Wellington Paranormal Review: Demon Girl/Cop Circles (Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2)
Wellington Paranormal Season 1 Episode 1 and 2, “Demon Girl/Cop Circles,” documents the escapades of Sergeant Maaka, Officer Minogue, and Officer O’Leary as they investigate paranormal phenomena in Wellington, New Zealand.
From the minds of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, the series is a spin-off from the cult film What We Do in the Shadows.
Right off the bat, Wellington Paranormal embraces the same overall feel as its movie predecessor, from the mockumentary format to the dry humor. One thing’s for certain — while this show is cleverly written and the jokes land, it may not suit everyone’s comedic preferences. Dry humor isn’t for everyone.
The supernatural aspect of Wellington Paranormal takes a backseat to the comedy, as it should. The special effects are purposely corny. All in all, the mixture of these elements makes for a delightfully fun time.
This is a character-driven story, and the show manages to flesh out its core cast in just two episodes.
Wellington is incessantly threatened by paranormal creatures, and its police force attempts to eradicate these creatures from a place of cluelessness masked as derring-do. These cops are bumbling and incompetent, yet loveable — an abnormal combination.
Minogue: It’s really important that the community remembers that bovines, they belong on the ground, and never in a tree.
Additionally, the three leads play off each other well. Mike Minogue delivers the goods as the slightly dim Minogue who makes it a habit of mispronouncing everything with inexplicable confidence.
Karen O’Leary imbues O’Leary with a groundedness and self-awareness regarding how she appears on camera while simultaneously being just as clueless as Minogue. Then, there’s Maaka Pohatu as the peerless sergeant of the force. Pohatu’s facade of expertise conceals the fact that he, like his subordinates, knows nothing.
These three are the beating heart of Wellington Paranormal.
Perhaps the highlight of the series is just how ineffectual the police are at their job. While pontificating to the camera about the importance of ensuring public safety, we see demonic possessions, alien abductions, and more happening in the background. It’s these subtleties that lend themselves to the show’s greatness.
O’Leary and Minogue tackle a demonic exorcism with the same nonchalance one would when administering a speeding ticket. This brilliantly adds to the show’s already signature wry humor and the characters’ deadpan delivery.
Wellington Paranormal effectively expands on the mythology previously established in What We Do in the Shadows.
Instead of relying heavily on common lore like vampires and werewolves, the show branches out into demon, extraterrestrial, and even feral plant territories.
This opens up more opportunities for supernatural comedy and sets it apart from its TV contemporaries.
Overall, “Demon Girl” and “Cop Circles” are solid entries into this phase of the What We Do in the Shadows universe. If you’ve ever wondered what a funny version of The X-Files would look like, then no look further than this well-acted, consistently witty show.
What did you think of the first two episodes of Wellington Paranormal? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Wellington Paranormal airs Sundays at 9/8c on The CW and streams on HBO Max the following day.
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Melody McCune
Melody loves TV. Maybe too much. Besides being a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV, she's the Managing Editor for Geek Girl Authority, an Independent Contractor for Sideshow Collectibles, and a Senior Writer for Eulalie Magazine. Additionally, she has bylines in Culturess, Widget, and inkMend on Medium. To top it all off, she's a critic for Rotten Tomatoes and CherryPicks.