Though “Abbott Elementary” might be getting essentially the most consideration and acclaim amongst live-action sitcoms in 2025, CBS’s “Ghosts” nonetheless deserves its due. It is a comedy sequence a couple of married couple who come into possession of a manor in upstate New York and attempt to flip it right into a profitable mattress and breakfast.
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There’s only one complication: the home is crammed with ghosts, and the spouse, Sam (Rose McIver), can see them. The husband, Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar), cannot see the ghosts, however fortunately, he’s the world’s most affected person man. Not solely does he imagine his spouse rapidly, however he additionally makes a valiant effort to be good to the invisible specters as they continually intervene together with his and Sam’s lives.
What makes “Ghosts” work is the way in which its premise permits it to toss collectively characters who would by no means usually discover themselves in the identical room. For instance, the ghosts in Sam and Jay’s home embody a closeted army officer who died through the Revolutionary Struggle, a Native American storyteller who died in 1593, a Viking who died over a thousand years in the past, and extra fashionable spirits like Trevor, a finance bro who died in 2000. The potential for sitcom-y shenanigans between them are countless, particularly since many of the ghosts have dwelling ancestors who can cease by for an episode every time the present’s writers really feel prefer it.
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Probably the most promising facet of “Ghosts” is that, even after 4 seasons, it has nonetheless resisted the temptation of getting Jay undergo his personal near-death expertise and develop his personal capability to see the ghosts. If the sequence’ writers ever run out of concepts, they will do this and assure not less than one other season’s price of fabric to work with. However though Jay has interacted with the ghosts often (and even noticed one in every of them quickly in an episode), the present’s creatives have in any other case avoided any such establishment shift. On the identical time, they’ve left the likelihood open for down the road; hopefully, they will toss Jay the bone he deserves by the point the present begins wrapping up.
Earlier than Ghosts aired within the U.S., the unique Ghosts aired within the U.Ok.
Very similar to “The Workplace” earlier than it, “Ghosts” is yet one more American TV present that is not as unique as you would possibly’ve assumed. The unique UK “Ghosts” sequence premiered in April 2019 and aired for 5 seasons (or 34 episodes complete). It has the identical primary premise involving a spouse (Alison, performed by Charlotte Ritchie) having the ability to see ghosts after a near-death expertise, all whereas her husband (Mike, performed by Kiell Smith-Bynoe) tries his greatest to maintain up.
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The variations between the exhibits recall these between the American and UK variations of “The Workplace,” in that the British iteration is extra keen to embrace the darkness of its premise. The American “Ghosts,” however, usually skirts across the tragedy inherent to its ghostly characters, utilizing humor to undercut what might’ve been devastating heartfelt moments. The British “Ghosts” is just extra comfy letting the viewers keep unhappy for an prolonged interval when wanted.
It is also keen to let its principal married couple have harsher fights over the course of the sequence. Whereas Sam and Jay are virtually absurdly wholesome and good at speaking, Mike has a a lot more durable time adjusting to how his spouse spends all day speaking to her invisible mates. The result’s that the UK “Ghosts” feels grittier, however the American model makes for reliably breezy escapist leisure.
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For American followers wanting Jay to start out seeing the ghosts regularly, the British model does not provide a lot hope. Mike makes it the entire present with out seeing the ghosts, which seems like a missed alternative. Fortunately, the American model, with its 20+ episode seasons, could have extra time to discover its zany premise from each attainable angle. Sooner or later throughout its six (or presumably extra) seasons, Jay would possibly get to correctly hang around with all of the ghosts.
