Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement Are Writing Action Adventure Comedy Unlike Anything They've Done Before
Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords, What We Do in the Shadows) and Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit) have announced that they are teaming back up to make a new action adventure comedy series, and they say it’s unlike anything they've done before. The pair, who previously brought us the What We Do in the Shadows film and series, are back together again, and Clement spoke to EW about the new project, saying:
"Taika and I are working on a new series right now which we just started writing," Clement tells EW exclusively. "I can't tell you much about it yet, but what's fun about it and what makes it exciting for me is it's something I always wanted to do which is long-form episodes in a sitcom. It's an action-adventure comedy. It'll be different from what I've usually done. I've made three sitcoms now, and I hope this one is still funny but more of an adventure series."
With this new series in the works, further seasons of What We Do in the Shadows and its popular spin-off Wellington Paranormal, debuting in the U.S. July 11 on the CW, are temporarily on hold. When asked if he'd like to expand Shadows beyond the FX series:
"We have talked about things in the past but I don't know how realistic it is, We're pausing on [Wellington Paranormal], we're not sure we'll be back for a fifth season."
When asked why he thinks his and Waititi’s projects have had more success in the states than in their native New Zealand, Clement said:
"I don't know, but I guess part of it is that they seem to like the accent. What else? I don't know. It's just slightly different in the same way that people from New Zealand like to see things from America. It's good to have a look into someone else's viewpoint."
He went on to add:
"My son and I were recently watching the season 1 finale of The Mandalorian and there was a New Zealand robot and I was laughing because it had a New Zealand accent. My son didn't know why I was laughing but I told him that at one point, we wouldn't have had that: a robot that talks like us. That was Taika's robot, of course."
I love these two guys and everything they make! I can’t wait to see what this new project becomes.