Started July 11, 2018 · Returning Series · Based on 4 seasons, 25 episodes through March 23, 2022 · TV-14 · 21 min
Wellington Paranormal follows Officers O’Leary and Minogue, two Wellington police officers who join a secret unit for strange cases. Sergeant Maaka sends them to investigate ghosts, demons, aliens, witches, werewolves, zombies, and other monsters around New Zealand’s capital. O’Leary stays calm and practical while Minogue is eager, foolish, and easily confused. The mock police camera style gives the show a dry and silly tone, and each episode usually tells a new monster story.
O’Leary is a lesbian, and the show treats her sexuality as a normal part of her life rather than as a long lesson. The show also makes her the smarter and steadier officer beside Minogue, while a female werewolf and other women drive some cases. Season four brings in Māori folklore, a Pākehā burial-ground story, and a time-travel disaster with a clear joke about colonial power. These ideas add some identity and gender signals, but the main story remains a comedy about police mistakes, local legends, old technology, and supernatural trouble.
Community feedback
Was our 41% Woke rating accurate?
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Wellington Paranormal.
Woke representation / casting
O’Leary is a prominent female police officer and one of the show’s two main investigators. Sergeant Maaka is Māori, and the unit also includes Māori and Pacific officers. The main cast still fits a modern Wellington police unit, so the score stays limited. O’Leary’s public comments about women in leading roles and gender equality add a small representation signal.
20%
Woke political dialogue
The show has very little political speech. Season four has Maaka say that white New Zealanders, called Pākehā, will take over everything and tells Pākehā ghosts to leave the police station land. The line gives one episode a clear colonial power message. The rest of the dialogue stays focused on cases, police rules, and jokes.
23%
Identity-driven story themes
O’Leary is a lesbian, and the show treats her sexuality as an accepted part of her life. The show makes repeated jokes about her interest in women, and season four makes that part of her character more open. Season one turns a female werewolf into a joke about not assuming the monster is male. Season four also uses a Māori and Pākehā land conflict for a colonial power joke, but these themes do not drive most episodes.
32%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The show repeatedly makes the police look slow, confused, and unable to control paranormal events. Minogue is often the foolish male officer while O’Leary is the steadier partner. Season four adds a clearer colonial message when Māori Sergeant Maaka tells Pākehā ghosts to get off his land. The rest of the series uses police failure mainly for silly parody, so this critique is present but limited.
33%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The show carries Minogue and O’Leary from the 2014 film into a new police series. It expands their roles but does not change a known character’s race, sex, or identity.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Not present. X searches found no anti-woke complaints. Web coverage and audience discussion show praise or ordinary mixed views, not clear claims that the series pushes DEI or identity politics.
0%
Creator track record context
Taika Waititi has a strong history of anti-racism, Indigenous, and decolonizing work. Writer Coco Solid has a strong record of Māori, Pacific, feminist, LGBTQIA+, trans, and non-binary work. Jemaine Clement has some left-leaning political comments, but his main work is comedy. Most other listed writers and directors have low or mixed activist records, so the context is noticeable but not uniform.
55%
Production
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