows (franchise)
| What We Do in the Shadows | |
|---|---|
 Official franchise logo, as released in 2019. | |
| Created by | |
| Original work | What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires (2005) |
| Years | 2005–2024 |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | What We Do in the Shadows (2014) |
| Television series |
|
What We Do in the Shadows is a New Zealand multimedia franchise centred on comedy documentaries of paranormal creatures, primarily vampires. The original film depicted a groups of vampires living together in New Zealand as room-mates, juxtaposing gothic vampire stories against the realities of sharing a house in the modern day. A similar premise was used for the 2019 TV series, centred on another group of vampires in Staten Island while featuring the original cast as occasional guests. The television series Wellington Paranormal follows the two police officers from the original film who clumsily attempt to investigate other paranormal activity in the city.
A critical success, the franchise was then diversified into television, with the New Zealand series Wellington Paranormal (2018-2022) and the American series What We Do in the Shadows (2019-2024).
History
[edit]Original short and feature film (2005-2015)
[edit]The franchise originated in 2005 with a short film written by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, then still in their early careers. The single camera mockumentary, What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires was shot on a budget of only $200. The film was made amid a wave of interest in horror comedy at the time; Vox compared the short to Shaun of the Dead (2004).
Clement and Waititi returned almost a decade later to write a feature length version, simply titled What We Do in the Shadows. In the interim both comedians had made successful careers, with Clement's Flight of the Concords and Waititi's Boy. The early 2010s had seen several horror comedy films flop, and there was some reluctance from producers to make the film, but work proceeded. It initially ran only in New Zealand in 2014, and did not attract enough attention at the time for international distribution. A North American release of the film was only possible through a Kickstarter funding drive in February and March 2015, which earned $450,000, and it sold well overseas.[1]
The film was widely shared online, becoming the most pirated film of 2015 and a cult phenomenon.[2] GIFs from the film were shared broadly; Vox has suggested that the nature of the film was well suited to the sort of viral clips used in GIFs- similar to the unintentionally memetic nature of The Emperor's New Groove. Both piracy and GIF usage aided its popularity.[1] Two further shorts were also filmed around the time of the feature release.[3]
Television adaptations (2018-2024)
[edit]Two television adaptations began airing in the late 2010s. The first of these was a New Zealand series Wellington Paranormal, which followed the two bumbling police officers from the film as they join a paranormal investigation unit of the New Zealand Police. The show was led by Clement & Waititi, starred Mike Minogue and Karen O'Leary, and ran for four seasons. During the COVID-19 Pandemic the characters also appeared in a digital series of public health announcements, made by the New Zealand Government.[4] A 30 episode podcast on the making of the show also aired from 2023 to 2024, with Minogue and O'Leary returning to host it.[5]
An American series simply titled What We Do in the Shadows starred a new group of vampires in Staten Island and aired from 2019 to 2024. It was greenlit after a successful 2018 pilot, which was written by Jemaine Clement and directed by Taika Waititi.[6] The two occasionally made guest appearances as their characters from the film, but the show otherwise stars the Staten Island group- Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) and Colin (Mark Proksch). The Guide (Kristen Schaal) was initially a recurring character and then joined the primary cast from season 5.
Short films
[edit]| Film | Release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires | January 1, 2005 | Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement | Tyler Cogan | |
| Dating 101 with Viago | May 22, 2014[7] | Taika Waititi | Angela Meyer | |
| A Vampire's Guide to Vellington | June 8, 2014 | David Perks | ||
What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires (2005)
[edit]The original 29-minute short film by Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement, which inspired their 2014 film. In the short, three vampires—Deacon Brugh (Jonny Brugh), Count Viago (Waititi), and Vulvus the Abhorrent (Clement)—who share an apartment are interviewed by a TV crew.[8]
Dating 101 with Viago (2014)
[edit]A short film and advertisement campaign to promote the online dating services FindSomeone and Dating for Shoes. The film follows Dating for Shoes founder Angela Meyer giving Viago a tutorial on creating his own FindSomeone profile: from creating a username, to describing his hobbies and interests.[9]
Vampire's Guide to Vellington (2014)
[edit]A short film and advertisement campaign by Wellington, as a comedic promotion that the city is a vampire-friendly place to visit. The film follows vampire Viago promoting the nightlife, cinemas and clothes shops of the city alongside his flatmates Vladislav and Deacon. As part of the campaign, the 'W' in the Wellington Blown Away sign on Miramar hill was temporarily changed to a blood-red 'V'.[10]
Films
[edit]| Film | N.Z. release date | U.S. release date | Directors | Screenwriters | Producers | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What We Do in the Shadows | January 9, 2014 | February 13, 2015 | Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement | Taika Waititi, Emanuel Michael & Chelsea Winstanley | Released | |
| We're Wolves | TBA | TBA | TBA | Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement | TBA | In development |
What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
[edit]Vampire housemates (Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh) cope with the complexities of modern life and introduce a newly turned vampire to the benefits of being undead.[11]
We're Wolves (TBA)
[edit]A sequel to the What We Do in the Shadows, focused on the werewolves depicted in the film, originally rumoured to be titled What We Do in the Moonlight, was announced as being in development in August 2015.[12][13] In May 2019 Taika Waititi said "We're Wolves is the film that Jemaine and I keep pretending that we're making. Every couple of years we say, we're making this new film called We're Wolves which follows the werewolves from the film," said Waititi. "I feel bad to even mention it now because we keep saying it, [but] it’s like a dad saying, ‘Yeah, I’ll be home for Christmas.’ I suppose we're just two dads out on the road enjoying our lives and going, 'We're not coming home for Christmas.' We'll send a postcard. It's not like we don't want to come home for Christmas. We would like nothing more but we have a lot of shit going on. When are you going to die? Do you have a ... deadline before your death? I guarantee it before then. Five years, 10 years? It took us seven years to write the [first] film, so you do the math. That was a sad thing to say."[14]
Television
[edit]| Series | Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Showrunner(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | |||||
| Wellington Paranormal | 1 | 6 | 11 July 2018 | 15 August 2018 | * TVNZ 2 (New Zealand) | Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement | |
| 2 | 6 | 16 October 2019 | 20 November 2019 | ||||
| Special | 19 December 2019 | ||||||
| 3 | 6 | 24 February 2021 | 31 March 2021 | ||||
| 4 | 6 | 16 February 2022 | 23 March 2022 | ||||
| What We Do in the Shadows | 1 | 10 | March 27, 2019 | May 29, 2019 | FX | Paul Simms | |
| 2 | 10 | April 15, 2020 | June 10, 2020 | ||||
| 3 | 10 | September 2, 2021 | October 28, 2021 | ||||
| 4 | 10 | July 12, 2022 | September 6, 2022 | ||||
| 5 | 10 | July 13, 2023 | August 31, 2023 | ||||
| 6 | 11 | October 21, 2024 | December 16, 2024 | ||||
Wellington Paranormal (2018–2022)
[edit]The series follows Officers Minogue and O'Leary, who originally appeared as secondary characters in the 2014 film. They join a paranormal division of the Wellington Police Department under Sergeant Maaka (Maaka Pohatu). The show debuted on TVNZ 2 in 2018, and was renewed several times. The fourth and final season aired in 2022.[15]
What We Do in the Shadows (2019–2024)
[edit]The series follows four vampire roommates and one vampire familiar living on Staten Island.
In May 2020, the series was ordered for a third season, while season two was still airing.[16] Production for season three was set to start in February 2021, before being postponed to later in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]
Digital series
[edit]Important COVID-19 Messages from Wellington Paranormal is a sixteen-episode digital web series and public service campaign released in 2020 by New Zealand Police to inform the public on health, safety, and best practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The series follows Officers Minogue and O'Leary in home isolation, and features several guests including Sergeant Maaka and Officer Parker. The series also includes Andrew Coster and Clarke Gayford as themselves.[18]
Main cast and characters
[edit]This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in noteworthy roles.
- An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the installment, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
- A indicates an appearance through archival footage or audio.
- C indicates a cameo role.
- G indicates a guest appearance in the installment.
- P indicates an appearance in onscreen photographs.
- R indicates a recurring role in the installment.
- V indicates a voice-only role.
| Character | Film | Television | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short films | What We Do in the Shadows | Wellington Paranormal | What We Do in the Shadows | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||
| Viago Von Dorna Schmarten Scheden Heimburg | Taika Waititi | Taika WaititiG | Taika WaititiA | Taika WaititiR | |||||||||
| Vladislav "The Poker" Pokeris | Jemaine Clement | Jemaine ClementV | Jemaine Clement | ||||||||||
| Deacon Brucke | Jonny Brugh | Jonny BrughG | Jonny BrughA | ||||||||||
| Officer Kyle Minogue | Mike Minogue | ||||||||||||
| Officer O'Leary | Karen O'Leary | ||||||||||||
| Nick Macure | Cori Gonzalez-Macuer | ||||||||||||
| Wesley the Daywalker | Wesley SnipesP | Wesley SnipesG | |||||||||||
| Anton the Park Ranger | Rhys Darby | Rhys DarbyG | |||||||||||
| Dion | Cohen Holloway | ||||||||||||
| Petyr | Ben Fransham | ||||||||||||
| Stu | Stu Rutherford | ||||||||||||
| Clifton | Simon Vincent | ||||||||||||
| Jackie | Jackie van Beek | ||||||||||||
| Julian | Jason Hoyte | ||||||||||||
| Katherine Heimburg | Ethel Robinson | ||||||||||||
| Pauline "The Beast" | Elena Stejko | ||||||||||||
| Sergeant Ruawai Maaka | Maaka Pohatu | Maaka Pohatu | |||||||||||
| Constable Parker | Thomas Sainsbury | Thomas Sainsbury | |||||||||||
| Mrs. O'Leary | Lynda Topp | ||||||||||||
| Nandor the Relentless | Kayvan Novak | ||||||||||||
| Laszlo Cravensworth | Matt Berry | ||||||||||||
| Nadja (& Nadja Doll) | Natasia Demetriou | ||||||||||||
| Guillermo De la Cruz | Harvey Guillén | ||||||||||||
| Colin Robinson (I & II) | Mark Proksch | ||||||||||||
| Sean | Anthony AtamanuikR | ||||||||||||
| Jeff Suckler / Gregor | Jake McDormanR | Jake McDormanG | |||||||||||
| Simon the Devious | Nick KrollG | Nick KrollG | |||||||||||
| Baron Afanas | Doug JonesR | Doug JonesA | Doug JonesR | ||||||||||
| The Guide | Kristen SchaalG | Kristen SchaalR | Kristen Schaal | ||||||||||
| Jenna | Beanie FeldsteinR | ||||||||||||
Additional crew and production details
[edit]| Title | Crew/Detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer(s) | Cinematographer(s) | Editors | Production companies | Distributing companies | Running time | ||
| What We Do in the Shadows | Plan 9 | D.J. Stipsen Richard Bluck |
Tom Eagles Yana Gorskaya Jonathan Woodford-Robinson |
Unison Films Defender Films Funny or Die Films New Zealand Film Commission Resnick Interactive Development |
The Orchard Films Paramount Pictures Madman Entertainment |
1hr 25mins | |
| Wellington Paranormal | Jemaine Clement | D.J. Stipsen | Tom Eagles Shawn Paper Angela Boyd |
New Zealand Documentary Board | Television New Zealand | 6hrs | |
| What We Do in the Shadows (The Series) |
Mark Mothersbaugh | D.J. Stipsen Christian Sprenger |
Tom Eagles Shawn Paper Yana Gorskaya Dane McMaster Daniel Haworth Varun Viswanath Joseph Ettinger Antonia de Barros |
FX Productions 343 Incorporated Two Canoes Pictures |
20th Television Disney Media Distribution 20th Century Fox Television |
10hrs | |
| We're Wolves | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
Reception
[edit]Box office and financial performance
[edit]| Film | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Budget | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All-time North America | All-time worldwide | |||
| What We Do in the Shadows | $3,469,224 | $5,012,132 | $8,481,356 | #6,798 | #5,750 | $1,600,000 | [19][20][21] |
Critical and public response
[edit]| Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| What We Do in the Shadows | 96% (186 reviews)[22] | 76/100 (33 reviews)[23] |
| Wellington Paranormal | 98% (39 combined total series reviews)[24] | 72/100 (12 reviews)[25] |
| What We Do in the Shadows (The Series) | 98% (170 combined total series reviews)[26] | 79/100 (41 reviews)[27] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Romano, Aja (27 March 2019). "How cult movie What We Do in the Shadows went from internet phenomenon to new TV show". Vox.
- ^ Lerman, Elizabeth (12 February 2020). "Every Vampire Movie & TV Canon In What We Do In The Shadows". ScreenRant.
- ^ "Vampires take over 'Vellington'". NZ Herald. 4 May 2014.
- ^ Nelson, Alex (29 June 2018). "What We Do In The Shadows TV spin-off: here's a first look at 'Wellington Paranormal'". The i Paper.
- ^ Frater, Patrick (23 November 2023). "'What We Do in the Shadows' Spinoff 'Wellington Paranormal' Expands as Podcast". Variety.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 22, 2018). "'What We Do In The Shadows' TV Series Reboot From Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi Gets FX Pilot Order, Sets Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ "Dating 101 with Viago". YouTube. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- ^ Waititi, Taika; Clement, Jemaine (2005). "What we do in the Shadows: Interviews with some Vampires" (short film). Wellington, New Zealand: Defender Films. Runtime 28:53 – via Pop Culture Pandora on YouTube (Jan 30, 2016).
- ^ Dating 101 with Viago – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ APNZ (2014-06-10). "Vampires take over 'Vellington'". The New Zealand Herald.
- ^ Nelson, Rob (January 24, 2014). "Sundance Film Review: 'What We Do in the Shadows'". Variety. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ Chavez, Danette (17 August 2015). "What We Do in the Shadows Is Getting a Sequel." AVClub.com. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
- ^ Saathoff, Evan (25 January 2016). "What We Do in the Shadows Follow-up Gets A Snappy Title".
- ^ Nguyen, Hanh (May 24, 2019). "Taika Waititi Talks 'What We Do in the Shadows' and the Wait for the 'Werewolves' Movie". Indie Wire.
- ^ @WellyParanormal (February 13, 2022). "Here's a sneak peak[sic] of Season 4 of #WellingtonParanormal, courtesy of our mates at @TVNZ. This Wednesday 16th February, Australia catch it on @SBSOnDemand and NZ on TVNZ 2" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Porter, Rick (May 22, 2020). "'What We Do in the Shadows' Renewed for Season 3 on FX". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
- ^ Bennett, Tara (March 30, 2021). "What We Do in the Shadows Season 3 teases a returning character & more Jackie Daytona-style disruption". Syfy. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ Wellington Paranormal | "Two Metres Please" | Sing Along – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "What We Do in the Shadows". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ "What We Do in the Shadows (2014) – Financial Information". The Numbers.
- ^ Romano, Aja (March 27, 2020). "How cult movie What We Do in the Shadows went from internet phenomenon to new TV show". Vox. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
- ^ "What We Do in the Shadows (2014)". 13 February 2015 – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
- ^ "What We Do in the Shadows" – via www.metacritic.com.
- ^ "Wellington Paranormal" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
- ^ "Wellington Paranormal" – via www.metacritic.com.
- ^ "What We Do in the Shadows" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
- ^ "What We Do in the Shadows (2019)" – via www.metacritic.com.
- Features based on short films
- Films directed by Taika Waititi
- American mockumentary films
- 2010s parody films
- Vampire comedy films
- Vampire film series
- Wellington in fiction
- Werewolf films
- Television franchises
- New Zealand comedy horror films
- Mass media franchises introduced in 2014
- Film series introduced in 2014