Wellington Paranormal Review: Zombie Cops (Season 1 Episode 6)
Wellington Paranormal Season 1 Episode 6, “Zombie Cops,” establishes its own humorous take on the walking dead. As you can imagine, it’s nothing like the zombies on The Walking Dead.
“Zombie Cops” gives the excellent Maaka Pohatu a chance to shine as the peerless (but sometimes clueless) Sergeant Maaka. While he’s billed as a lead on Wellington Paranormal, the spotlight has been mostly fixed on Mike Minogue and Karen O’Leary.
Maaka’s rant about his stolen doughnuts at the beginning of this episode feels all too relatable.
Maaka: Yeah, well, I’m a detective. I’ll detect if you took them.
His line deliveries are flawless, and this episode is no exception. But Maaka’s real crowning moment is when he’s being “beat up” by Parker. He’s adept at physical comedy, and he flawlessly and hilariously executes the stunt choreography in that scene.
Wellington Paranormal incorporates physical comedy aplenty into its mockumentary format.
Naturally, zombies lend themselves to those fun physical bits. The three leads forcing the zombie cops to dance and imitate their movement is just one of the unique supernatural “rules” this show has.
Minogue: Oh, well, maybe he’s got attention deficit disorder. You know — AC/DC.
“Zombie Cop” maintains Wellington Paranormal‘s signature hilarity with panache and requisite dryness. The dry line deliveries seamlessly elevate the humor in the dialogue. They’re a testament to the innate talent of the actors and the writers.
Additionally, it was delightful watching O’Leary and Minogue tread unfamiliar waters regarding their competitiveness with their police rivals.
While they still retain their usual easygoing nature, the competitive edge is another layer to these surprisingly multifaceted characters.
O’Leary continues to play a brilliant “straight man” to Minogue’s dense, slightly outlandish persona. Minogue and O’Leary boast fantastic on-screen chemistry, and it’s a significant part of what makes Wellington Paranormal so funny.
Minogue: It’s pronounced “police bru-tility.”
The naturalness with which the core three leads approach their characters takes this show to the next level.
Of course, their ineptitude as cops and protectors against the supernatural helps it maintain its status as, predominantly, a comedy. The running gag wherein a large chunk of the action unfurls when the leads aren’t looking is top-tier — here’s hoping Wellington Paranormal never does away with that.
“Zombie Cops” is a delightful mix of slapstick humor, clever one-liners, and fun zombie antics. Overall, Season 1 knocks it out of the park as a solid addition to the What We Do in the Shadows TV universe. Roll on, Season 2!
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Wellington Paranormal is streaming now on The CW.
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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.