| What We Do in the Shadows | |
| Creator: | |
| Origin: | What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires (2005) |
| Years: | 2005–present |
| Films: | What We Do in the Shadows (2014) |
| Tv Series: |
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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.
| Film | N.Z. release date | U.S. release date | Directors | Screenwriters | Producers | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What We Do in the Shadows | Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement | Taika Waititi, Emanuel Michael & Chelsea Winstanley | Released | ||||
| We're Wolves | Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement | In development | |||||
See 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]
See main article: article.
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]
| Film | Release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires | Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement | Tyler Cogan | ||
| Dating 101 with Viago | [5] | Taika Waititi | Angela Meyer | |
| A Vampire's Guide to Vellington | David Perks | |||
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]
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]
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]
See 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.[9]
See 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.[10] Production for season three was set to start in February 2021, before being postponed to later in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]
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.[12]
| 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 Waititi | Taika Waititi | TBA | Taika Waititi | ||||||||
| Vladislav "The Poker" Pokeris | Jemaine Clement | Jemaine Clement | Jemaine Clement | ||||||||||
| Deacon Brucke | Jonny Brugh | Jonny Brugh | 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 Snipes | ||||||||||||
| Anton the Park Ranger | Rhys Darby | Rhys Darby | |||||||||||
| 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 Demetriou | ||||||||||||
| Guillermo De la Cruz | Harvey Guillén | ||||||||||||
| Colin Robinson | Mark Proksch | ||||||||||||
| Colin Robinson II | Mark Proksch | Mark Proksch | |||||||||||
| Sean | Anthony Atamanuik | ||||||||||||
| Jeff Suckler / Gregor | Jake McDorman | Jake McDorman | |||||||||||
| Simon the Devious | Nick Kroll | ||||||||||||
| Baron Afanas | Doug Jones | Doug Jones | |||||||||||
| The Guide | Kristen Schaal | Kristen Schaal | Kristen Schaal | ||||||||||
| Jenna | Beanie Feldstein | ||||||||||||
| Jim the Vampire | Mark Hamill | ||||||||||||
| Donal Logue | Himself | ||||||||||||
| 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 | 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 | |||||||
| Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What We Do in the Shadows | 96% (186 reviews)[16] | 76/100 (33 reviews)[17] | |
| Wellington Paranormal | 98% (39 combined total series reviews)[18] | 72/100 (12 reviews)[19] | |
| What We Do in the Shadows | 98% (170 combined total series reviews)[20] | 79/100 (41 reviews)[21] |