Overview
If you watched Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's vampire sharehouse mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows back in 2014, then instantly found yourself yearning for more, that's understandable. Smart, silly and hilarious, the undead flick is one of the past decade's best comedies. Thanks to two TV spinoffs, that dream has come true, letting viewers keep spending time in the movie's supernatural world — and that's not going to end any time soon.
In 2018, the New Zealand-made Wellington Paranormal made it to screens, following the movie's cops (Mike Minogue and Karen O'Leary) as they keep investigating the supernatural. It proved a hit, unsurprisingly, with the first half of the show's second season airing in 2019 — and set to continue in 2020.
In 2019, an American television version of What We Do in the Shadows also made its debut, focusing on a group of vampire flatmates living in Staten Island. Featuring Toast of London's Matt Berry, Four Lions' Kayvan Novak, British stand-up comedian Natasia Demetriou, The Magicians' Harvey Guillen, The Office's Mark Proksch and Booksmart's Beanie Feldstein, it sticks to the same basic concept as the original movie, just with memorable new characters. And yes, it too was renewed for a second season — which is due to air this year, and has just released its first puppet-filled teasers.
Created and co-written by Clement, and executive produced by the Flight of the Conchords star with Jojo Rabbit Oscar-winner Waititi, the US take on What We Do in the Shadows was first hinted at back in 2017, and then confirmed in May 2018. While the duo don't star in the new-look series, Berry, Novak and company have been doing them proud as the next batch of ravenous — and comic — vamps. Novak plays the gang's self-appointed leader, 'Nandor The Relentless', who dates back to the Ottoman Empire days and is somewhat stuck in his ways. As for Berry's mischievous British dandy Laszlo and Demetriou's seductive Nadja, they're like a blood-sucking Bonnie and Clyde (but much funnier). Guillén plays Nandor's familiar, who'd do anything to join the undead, while Proksch's Colin is an 'energy vampire'. And Feldstein's Jenna is a college student with a new craving.
Can't wait to sink your fangs into more? The new batch of episodes will continue the story — charting Nandor, Laszlo, Nadja and the group's undead antics in the New York borough. It wasn't easy being a centuries-old bloodsucker in Wellington in the movie, and it's just as tough (and amusing) on the other side of the world.
Check out the first two season two teasers below:
What We Do in the Shadows' second season starts airing on April 15 in the US — expect it to hit Foxtel in Australia sometime this year, with exact local airdates yet to be revealed.