New Zealand humour bears some similarities to the body of humour of many other English-speaking countries. There are, however, several regional differences.
Flight of the Conchords are a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's comedy and music became the basis of the self-titled BBC radio series (2005) and, subsequently, the HBO American television series (2007–2009). Most recently, they released the HBO comedy special Live in London in 2018. The special was concurrently released by Sub Pop as their fifth album.
Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement is a New Zealand actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. He has released several albums with Bret McKenzie as the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and created a comedy TV series titled Flight of the Conchords for both the BBC and HBO, for which he received six Primetime Emmy nominations.
Taika David Cohen, known professionally as Taika Waititi, is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian. He is known for directing quirky comedy films and has expanded his career as a voice actor and producer on numerous projects. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Grammy Award. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.
Flight of the Conchords is an American sitcom that was first shown on HBO on June 17, 2007. The show follows the adventures of a struggling two-man band from New Zealand, as its members seek fame and success in New York City. The show stars the duo of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, who also perform as real-life musical comedy act Flight of the Conchords. In the series, they play fictionalised versions of themselves and their band. A second season was announced on August 17, 2007 and shown from January 18, 2009. On December 11, 2009, the duo announced that the series was not going to be returning for a third season.
Yana Gorskaya is a Russian-American director, producer and film editor. She is best known for her work as Director and Executive Producer of the TV series What We Do in the Shadows (2019) and her work in the editorial departments of nearly all of director Taika Waititi’s films, including Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016),Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Jojo Rabbit (2019) and the feature version of What We Do in the Shadows (2014).
What We Do in the Shadows is a 2014 New Zealand mockumentary horror comedy film written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi and the first installment in the What We Do in the Shadows franchise. The film also stars Clement and Waititi, along with Jonathan Brugh, Ben Fransham, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford, and Jackie van Beek. The film's plot concerns several vampires who live together in a flat in Wellington.
Chelsea Jane Winstanley is a New Zealand film producer. She produces short films and documentaries which celebrate Indigenous peoples. She also produced the films What We Do in the Shadows and Jojo Rabbit.
Jonathan Brugh, also known as Jonny Brugh, is a New Zealand comedian, actor, and musician. He is best known for his work in What We Do in the Shadows (2014). In the 1990s, he was part of the comic duo Sugar and Spice.
What We Do in the Shadows is an American comedy horror mockumentary fantasy television series created by Jemaine Clement, first broadcast on FX on March 27, 2019. The series follows four vampire roommates on Staten Island, and stars Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillén, Mark Proksch, and Kristen Schaal.
Wellington Paranormal is a New Zealand mockumentary comedy horror television series which first aired on 11 July 2018 on TVNZ 2. The series is a spin-off of the 2014 film What We Do in the Shadows and first television series in the franchise, and its lead characters—Officers Minogue and O'Leary—first appeared in the film as a pair of incurious police officers.
Maaka Pohatu is a New Zealand actor and musician. He is also a founding member of Māori showband the Modern Māori Quartet. He co-wrote and performed songs, with the other band members, for the Modern Māori Quartet's debut album That's Us! (2017).
Kura Leigh Forrester is a New Zealand comedian, actor and writer. In 2019, she won the Billy T Award for best emerging comedian, for her show Kura Woulda Shoulda. She formerly appeared as core cast member Desdemona Schmidt on prime-time soap opera Shortland Street.
Mike Minogue is a New Zealand television and film actor. He played Officer Minogue in the television series, Wellington Paranormal, from 2018 to 2022 for four seasons, as did he in the film What We Do in the Shadows.
Time Bandits is a fantasy adventure television series created by Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris, and Taika Waititi, based on characters from the 1981 film of the same name directed by Terry Gilliam. The series premiered on July 24, 2024, on Apple TV+. In September 2024, the series was canceled after one season.
"Pilot" is the series premiere of the American mockumentary comedy horror television series What We Do in the Shadows, set in the franchise of the same name. The episode was written by series creator Jemaine Clement, and directed by executive producer Taika Waititi, both of whom worked as writers and directors of the film. It was released on FX on March 27, 2019.
"City Council" is the second episode of the first season of the American mockumentary comedy horror television series What We Do in the Shadows, set in the franchise of the same name. The episode was written by executive producer Paul Simms, and directed by series creator Jemaine Clement. It was released on FX on April 3, 2019.
"The Trial" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American mockumentary comedy horror television series What We Do in the Shadows, set in the franchise of the same name. The episode was written by series creator Jemaine Clement, and directed by executive producer Taika Waititi. It was released on FX on May 8, 2019.
"Ancestry" is the tenth episode and season finale of the first season of the American mockumentary comedy horror television series What We Do in the Shadows, set in the franchise of the same name. The episode was written by series creator Jemaine Clement, co-executive producer Stefani Robinson, co-executive producer Tom Scharpling, and executive producer Paul Simms, and directed by executive producer Taika Waititi. It was released on FX on May 29, 2019.
"Nouveau Théâtre des Vampires" is the tenth episode and season finale of the second season of the American mockumentary comedy horror television series What We Do in the Shadows, set in the franchise of the same name. It is the twentieth overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Sam Johnson, executive producer Stefani Robinson, and executive producer Paul Simms, and directed by producer Kyle Newacheck. It was released on FX on June 10, 2020.
