TV Show Reviews

‘Wellington Paranormal’ Review – A Delightful Workplace Comedy with a Paranormal Twist

By Michael Cook
July 12, 2021
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Synopsis

Wellington Paranormal follows the adventures of Officers O’Leary (Karen O’Leary) and Minogue (Mike Minogue), hard-working members of the Wellington constabulary’s paranormal unit who, under the supervision of Sergeant Maaka (Maaka Pohatu), investigate supernatural occurrences that arise in the capital of New Zealand on a surprisingly regular basis.

If you thought FX’s TV version of What We Do in the Shadows was the first spinoff of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s beloved film, think again. Wellington Paranormal, a workplace sitcom centered around New Zealand police officers Minogue (Mike Minogue) and O’Leary (Karen O’Leary), premiered in New Zealand in July of 2018—nearly a year before FX’s Shadows show began. And now, after a three-year wait, Wellington Paranormal has finally crossed the pond, now airing on the CW and HBO Max.

Wellington Paranormal will feel immediately familiar to fans of both the original film and the FX show. Created and executive produced by Waititi and Clement (with Clement writing and/or directing the first two episodes, and multiple others throughout the show’s run), Wellington Paranormal retains much of the dry, witty, and absurd humor found in the other Shadows titles. But instead of focusing on vampires living among humans, Wellington Paranormal focuses on the police officers who try to keep the peace in a world filled with every paranormal creature imaginable. And it’s exactly as ridiculous as it sounds. For Americans unfamiliar with this franchise, think of it this way: if The X-Files, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Cops had a baby, Wellington Paranormal would be that child.

Plot

Wellington Paranormal is as episodic as they come. Based on the first two episodes, each episode sees Minogue and O’Leary (both of whom appeared in the Shadows film) investigating a new paranormal occurrence around the New Zealand town of Wellington. In the first episode, the duo interrogates a demon that’s possessing various citizens. And in the second episode, they head off to a rural farm in search of aliens and UFOs. And that’s basically it. There don’t seem to be any ongoing plotlines tying the episodes together. Nor is there much in the way of ongoing character arcs. Instead, these are episodes that just act as their own, little self-contained adventures for Minogue and O’Leary to go on. It doesn’t make a good binge-worthy show, but it does make for an enjoyable watch.

Wellington Paranormal is a parody of self-serious cop shows. Minogue and O’Leary are kind-hearted, dedicated cops. And they’re terrible at their jobs. In fact, most of the situations they’re dispatched to in the first two episodes would probably have been better off had they never shown up at all. At best, Minogue and O’Leary luck into solving these mysteries. But mostly, they just bumble their way through them, making things worse. Their boss, Sergeant Maaka, initially appears more knowledgeable and prepared. But in the field, he’s not much better than they are. And it’s endlessly funny. There’s just something so enjoyable about watching hopelessly inept characters try their best to overcome massive odds. And it’s even funnier seeing the paranormal threats refuse to take these cops seriously. Everything about Wellington Paranormal’s structure works for me – though its episodic nature may result in the show’s formula growing stale over time.

(L-R): Mike Minogue as Officer Minoque, Extraterrestrial Flora, Karen O’Leary as Officer O’Leary — Photo: Stan Alley/New Zealand Documentary Board Ltd.

The Cast

O’Leary, Minogue, and Maaka all feel a bit paper-thin at times, existing more as comedic archetypes than people. Each of them has a defining characteristic of sorts. O’Leary is the skeptic, Maaka is the knowledgable mentor, and Minogue is the open-minded one. Of course, these characteristics are played as absurdly as possible. Maaka basically gets all of his information from the internet. And Minogue’s total willingness to believe anything leaves him as unsure of what’s going on as O’Leary’s frequent rejection of the paranormal leaves her. There’s not much else to these characters yet, but I expect they’ll develop more as the show continues. However, all three actors are excellent in their roles. They bounce off of each other brilliantly, and so much of the humor comes from the way they interact with each other and with the supernatural threat of the episode.

The Humor, and the Visuals

The humor, in general, is very low-key and absurd. This isn’t one of those shows where the jokes come flying as fast as possible. Instead, they’re dry and witty, and it often takes a second to realize how funny whatever just happened was. There are tons of jokes that recur throughout the episodes, building off of each of their earlier appearances until the final punchline is just outrageously silly. And many of the best jokes come from the visuals, too. Often, Minogue and O’Leary will be talking directly to the cameras while something happens behind them, something they should probably know about. And those moments are played for sweet, sweet dramatic irony, and I eat them up every time.

As far as the CGI and other visual effects go, they’re respectable enough considering the show’s modest budget. In fact, all of the effects are fairly restrained. There’s minimal CGI, but when it’s used, it’s used to great (and often comedic) effect. Many of the effects are practical and perfunctory – which makes sense. The effects rarely draw attention to themselves, which results in some of these paranormal concepts feeling far more grounded than they might otherwise be. Most of the time, Wellington Paranormal just feels like an absolutely absurd episode of Cops where the cops are chasing all kinds of creepy, paranormal creatures instead of normal criminals. And I loved every bit of it.

Final Thoughts

Wellington Paranormal is the kind of show you watch if you need a smile. I wouldn’t call it “must-watch,” appointment viewing. Nor would I say it’s a great binge-watch. The episodic nature makes it easy to watch any episode whenever you want. But I suspect watching several episodes back-to-back might result in the show’s formula feeling repetitive. Currently, the characters could use a bit more development. They feel like archetypes instead of fully-formed people. For now, that’s fine. But as the show continues, I’d like to see them grow more. There’s plenty of room for them to continue being as inept as they currently are, but I’d just like them to feel a bit more defined. As it is, Wellington Paranormal is a worthy addition to the What We Do in the Shadows franchise. Fans of the original film and FX TV show will find much to love here.