NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

Dead Funny: Jemaine Clement on What We Do in the Shadows

Dominic Corry
By Dominic Corry
NZ Herald·
15 Apr, 2020 11:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

In an achievement that reflects the genius-level talent of the two Kiwis responsible for it, What We Do In The Shadows is the first American TV series based on a New Zealand film.

Prior to Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's hit 2014 mockumentary of the same name (which they wrote, directed and starred), no Kiwi movie made enough of an impact to warrant a TV spin-off.

Shadows did so well, it generated two: Wellington Paranormal in New Zealand, and an eponymous series for the FX network in America, which screens on SoHo2 and Neon in New Zealand.

READ MORE:
• Can the What We Do in the Shadows series live up to the film?
• Taika Waititi rejected Cate Blanchett from a What We Do In the Shadows episode
• Taika Waititi on TV's What We Do in the Shadows
• What we know about What We Do In the Shadows, the TV series

With Waititi busy off filming Thor: Ragnarok, Clement took charge of the development of the FX series, and eventually delivered one of the funniest shows of 2019. It showed up on numerous "Best of the Year" lists, and revealed the depth of his and Waititi's comedic creation. Naturally, a second season was commissioned.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Like the film, the Shadows TV show is a mockumentary about centuries-old vampires who share a house. Unlike the film, the series is set in Staten Island, New York, and features mainly British actors in the lead roles.

Clement, in his trademark deadpan patois, says he's happy with how fans of the movie have embraced the show.

"Some people were reluctant to try the series because they didn't want, you know, a different version," he says. "But eventually they have enjoyed it and they liked it, [and realised it's] the same kind of thing."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Although the show is set in the same world as the film, Clement has been conscious not to rely too heavily on the connection.

"We try to stay away from the things in the movie. There were some things that FX wanted from the movie. Like, when I was writing the pilot, they wanted some arguing and flying. But otherwise we usually try to keep away. But a lot of things we thought of for the movie, we get to do in the show but we couldn't find a way to do in the film."

Both the movie and season one featured werewolves in addition to vampires. There will be even more supernatural creatures in season two.

"Yeah, we have quite a few in different episodes," says Clement. "Some ghosts. Some witches."

The stars of the series are Matt Berry (Toast of London) as the pompous Laszlo, Natasia Demetriou as his scathing wife Nadja and Kayvan Novak (Four Lions) as the clueless Nandor. Also in their house are a couple of Americans: Nandor's devoted "familiar" (i.e. vampire assistant) Guillermo (Harvey Guillen) and the first season's breakout character, energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch).

Clement says Robinson was originally supposed to have a smaller presence in the series, but the character popped so hard in the pilot that his role was expanded.

"I thought of him more like an annoying neighbour character but he happened to live in the same house. But he was just so beloved when people saw the pilot, so then he was in it as much as anyone else. And that's up to Mark doing such a great job."

"It's one of those things where you're not quite sure what you're getting into," Proksch tells TimeOut in a separate, exclusive interview. "I was a huge fan of the movie, as so many people are but I was terrified of screwing that up. When I learned that Taika and Jemaine were going to be involved, I signed on. The reaction of the viewers has been very refreshing to me. I'm playing an annoying character. Who would think that that would be a fan favourite? So it's been great."

Proksch says he took inspiration from Clement's work as a performer.

"A lot of times the funniest thing is to do absolutely nothing. And you get that watching Jemaine's performances, you really do. Jemaine can be very funny doing absolutely nothing. Or just saying one thing. It's all intonation. I've stolen a lot from him. I come from the Midwest of America, and in the Midwest, it's very dry humour. I think it's quite well aligned with the New Zealand sensibility."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Fans also went crazy for the cameo-filled season-one episode featuring a vampire tribunal comprised of a bunch of previous screen vampires, including Wesley Snipes (Blade), Evan Rachel Wood (True Blood), Danny Trejo (From Dusk Till Dawn) and Tilda Swinton (Only Lovers Left Alive), all playing "themselves" as vampires. Waititi, Clement and Jonathan Brough (who played Deacon) also reprised their roles from the film in the episode. Clement says Swinton's participation got the ball rolling on this stunning, one-time ensemble.

"Only Lovers Left Alive played at a festival with the Shadows movie and she said (affects an amazing Tilda Swinton impression) 'Our vampires have to get together sometime'," Clement says. "I remembered that so I wrote that episode thinking 'Tilda Swinton said she would do something with us'."

LOWDOWN
Who: Jemaine Clement and Mark Proksch
What: Season 2 of What We Do in the Shadows
When: Premieres tonight on SoHo and Neon

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

New Zealand

Theatre stalwart's triumphant return after PTSD recovery

11 Jul 02:00 AM
Entertainment

Hamish McKay opens up about his dramatic 50kg weight loss

11 Jul 01:29 AM
Entertainment

Brad Pitt demands release of Angelina Jolie's private texts

10 Jul 11:28 PM

Get your kids involved in your reno

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

Theatre stalwart's triumphant return after PTSD recovery

Theatre stalwart's triumphant return after PTSD recovery

11 Jul 02:00 AM

Di Leach is returning to theatre seven years after she became unwell.

Hamish McKay opens up about his dramatic 50kg weight loss

Hamish McKay opens up about his dramatic 50kg weight loss

11 Jul 01:29 AM
Brad Pitt demands release of Angelina Jolie's private texts

Brad Pitt demands release of Angelina Jolie's private texts

10 Jul 11:28 PM
Delta Goodrem shares first look at 'fairytale' wedding in Malta

Delta Goodrem shares first look at 'fairytale' wedding in Malta

10 Jul 10:03 PM
Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper
sponsored

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP