What We Do in the Shadows (franchise)
| What We Do in the Shadows | |
|---|---|
 Official franchise logo, as released in 2019. | |
| Based on | Characters created by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi |
Release date | 2005–present |
| Countries | New Zealand United States |
| Language | English |
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.
The franchise will continue with a spin-off film titled We're Wolves currently in development.
Films[]
| 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 | Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi | Taika Waititi, Chelsea Winstanley and Emanuel Michael | Released | |
| We're Wolves | TBA | TBA | TBA | Jemain Clement & Taika Waititi | TBA | In development |
What We Do in the Shadows (2014)[]
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)[]
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[]
| Film | Release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires |
January 1, 2005 | Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi | Tyler Cogan | |
| A Vampire's Guide to Vellington | June 8, 2014 | Taika Waititi | David Perks | |
| Dating 101 with Viago | 2014 | Angela Meyer | ||
What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires (2005)[]
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.[5][6]
Vampire's Guide to Vellington (2014)[]
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'.[7]
Dating 101 with Viago (2014)[]
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.[8]
Television[]
| Title | Season | Episodes | Original air date |
Network | Showrunner(s) | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Last | ||||||
| Wellington Paranormal | 1 | 6 | July 11, 2018 | August 15, 2018 | TVNZ 2 | Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement | Released |
| 2 | 7 | October 16, 2019 | December 19, 2019 | ||||
| 3 | 6 | February 24, 2021[9] | March 31, 2021[9] | ||||
| 4 | 6 | TBA | TBA | Post-production[10] | |||
| What We Do in the Shadows | 1 | 10 | March 27, 2019 | May 29, 2019 | FX | Paul Simms | Released |
| 2 | 10 | April 15, 2020 | June 10, 2020 | ||||
| 3 | 10 | September 2, 2021[11] | October 28, 2021 | Airing | |||
| 4 | TBA | TBA | TBA | Filming[12] | |||
Wellington Paranormal (2018–present)[]
The series follows Officers Minogue and O'Leary as they act as officers of the Wellington Police Department's Paranormal division under Sergeant Maaka.
What We Do in the Shadows (2019–present)[]
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.[13] Production for season three was set to start in February 2021, before being postponed to later in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]
Digital series[]
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.[15]
Main cast and characters[]
This section shows 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.
- 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 | |||
| Viago Von Dorna Schmarten Scheden Heimburg | Taika Waititi | Taika WaititiG | Taika WaititiA | Taika WaititiR | 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[]
| 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 | Jonathan Woodford-Robinson, Yana Gorskaya & Tom Eagles |
Resnick Interactive Development, Unison Films, Defender Films, Funny or Die Films, New Zealand Film Commission |
Madman Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, The Orchard Films |
1hr 25mins | |
| Wellington Paranormal | Jemaine Clement | D.J. Stipsen | Angela Boyd, Tom Eagles & Shawn Paper |
New Zealand Documentary Board | Television New Zealand | 6hrs | |
| What We Do in the Shadows (The Series) |
Mark Mothersbaugh | D.J. Stipsen & Christian Sprenger | Yana Gorskaya, Shawn Paper, Dane McMaster, Daniel Haworth, Varun Viswanath, Tom Eagles, Joseph Ettinger & Antonia de Barros | FX Productions, Two Canoes Pictures, 343 Incorporated |
20th Century Fox Television, 20th Television, Disney Media Distribution |
10hrs | |
| We're Wolves | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
Reception[]
Box office and financial performance[]
| 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 | [16][17][18] |
Critical and public response[]
| Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| What We Do in the Shadows | 96% (186 reviews)[19] | 76/100 (33 reviews)[20] |
| Wellington Paranormal | N/A[21] | N/A |
| What We Do in the Shadows (The Series) | 97% (113 combined total series reviews)[22] | 79/100 (41 reviews)[23] |
References[]
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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).
- ^ "What we do in the Shadows: Interviews with some Vampires" (2005) at IMDb
- ^ APNZ (2014-06-10). "Vampires take over 'Vellington'". The New Zealand Herald.
- ^ Dating 101 with Viago – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ a b "Watch Wellington Paranormal". TVNZ. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ "Jemaine Clement teases 'Wellington Paranormal' team may rumble with the chupacabra next".
- ^ "We Now Know when the Funny Vampires Are Coming Back". 3 June 2021.
- ^ "'What We do in the Shadows' Season 4 Officially Begins Filming".
- ^ 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)" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
- ^ "What We Do in the Shadows" – via www.metacritic.com.
- ^ "Wellington Paranormal" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
- ^ "What We Do in the Shadows" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
- ^ "What We Do in the Shadows (2019)" – via www.metacritic.com.
- English-language films
- 2010s comedy horror films
- Features based on short films
- Films directed by Taika Waititi
- Films set in New Zealand
- Films shot in New Zealand
- American mockumentary films
- New Zealand comedy films
- New Zealand horror films
- 2010s parody films
- Vampire comedy films
- Vampire film series
- Wellington in fiction
- Werewolves in film
- Television franchises
- New Zealand comedy horror films
- Mass media franchises introduced in 2014
- Film series introduced in 2014