Back in an August 2015 interview, Jemaine Clement, the co-star, co-writer, and co-director of What We Do in the Shadows, revealed that a spin-off television series starring two minor characters from the film was pitched to TVNZ, but they rejected it due to a lack of funds for comedies.
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“We’ve pitched a show for those two cops in New Zealand and we’ve made a mini-pilot,” Clement told The A.V. Club. “At the moment it’s a paranormal activity division of the New Zealand Police Department. But we’ve already been told before we even handed it in that there’s no money for comedy and that TVNZ tried to make a comedy about a real estate agent and it didn’t go very well so they’re probably not going to do another one. But we still handed it in.”
However, today, Radio New Zealand (via slashfilm) reports New Zealand On Air (NZOA) has funded (for $1.4 million) the series pitched by Clement and Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), which is titled Paranormal Event Response Unit and have six-episodes. The show will feature Wellington police officers Karen and Mike (played by Karen O’Leary and Mike Minogue) keeping “us safe from supernatural phenomena in their own police reality series.”
In the 2014 mockumentary horror comedy film, officers Karen and Mike came knocking on the flat filled with vampire, investigating a strange sound. They are then hypnotized by Viago (Waititi) to not notice anything unusual. While they inspect the home, they overlook a dead body of a vampire hunter and other horrors but take the time to point out safety violations.
NZOA chief executive Jane Wrightson said: “We are delighted that Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi are bringing their talents to smaller screens in Paranormal Event Response Unit.”
Paranormal Event Response Unit will debut next year and air on TVNZ 2.
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