These days, between working on the recent Thor films, Free Guy and the Mandalorian, Taika Waititi’s been keeping himself busy. Today’s entry takes us to New Zealand, where Wellington Paranormal is located- another interesting project on his part co-developed by Flight Of The Conchords creator Jermaine Clement, recently picked up by the CW.
Personally, I think it’s a bit underrated, but it’s getting a lot of good critical attention, and after watching it it’s understandable because of its unique approaches to the horror-comedy genre. When it comes to a task force dedicated to saving their town from a creature invasion, let’s just say these guys aren’t exactly S.T.A.R.S, and Wellington’s got way more diversity in its rogue’s gallery than Raccoon City.
Wellington uses a distinctly balanced style of humor in which the cast reacts to the insanity around them in a way where they try to maintain their professionalism for the cameras, even when the crew starts getting in the way. The series follows Mike Minogue and Karen O’Leary as officers Minogue and O’Leary respectively, reprising their characters in this What We Do In The Shadows spinoff, assigned to their police department’s supernatural division. It’s filmed in a Live PD-style mockumentary fashion, with a crew tracking their progress as they battle the beasties roaming around their city.
Backed by Sergeant Makka (Maaka Pohatu), the trio investigate various calls related to plant aliens creating crop circles, domestic disputes between a werewolf couple, fights with goop-covered monsters, and what can only be described as a “70’s ghost”. We’ve got vampires running around causing mayhem, officers being transformed into zombies, and people being possessed, but our two heroes are in full-blown Inspector Gadget mode as they solve these strange cases often in spite of themselves. One scene where Minogue accidentally locks out the camera crew trying to escape from a creature had me on the floor laughing.
What kills me every time is just how proper and mannerly these guys are, even when they’re dealing with two giant sea monsters doing inappropriate things. There’s a very deadpan quality to the jokes, almost like a weird hybrid of The Office and X-Files. This isn’t lost on Minogue, who sees himself as the Mulder to O’Leary’s Scully. She’s a skeptic, and he’s a bloke with brown hair. It only makes sense, right? Better that than the constant “Kylie Monogue” jokes thrown his way, just because his name is Kyle (there’s no “I”).
This is one of those properties where the regional aspect of the show easily adds to its distinct appeal. As much as I love the first few Police Academy films and Reno 911, if this procedural comedy had those IP’s more caustic edge to its jokes, it wouldn’t have stood out as well. It’s Minogue and O’Leary’s bumbling sweetness and persistent sense of order that carries the humor, because it’s a perfect contrast to all of the bizarre encounters they face.
Even while they’re staring down possessed high school girls trying to steal their souls, they are hellbent (quite literally in some cases, as the pilot episode pits them against the Gozer-ish demon Bazaul) and determined to play it by the book. They’re like a low-key take on The Tick, a moronic superhero who remained kind and gung-ho in spite of being in strange scenarios.
A lot of the monsters in Wellington are basic genre standards, your expected vampires, werewolves, aliens and hellspawns, but the cheeky writing style gives them their own flavor. The writers will weave in a little social commentary that can be hit-or-miss, yet it never feels malicious or willfully ignorant. Sgt. Makka’s Maori background is written as an important aspect to the character without it feeling too soapboxy, as this show is primarily focused on giving you both a chuckle and a jump-scare at the same time.
Ultimately, Wellington Paranormal is a witty and silly series that’s an easy watch with plenty of hilarious horrors. It’s always cool to see more adventurous ideas for sitcoms, and it’s easier for shows like these to pick up a fanbase because of this era’s ease of distribution, resulting in one of the more fascinating imports to come out of New Zealand since “Switchblade” Jay White. If you’d had a chance to watch it, let us know your take on it at FAN’s social media linkups!