The CW has released its schedule for the week of July 11 — and on that night, after a new episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, they will debut Wellington Paranormal, airing back-to-back 30-minute episodes. Half-hour shows are a rarity for The CW, which tends to focus on hour-long dramas, but Wellington Paranormal is an unusual show for them across the board. The series, which recently began filming on its fourth season, originates in New Zealand, and is a spinoff of What We Do in the Shadows. Created by Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement, the first episode was directed and co-written by Clement.
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The CW marks Wellington Paranormal‘s U.S. broadcast premiere. The series has released a total of 18 episodes (three, six-episode seasons) and a Christmas special to date, as well as a number of shorts designed as public service announcements centering on police safety and recruitment, and COVID-19 preparedness.
The series’ main characters are Officers Minogue and O’Leary (played by Mike Minogue and Karen O’Leary), who first appeared in the film version of What We Do in the Shadows as a pair of police officers. While What We Do in the Shadows has a TV adaptation of its own that has had a good deal of success in North America, Wellington Paranormal was actually the first shot at a TV tie-in for the franchise. It is produced by the New Zealand Documentary Board. Episodes will head to HBO Max the day after they air on The CW.
Given that The CW seems to be leaning fairly hard into holiday programming this year, with a Beebo Christmas special and some other original holiday shows, don’t be too surprised if the Christmas special, which aired in New Zealand in 2019, ends up here in the States as well.
You can see the official synopses for the two episodes below.
“Demon Girl” — (9:00-9:30 p.m. ET) (TV-14, DLV) (HDTV)
SEASON PREMIERE – Officers O’Leary (Karen O’Leary) and Minogue (Mike Minogue) have an encounter with the demon Bazu’aal when it descends upon Wellington leaving no man – or beast – untouched. Jemaine Clement directed the episode written by himself and Paul Yates.
“Cop Circles” — (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET) (TV-14, DLV) (HDTV)
BEAM ME UP – O’Leary (Karen O’Leary) and Minogue (Mike Minogue) investigate possible alien activity in the Wellington countryside. Jemaine Clement directed the episode written by Melanie Bracewell.
Wellington Paranormal episodes will air on Sunday nights after DC’s Legends of Tomorrow on The CW beginning on July 11.
