Wellington Paranormal

Wellington Paranormal is a New Zealand mockumentary comedy horror television series which first aired on 11 July 2018 on TVNZ 2. The series is a spin-off of the 2014 film What We Do in the Shadows and first television series in the franchise, and its lead characters—Officers Minogue and O'Leary—first appeared in the film as a pair of incurious police officers.[1]

Wellington Paranormal
Created by	Jemaine Clement Taika Waititi
Written by	Jemaine Clement Paul Yates Melanie Bracewell Jessica Hansell
Directed by	Jemaine Clement Jackie van Beek
Starring	Mike Minogue Karen O'Leary Maaka Pohatu
Country of origin	New Zealand
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Taika Waititi Jemaine Clement
Producer	Paul Yates
Production company	New Zealand Documentary Board
Distributor	Television New Zealand
Release
Original network	TVNZ 2
Audio format	16:9 HDTV
Original release	11 July 2018 – present

The series was created by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, who wrote, directed and performed in What We Do in the Shadows.[2] Waititi and Clement serve as the series' executive producers, while Clement directs four of the six episodes in season 1.[1] The series was confirmed for a second season of 13 episodes, which aired 6 episodes beginning on 16 October 2019.[3][4]

A Christmas special aired on 19 December 2019, with the remaining 6 episodes airing as a new season.[5] Between the special and third series, a sixteen-episode digital web series and public service campaign by New Zealand Police to inform the public on health, safety, and best practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, titled Important COVID-19 Messages from Wellington Paranormal, began airing from 26 March 2020, featuring Andrew Coster and Clarke Gayford as themselves.[6] New episodes are scheduled to air in February 2021.[7]

Cast

• Mike Minogue as Officer Kyle Minogue
• Karen O'Leary as Officer O'Leary
• Maaka Pohatu as Sergeant Ruawai Maaka
• Thomas Sainsbury as Constable Parker

Episodes

Series		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
	1	6		11 July 2018	15 August 2018
	2	6		16 October 2019	20 November 2019
	Christmas special	1		19 December 2019
	Important COVID-19 messages	16		26 March 2020	8 May 2020
	3			February 2021[7]

Series 1 (2018)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Demon Girl"	Jemaine Clement	Jemaine Clement & Paul Yates	11 July 2018
Wellington police officers Minogue and O'Leary encounter a young girl projectile vomiting in Cuba Mall, and claiming to be Bazu'aal of the Unholy Realm. The girl is taken back to the station, where she proceeds to climb the walls like a spider and escape. Sergeant Maaka recruits Minogue and O'Leary into his new Paranormal Unit and tasks them with investigating strange phenomena in and around Wellington. Pursuing Bazu'aal as he body hops between the girl's family members, Minogue and O'Leary conduct an exorcism to stop the demon from opening a hellmouth in the Bucket Fountain.
2	2	"Cop Circles"	Jemaine Clement	Melanie Bracewell	18 July 2018
Sergeant Maaka sends Minogue and O'Leary out to the country to investigate an incident where a cow has ended up at the top of a tall tree, and he suspects aliens are responsible. The officers speak to the farmer and his strangely similar family members, and find crop circles and seed pods in the fields. As night falls, the police are pursued by plant-based extra-terrestrial life forms, but manage to lock them in a shed. As they outline the night's events to the documentary crew, their alien clones escape the shed and wander away.
3	3	"Things That Do the Bump in the Night"	Jackie van Beek	Nick Ward	25 July 2018
Minogue and O'Leary attend a noise complaint in Khandallah, where they find what appears to be a 1970s theme party in full swing. When O'Leary unplugs the record player, the party goers vanish. Sergeant Maaka suspects that ghosts are responsible, and calls for a medium, Chloe Patterson, to attempt to communicate with them. The officers encounter a series of spectres in the house, who they discover are the ghosts of people who died at a party held by Raymond St John, known as the "Party King", in the 1970s. They convince St John, who has possessed Patterson, to release her and allow his guests to go on to the afterlife. St John however manages to escape custody due to his spectral form.
4	4	"The She Wolf of Kurimarama Street"	Jackie van Beek	Jessica Hansell	1 August 2018
When a pizza delivery boy claims he was attacked by a "dog wearing jeans", Minogue and O'Leary follow a trail of destruction and missing pets to a disoriented young woman named Sheena. As they drive her home, the full moon is revealed, and Sheena transforms into a werewolf. When Sheena returns to human form, she realises her ex-boyfriend, Dion (one of the werewolf pack from What We Do in the Shadows) has transmitted his condition to her.
5	5	"A Normal Night"	Jemaine Clement	Sam Smith	8 August 2018
Minogue and O'Leary confront a series of mysterious events—a wilful floating plastic bag, apparent thefts of blood bags from Wellington Hospital, strange sacrificial rites in a Wellington park, and a posse of evil clowns in a very small car. Apart from the evil clown posse, the common underlying element to the events is Nick (the fledgeling vampire from What We Do in the Shadows), who is selling bootleg stolen blood from his job as a Wellington Hospital orderly to other local vampires. Ultimately, Nick glamours them into forgetting it all ever happened.
6	6	"Zombie Cops"	Jemaine Clement	Jemaine Clement & Paul Yates	15 August 2018
Two fellow Wellington Police officers, Donovan and Laupepe, get bitten by a zombie in a police interview room and turn while out on patrol, leading to a string of mishaps until the Paranormal Unit recognises the situation and takes steps to retrieve the errant officers, who have meanwhile bitten a fast food attendant and driver. Fortunately, the zombies are found to be susceptible to radio wave control and are soon back safely in the custody of their colleagues. Donovan and Laupepe are reassigned to desk duty.

Series 2 (2019)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
7	1	"Taniwha"	Dean Hewison	Nick Ward	16 October 2019
Sergeant Maaka, and constables Minogue, O'Leary and Parker head to Wellington Harbour, where ten anglers have disappeared, including the prime minister's fiancé Clarke Gayford. Taking to the water with Captain Quinn of the police maritime unit, the officers encounter a taniwha, a sea monster of Māori legend who have emerged in response to overfishing. The taniwha seemingly captures Parker and devours the documentary crew. Maaka, Minogue and O'Leary manage to rescue most of the other anglers but one is devoured. While watching two taniwha mating in the Wellington Harbour, the two encounter Parker, who had been staying the night with his mother.
8	2	"Fear the Briannas"	Jackie van Beek	Amanda Alison	23 October 2019
Minogue and O'Leary investigate a floating chippie packet, leading them to a local girls' high school called St Carrietta’s Girl School where an implosion has happened in the library, destroying the witchcraft section. The principal is uncooperative but the officers learn about unexplained supernatural activities after questioning the students. The officers discover that three teen witches known as the Briannas are behind the supernatural activities. Following a struggle, Minogue manages to subdue them with a taser. The girls are issued with a warning by Sergeant Maaka. However, the school is revealed to be inhabited by students with magical powers.
9	3	"Mt Vic Hooters"	Tim van Dammen	Melanie Bracewell	30 October 2019
While enforcing a ban on unnecessary horn tooting in the Mount Victoria Tunnel, Minogue and O'Leary accidentally unleash a ghost policeman named Constable Miller from the 1930s. Miller goes around enforcing antiquated laws including floggings, jailing people for indecency, and closing bars. Sergeant Maaka tasks Minogue and O’Leary with getting rid of Miller. Following a prolonged chase through the Wellington CBD including the Wellington Cable Car, the officers manage to reach a compromise with Miller by reversing the ban on horn tooting.
10	4	"Copy Cops"	Tim van Dammen	Cori Gonzalez-Macuer	6 November 2019
The discovery of a dead policeman that looks exactly like Minogue leads the cops to the Parkland Motel in the country full of exact copies of themselves. O’Leary and Minogue quickly discover that the “clones” are actually the alien fungi they had encountered in an earlier incident. The alien fungi also managed to capture Sergeant Maaka. The cops discover that slugs are harmful to the alien fungi and force the aliens to retreat back to their flying saucer.
11	5	"Haunted Nissan"	Jackie van Beek	Paul Yates	13 November 2019
While visiting a zombie themed party, Minogue and O’Leary’s patrol car is stolen. Sergeant Maaka considers downsizing the paranormal unit after purchasing a new drone. Minogue and O'Leary respond to the theft of a 1980s Nissan 300ZX. After finding a boy inside, Minogue discovers it's haunted by the original owner, the late boy racer Shane who committed suicide after his girlfriend Sharon wanted to leave the relationship. Following a confrontation with Sharon and the officers, Shane makes peace with his former girlfriend and leaves for the next life. A pleased Maaka decides to keep both Minogue and O’Leary but on reduced working hours.
12	6	"Mobots"	Jemaine Clement	Jemaine Clement	20 November 2019
During a briefing, Sergeant Maaka warns his team of constables not to use pepper spray for food. Later, Maaka briefs O'Leary and Minogue about a recent spate of stolen electronic devices including out of date mobile phones. The two officers visit O'Leary's mother's home to stake out her place, which is near a communications tower. At night, the missing phones gather into the form of a snake before transforming into a robot. The robot is led by O'Leary's 2004 mobile phone and seeks revenge against its former human owners by wanting to turn the newer mobile phones against them. Sergeant Maaka enlists the services of a hacker named Ben, who installs new updates which cause the robot to overload and disintegrate.

Christmas special (2019)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
13	1	"Christmas Special"	Dean Hewison	Paul Yates	19 December 2019
Minogue and O’Leary respond to several supernatural incidents on Christmas Eve including Satan assuming the role of a mall Santa, meat disappearing into a vortex during a barbecue, a demon-possessed doll terrorizing a family, and a photocopying machine serving as a vortex. Following these adventures, Minogue and O’Leary present Sergeant Maaka with a soft toy as a Christmas present, which turns out to be possessed.

Important COVID-19 messages (2020)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
14	1	"Distance and isolation"	TBA	TBA	March 26, 2020
New Zealand Police and Wellington Paranormal team up to provide some important COVID-19 messages, and a little bit of humour to brighten your day 👻#stayhomenz
15	2	"Having Fun at Home"	TBA	TBA	March 29, 2020
All the things you never knew you could do to have fun at home. A little bit of humour to brighten your day.
16	3	"Looking After the Older Folks"	TBA	TBA	March 29, 2020
Now’s the time to get over using the phone for actually ‘talking’ to people issues and be bold. Call your grandparents, elderly neighbours, anyone that might find speaking to someone really quite nice at this time. Go on, do it.. 📞
17	4	"7 Day Twitch"	TBA	TBA	April 3, 2020
The 7-day twitch could possibly be feeling worse than a 7-year itch right now. But don't do it, don't leave. Stay in and work on your relationships. Most importantly, try not to go mad like Minogue.
18	5	"Two Metres Please"	TBA	TBA	April 3, 2020
Here’s the two-metre song from Officer O’Leary. Hear it once and you’ll never forget it. This and other tips for keeping the 2-metre rule from Officers O’Leary and a cameo appearance from Officer Phil.
19	6	"Who needs Batman?"	TBA	TBA	April 4, 2020
Who needs Batman? New Commissioner Andrew Coster meets Officer O’Leary and says he has a direct line to 10,000 Supermen and Superwomen. Out there, doing their jobs, every day. Keeping you safe.
20	7	"TEN-FIVE"	TBA	TBA	April 5, 2020
Paranormal monster in the house? Run out of pasta? O’Leary takes Minogue through when to call or go online to contact the Police. The actual Police.
21	8	"Misconceptions"	TBA	TBA	April 9, 2020
Officer O’Leary’s mother (aka Lynda Topp) is full of the goss sugar plum. She’s just about heard every misconception going about the Coruba virus.
22	9	"Teenchat"	TBA	TBA	April 10, 2020
Officer O’Leary has a message for teens at this time. Yes, it totally sucks to be you. Minogue translates to teen-speak. Eye roll. LOL.
23	10	"Paranormal Briefing"	TBA	TBA	April 12, 2020
Sergeant Maaka holds a Paranormal unit briefing in lockdown. Officer Parker and Minogue join O’Leary to report in on Supernatural crime in Home Isolation.
24	11	"Clarke & Neve"	TBA	TBA	April 15, 2020
Officer O’Leary checks in with Clarke Gayford (Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's bloke) about life at home with toddler Neve under lockdown. It’s just not easy being at home with kids, especially if you’ve got a Minogue around!
25	12	"Supermarket Etiquette"	TBA	TBA	April 18, 2020
“I don’t want to talk about your nuts Minogue”. 🥜 If you’re headed to the SUPERMARKET this weekend, Officer O’Leary has some supermarket etiquette tips to help you keep everyone else safe and happy.
26	13	"Cycle safety"	TBA	TBA	April 19, 2020
Is that lycra legal? If you’re going out cycling check your bike is in good nick first, wear a bike helmet and cycle locally. If you’re like Minogue and taking ‘local’ super seriously then thumbs up to you. But please - could you put away any exposed nipples, it’s just not a good look! 🚲
27	14	"Ghost Cop"	TBA	TBA	April 24, 2020
Whooo hooo. If you’re thinking of sneaking out, just be warned there’s an Officer O’Leary ghosty about. Ok people, it would be really just great if you could just stay home and not be tempted to go out and catch up with friends or go somewhere you shouldn’t (or risk being terrified by ghosts). Whooo hoop 👻
28	15	"Level 3"	TBA	TBA	April 29, 2020
Have you felt a bit invisible at Level 4 Lockdown? Officer O’Leary understands the feeling! Now we’ve moved to Level 3 here’s all the things you can now do just in case you’ve missed them.
29	16	"The Wrap Up"	TBA	TBA	May 8, 2020
It’s a bit emotional really! New Zealand Police and Wellington Paranormal - Citizens Brigade would like to thank you for watching and being so supportive of our mini-series which covered Covid19 related information and messages. We saw all your likes and shares and read all your comments too. We know it’s been an incredibly difficult time for New Zealanders over the last six weeks and that there are tough times to come, but we hope that these videos have brought a smile to your face, and provided you with useful information too. Thank you also to Wrestler who produced the series. We couldn’t have done it without you especially at such short notice. Kia kaha New Zealand. Thanks for watching!

Series 3

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
30	1	TBA	TBA	TBA	February 2021[7]

Broadcast and distribution

The series is broadcast on TVNZ 2. It is also available on TVNZ's streaming service TVNZ OnDemand.[8] In Australia, the series is available on SBS On Demand.[9]

References

1. Rae, Fiona (8 July 2018). "The TV spin-off of What We Do in the Shadows is finally (almost) here". Noted. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
2. Puschmann, Karl (4 July 2018). "Wellington Paranormal delivers New Zealand's newest comedy heroes". NZ Herald. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
3. "13 new episodes of Wellington Paranormal will air in 2019". Stuff. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
4. Croot, James (16 October 2019). "Wellington Paranormal: Why it continues to be a spookily great Kiwi comedy". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
5. Wellington Paranormal - Citizens Brigade. "Behind the Scenes - Part 4, the Big One!". Facebook. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
6. "Important COVID-19 messages from Wellington Paranormal".
7. Wellington Paranormal - Citizens Brigade (25 December 2020). "Weelington Paranormal - Citizens Brigade - Posts". Facebook. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
8. "Watch Wellington Paranormal". TVNZ OnDemand. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
9. "Wellington Paranormal". SBS On Demand. Retrieved 6 January 2020.

External links

• Wellington Paranormal on IMDb