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What We Do in the Shadows (franchise)

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What We Do in the Shadows
Official franchise logo, as released in 2019.
Created by
Original workWhat We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires (2005)
Years2005–present
Films and television
Film(s)What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Television series

The What We Do in the Shadows franchise consists of New Zealand and American mockumentary horror-comedy installments including one limited-theatrical film, a number of short films, two spin-off television series, and one digital series. Created by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, the plot concerns several vampires who live together in shared accommodation, who are followed by a documentary film crew.

Films

[edit]
Film N.Z. release date U.S. release date Directors Screenwriters Producers Status
What We Do in the Shadows January 9, 2014 (2014-01-09) February 13, 2015 (2015-02-13) 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]
Main article: What We Do in the Shadows

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.[1]

We're Wolves (TBA)

[edit]
Main article: What We Do in the Shadows § Proposed sequel

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.[2][3] 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."[4]

Short films

[edit]
Film Release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Producer
What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires January 1, 2005 (2005-01-01) Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement Tyler Cogan
Dating 101 with Viago May 22, 2014 (2014-05-22)[5] Taika Waititi Angela Meyer
A Vampire's Guide to Vellington June 8, 2014 (2014-06-08) 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.[6]

Dating 101 with Viago (2014)

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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 very own FindSomeone profile: from creating a username, to describing his hobbies and interests.[7]

Vampire's Guide to Vellington (2014)

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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'.[8]

Television

[edit]
SeriesSeasonEpisodesOriginally airedNetworkShowrunner(s)Status
Wellington Paranormal1611 July 2018 (2018-07-11)15 August 2018 (2018-08-15)* TVNZ 2 (New Zealand) Taika Waititi & Jemaine ClementReleased
2616 October 2019 (2019-10-16)20 November 2019 (2019-11-20)
Special19 December 2019 (2019-12-19)
3624 February 2021 (2021-02-24)31 March 2021 (2021-03-31)
4616 February 2022 (2022-02-16)23 March 2022 (2022-03-23)
What We Do in the Shadows110March 27, 2019 (2019-03-27)May 29, 2019 (2019-05-29)FXPaul SimmsReleased
210April 15, 2020 (2020-04-15)June 10, 2020 (2020-06-10)
310September 2, 2021 (2021-09-02)October 28, 2021 (2021-10-28)
410July 12, 2022 (2022-07-12)September 6, 2022 (2022-09-06)
510July 13, 2023 (2023-07-13)August 31, 2023 (2023-08-31)
611October 21, 2024 (2024-10-21)December 16, 2024 (2024-12-16)In development[9]

Wellington Paranormal (2018–2022)

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Main article: Wellington Paranormal

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.[10]

What We Do in the Shadows (2019–present)

[edit]
Main article: What We Do in the Shadows (TV series)

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.[11] Production for season three was set to start in February 2021, before being postponed to later in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

Digital series

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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.[13]

Main cast and characters

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List indicators

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in noteworthy roles.

  • An empty, dark 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 TBA TBA Taika Waititi
Vladislav "The Poker" Pokeris Jemaine Clement Jemaine ClementV Jemaine Clement Jemaine Clement
Deacon Brucke Jonny Brugh Jonny BrughG Jonny BrughA Jonny Brugh
Officer Kyle Minogue Mike Minogue Mike Minogue
Officer O'Leary Karen O'Leary Karen O'Leary
Nick Macure Cori Gonzalez-Macuer 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
Demon Girl Erika Camacho
Clarke Gayford Himself
Mrs. O'Leary Lynda Topp
Nandor the Relentless Kayvan Novak
Laszlo Cravensworth Matt Berry
Nadja Natasia Demetriou
Nadja Doll Natasia DemetriouV
Guillermo De la Cruz Harvey Guillén
Colin Robinson Mark Proksch
Colin Robinson II Mark ProkschG Mark Proksch
Sean Anthony AtamanuikR
Jeff Suckler / Gregor Jake McDormanR Jake McDormanG
Simon the Devious Nick KrollG
Baron Afanas Doug JonesR Doug JonesA Doug JonesR TBA
The Guide Kristen SchaalG Kristen SchaalR Kristen Schaal
Jenna Beanie FeldsteinR
Jim the Vampire Mark HamillG
Donal Logue Himself

Additional crew and production details

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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]
For more details on the reception of each title, see the "Reception" section on their respective articles.

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 [14][15][16]

Critical and public response

[edit]
Title Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
What We Do in the Shadows 96% (186 reviews)[17] 76/100 (33 reviews)[18]
Wellington Paranormal 98% (39 combined total series reviews)[19] 72/100 (12 reviews)[20]
What We Do in the Shadows (The Series) 98% (170 combined total series reviews)[21] 79/100 (41 reviews)[22]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Nelson, Rob (January 24, 2014). "Sundance Film Review: 'What We Do in the Shadows'". Variety. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  2. ^ Chavez, Danette (17 August 2015). "What We Do in the Shadows Is Getting a Sequel." AVClub.com. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
  3. ^ Saathoff, Evan (25 January 2016). "What We Do in the Shadows Follow-up Gets A Snappy Title".
  4. ^ Nguyen, Hanh (May 24, 2019). "Taika Waititi Talks 'What We Do in the Shadows' and the Wait for the 'Werewolves' Movie". Indie Wire.
  5. ^ "Dating 101 with Viago". YouTube. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  6. ^ 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).
  7. ^ Dating 101 with Viago – via www.youtube.com.
  8. ^ APNZ (2014-06-10). "Vampires take over 'Vellington'". The New Zealand Herald.
  9. ^ "'What We Do in the Shadows' Renewed for Season 5 and Season 6 at FX". Variety. 6 June 2022.
  10. ^ @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.
  11. ^ Porter, Rick (May 22, 2020). "'What We Do in the Shadows' Renewed for Season 3 on FX". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Wellington Paranormal | "Two Metres Please" | Sing Along – via www.youtube.com.
  14. ^ "What We Do in the Shadows". Box Office Mojo.
  15. ^ "What We Do in the Shadows (2014) – Financial Information". The Numbers.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ "What We Do in the Shadows (2014)". 13 February 2015 – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  18. ^ "What We Do in the Shadows" – via www.metacritic.com.
  19. ^ "Wellington Paranormal" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  20. ^ "Wellington Paranormal" – via www.metacritic.com.
  21. ^ "What We Do in the Shadows" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  22. ^ "What We Do in the Shadows (2019)" – via www.metacritic.com.
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