Kiwis’ show debuts at Comic Con
Laughs as Clement, Waititi unveil US adaptation of vampire mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows
Kiwi superstars Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi unveiled the highly anticipated US TV adaptation of their hit 2014 vampire mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows at New York Comic Con yesterday.
After the hilarious first episode of the TV series screened to a rapt Comic-Con audience, Clement and Waititi held a Q&A alongside fellow executive producer Paul Simms.
While the original film was set in a crumbling Wellington house cohabited by four vampire flatmates, the US TV adaptation takes place in Staten Island, New York, and features all new characters while maintaining the unmistakable deadpan absurdist tone of its inspiration.
The main characters are Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nandor (Kayvan Novak) and Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), centuries-old European vampires struggling to make sense of modern US life, and their devoted human assistant (known as a “familiar”), Guillermo (Harvey Guillen).
Then there’s Colin Robinson (played by Better Call Saul supporting player Mark Proksch), their American roommate who is a “psychic vampire” — someone who sucks the energy out of anyone he converses with by dint of his supreme boorishness. Colin steals every scene he’s in.
“We all know a Colin Robinson,” joked Clement during the Q&A. “I can think of conversations I’ve had where I’ve been trapped by someone. And perhaps people have felt like that with me.”
The US show is the second TV series to have been spun out of What We Do In The Shadows, after the New Zealand-produced Wellington Paranormal. The creators confirmed that both shows and the movie take place in the same fictional world.
“We’re creating a universe to rival that of Marvel and DC,” said a typically po-faced Waititi. “We’re taking one idea and stretching it out over years and years . . . ”
The pair were non-committal about the possibility of their characters from the film showing up in the TV show, which Waititi appeared to hint at during a panel the previous day.
“Only if something really disastrous happens,” Clement cryptically commented.
The longtime friends and collaborators are both executive producers on the new series, with Waititi directing and Clement taking the lead on the writing.
“The original [movie] script Taika and I wrote together, and I wrote this one by myself, so this was a lot easier,” said Clement, generating a huge laugh from the crowd.
Emmy-nominated writer/ producer Simms (Atlanta, The Larry Sanders Show) also collaborated with Clement and Waititi on the hit Flight of the Conchords TV show.
“As an American working with these New Zealand guys, I just find anything they say sounds funny,” said Simms.
Clement and Waititi stuck around to sign autographs and take photos with their legions of American fans.
The What We Do In The Shadows TV series will screen on SoHo next year.