The ''What We Do in the Shadows'' franchise consists of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

horror-

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

installments including one limited- theatrical film, a number of

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s, two spin-off television series, and one digital series. Created by

Jemaine Clement Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement (born 10 January 1974) is a New Zealand actor, comedian, musician and filmmaker. He has released several albums with Bret McKenzie as the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and created a comedy series of th ...

and

Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at t ...

, the plot concerns several vampires who live together in shared accommodation, who are followed by a documentary

film crew A film crew is a group of people, hired by a production company, for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. The crew is distinguished from the cast, as the cast are understood to be the actors who appear in front of the camera o ...

Films

''What We Do in the Shadows'' (2014)

Vampire housemates (

Jonathan Brugh Jonathan Brugh, also known as Jonny Brugh, is a New Zealand comedian, actor, and musician. He is best known for his work in ''What We Do in the Shadows'' (2014). In the 1990s he was part of the comic duo Sugar and Spice. Early life Jona ...

) cope with the complexities of modern life and introduce a newly turned vampire to the benefits of being undead.

''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. 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, utit’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

irst An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters. IR ...

film, so you do the math. That was a sad thing to say."

Short films

''What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires'' (2005)

The original 29-minute

, 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.

''Dating 101 with Viago'' (2014)

A short film and advertisement campaign to promote the

online dating service Online dating, also known as Internet dating, Virtual dating, or Mobile app dating, is a relatively recent method used by people with a goal of searching for and interacting with potential romantic or sexual partners, via the internet. An onlin ...

s 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.

''Vampire's Guide to Vellington'' (2014)

A short film and advertisement campaign by

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, 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'.

Television

''Wellington Paranormal'' (2018–2022)

The series follows Officers Minogue and O'Leary, who originally appeared as secondary characters in the 2014 film. They join a paranormal division of the Wellington Police Department under Sergeant Maaka (

Maaka Pohatu Maaka Pohatu is a New Zealand actor and musician. Pohatu is also a founding member of Māori showband the Modern Māori Quartet. He co-wrote and performed songs, with the other band members, for the Modern Māori Quartet's debut album ''That's U ...

). The show debuted on TVNZ 2 in 2018, and was renewed several times. The fourth and final season aired in 2022.

''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. Production for season three was set to start in February 2021, before being postponed to later in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...

to inform the public on health, safety, and best practices during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. 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 Andrew David Coster (born ) is the current New Zealand Police Commissioner and former Deputy Police Commissioner. He has served as the New Zealand Commissioner of Police since 3 April 2020. Early life Coster was born in 1975 or 1976 in Dunedin ...

and

Clarke Gayford Clarke Timothy Gayford (born 24 October 1976) is a New Zealand radio and television broadcaster, presenter of the fishing documentary show ''Fish of the Day''. He is the fiancé of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Education and career ...

as themselves.

Main cast and characters

Additional crew and production details

Reception

Box office and financial performance

Critical and public response

References

{{Taika Waititi English-language films Features based on short films Films directed by Taika Waititi Films set in New Zealand Films shot in New Zealand American mockumentary films 2010s parody films Vampire comedy films Vampire film series Wellington in fiction Werewolf films Television franchises New Zealand comedy horror films Mass media franchises introduced in 2014 Film series introduced in 2014