Wellington Paranormal

Unique, bold and flat out funny, “Wellington Paranormal” is exactly the type of series that network executives should be embracing.

It’s plenty strange and generates big laughs as well as tiny snorts of funniness along the way.

From both a writing and acting standpoint, the mockumentary style is expertly employed, often allowing jokes to play out behind our clueless cops. Despite some minor pitfalls in terms of stretching jokes too far, the three lead actors are the perfect level of endearingly oblivious, carrying the series’ few subpar bits to humorous ends anyway.

It’s worth tracking down this goofy delight.

Their matter-of-fact ineptitude is a goofy glory to behold. [5 - 18 Jul 2021, p.9]

For those who want the world to be an orderly place where cops solve crimes and keep everyone safe, Wellington Paranormal notes that law enforcement would probably be just as bad at stopping werewolves and vampires as they are at preventing real crime. Those ideas might not be particularly empowering, but they are absurdly funny.

Somehow, though, the level of humor on Wellington Paranormal remains consistent and there are no real diminishing returns to Minogue and O’Leary’s obliviousness. The cases of the week have just enough variation that the two leads’ stone-faced eccentricities remain amusing with Pohatu, less clueless and more amiably accepting, getting funnier and funnier the more involved he becomes.

It’s the kind of comedy that demands your full attention, because the best jokes often involve things happening in the background Minogue and O’Leary are focusing on something unimportant, but the overall pace and caliber of the jokes are much more relaxed than on something like the FX Shadows.

A handful of already archaic gags, including a comedy bit about the dab, are groan-inducing, and the What We Do in the Shadows series casts a sizable shadow over Wellington Paranormal, as that series more sharply incorporates confessionals and the cameraperson as a character to generate both intimacy and humor. But the waggish, winking zaniness of Wellington Paranormal allows it to transcend its outdated elements.

More deadpan than laugh-out-loud funny, “Wellington” will require some American viewers to turn on closed captions, as the New Zealand accents pose a significant barrier to entry/comprehension.