science

What We Do in the Shadows (franchise)

What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) rather than just read about it. In short: What We Do in the Shadows is a New Zealand multimedia franchise centred on comedy documentaries of paranormal creatures, primarily vampires. The vampires are generally situated in a modern, mundane setting which contrasts with their more ethereal, gothic natures.

Key takeaways

What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

What We Do in the Shadows is a New Zealand multimedia franchise centred on comedy documentaries of paranormal creatures, primarily vampires. The vampires are generally situated in a modern, mundane setting which contrasts with their more ethereal, gothic natures. Originally created by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement for a short film in their early careers, the franchise received a theatrical adaptation in 2014 and achieved widespread popularity. A critical success, the franchise was then diversified into television, with the New Zealand series Wellington Paranormal (2018-2022) and the American series What We Do in the Shadows (2019-2024). The franchise has been largely inactive since the cancellation of the American series, however Waititi and Clement are currently writing the script for the spin-off film We're Wolves, and estimate the script will be complete in 2027.

History

Original short and feature film (2005-2015) The franchise originated in 2005 with a short film written by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, then still in their early careers. The single camera mockumentary, What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires was shot on a budget of only $200. The film was made amid a wave of interest in horror comedy at the time; Vox compared the short to Shaun of the Dead (2004). Clement and Waititi returned almost a decade later to write a feature length version, simply titled What We Do in the Shadows. In the interim both comedians had made successful careers, with Clement's Flight of the Concords and Waititi's Boy. The early 2010s had seen several horror comedy films flop, and there was some reluctance from producers to make the film, but work proceeded. It initially ran only in New Zealand in 2014, and did not attract enough attention at the time for international distribution. A North American release of the film was only possible through a Kickstarter funding drive in February and March 2015, which earned $450,000, and it sold well overseas. The film was widely shared online, becoming the most pirated film of 2015 and a cult phenomenon. GIFs from the film were shared broadly; Vox has suggested that the nature of the film was well suited to the sort of viral clips used in GIFs- similar to the unintentionally memetic nature of The Emperor's New Groove. Both piracy and GIF usage aided its popularity. Two further shorts were also filmed around the time of the feature release.

Television adaptations (2018-2024) Two television adaptations began airing in the late 2010s. The first of these was a New Zealand series Wellington Paranormal, which followed the two bumbling police officers from the film as they join a paranormal investigation unit of the New Zealand Police. The show was led by Clement & Waititi, starred Mike Minogue and Karen O'Leary, and ran for four seasons. During the COVID-19 pandemic the characters also appeared in a digital series of public health announcements, made by the New Zealand Government. A 30 episode podcast on the making of the show also aired from 2023 to 2024, with Minogue and O'Leary returning to host it. An American series simply titled What We Do in the Shadows starred a new group of vampires in Staten Island and aired from 2019 to 2024. It was greenlit after a successful 2018 pilot, which was written by Jemaine Clement and directed by Taika Waititi. The two occasionally made guest appearances as their characters from the film, but the show otherwise stars the Staten Island group- Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) and Colin (Mark Proksch). The Guide (Kristen Schaal) was initially a recurring character and then joined the primary cast from season 5.

Short films

What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires (2005) The original 29-minute short film by Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement, which inspired their 2014 film. In the short, three vampires—Deacon Brugh (Jonny Brugh), Count Viago (Waititi), and Vulvus the Abhorrent (Clement)—who share an apartment are interviewed by a TV crew.

Dating 101 with Viago (2014) A short film and advertisement campaign to promote the online dating services FindSomeone and Dating for Shoes. The film follows Dating for Shoes founder Angela Meyer giving Viago a tutorial on creating his own FindSomeone profile: from creating a username, to describing his hobbies and interests.

Vampire's Guide to Vellington (2014) A short film and advertisement campaign by Wellington, as a comedic promotion that the city is a vampire-friendly place to visit. The film follows vampire Viago promoting the nightlife, cinemas and clothes shops of the city alongside his flatmates Vladislav and Deacon. As part of the campaign, the 'W' in the Wellington Blown Away sign on Miramar hill was temporarily changed to a blood-red 'V'.

Films

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

Vampire housemates (Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh) cope with the complexities of modern life and introduce a newly turned vampire to the benefits of being undead.

We're Wolves (TBA)

A sequel to the What We Do in the Shadows, focused on the werewolves depicted in the film, originally rumoured to be titled What We Do in the Moonlight, was announced as being in development in August 2015. In May 2019 Taika Waititi said "We're Wolves is the film that Jemaine and I keep pretending that we're making. Every couple of years we say, we're making this new film called We're Wolves which follows the werewolves from the film," said Waititi. "I feel bad to even mention it now because we keep saying it, [but] it’s like a dad saying, ‘Yeah, I’ll be home for Christmas.’ I suppose we're just two dads out on the road enjoying our lives and going, 'We're not coming home for Christmas.' We'll send a postcard. It's not like we don't want to come home for Christmas. We would like nothing more but we have a lot of shit going on. When are you going to die? Do you have a ... deadline before your death? I guarantee it before then. Five years, 10 years? It took us seven years to write the [first] film, so you do the math. That was a sad thing to say." It was confirmed in June 2026 that the film would be moving ahead, with writing having begun. Waititi estimated the script would be ready in 2027.

Television

Wellington Paranormal (2018–2022)

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Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with What We Do in the Shadows (franchise)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of What We Do in the Shadows (franchise)

In research: What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2010s parody films, American mockumentary films, Features based on short films, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) in simple terms?

Why does What We Do in the Shadows (franchise) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study What We Do in the Shadows (franchise)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on What We Do in the Shadows (franchise).