Finding the sweet spot between heartbreak and comedy, CBS’ Ghosts returned for their third season with answers to one very important question, “who got sucked off?” This fan-favorite show comes out swinging with their third season as they prove over and over again why they are one of the best comedies on TV.
Based on the British series of the same name, Ghosts follows a married couple as they work to turn an inherited country mansion into a bed and breakfast. The only issue is that it is filled with ghosts who throughout the home’s long history, found themselves dying on the property.
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What makes this show so amazing is that each ghost represents a vastly different personality and background. You have the main ghosts who interact regularly with their human, Samantha (Rose McIver). Who, unlike her husband, Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar), can see and speak with them. These include Thor the Viking (Devan Chandler Long), Sasappis from the Lenape Tribe (Román Zaragoza), Revolutionary Captain Isaac Higgintoot (Brandon Scott Jones), Alberta Haynes the Jazz singer (Danielle Pinnock), Flower the Hippie (Sheila Carrasco), Pete the PineCone Trooper leader( Richie Moriarty), 90’s stockbroker Trevor (Asher Grodman), and relative to Sam, wife of the original owner of the home, Hetty Woodstone (Rebecca Wisocky). Sprinkled into the mix from time to time you have the other ghosts that make up Woodstone Manor and any ghost that Samantha might come across.
There is never a dull moment as Sam tries to balance between helping the ghosts and her day-to-day life as a living. Ghosts hits hard on the comedy front, but at times they have also left us in tears and the season premier for season three was no different.
Ghosts Season 3 Says Goodbye One of the Main Eight
We always knew it was a possibility, we had even seen it happen, but it still hurts to say goodbye to one of the main eight. Each episode is filled with silly antics that the ghosts find themselves in, but underneath that is this concept of finding some sort of peace that will help them transition to the afterlife. This is one of Sam’s biggest goals when helping her new friends. Plus, as this episode listed, it’s a lot of what drives plot points like solving Alberta’s murder.
Over two seasons, we have watched all these characters grow and challenge themselves. So when Ghosts left off on a cliffhanger of someone being “sucked off”, a running phrase throughout the series, no one really knew who it could be. The tension in the first moments of the episode had us on the edge of our seat and was beautifully done. Including adding a fakeout, with the delay in Higgintoot and his new fiance Nigel Chessum (John Hartman).
However, as the headcount continued, it felt as if our hearts fell at the same time as the cast as Thor walked in. Saying goodbye to Flower is a little shocking because she was one of the few easy-going characters that could mix well in any scene. Her small quips, which sometimes were completely random, were an easy way to lessen the tension and provide ease between heavier moments and big punchlines. At the same time, it makes sense because her storyline seemed the least complex compared to characters like Hetty, Alberta, and Isaac.
Third seasons tend to be a hard hump most shows struggle with. However, this first episode of Ghosts Season Three, “The Owl” delivers on so many fronts. First, there is the sadness of saying goodbye to someone that we have come to love during the first two seasons. Writers needed to find a way to encompass the seriousness of the situation, while also keeping that high energy that keeps us laughing. Merging the idea of reincarnation with Thor’s simplicity, was spot on.
Another issue Ghosts faced was keeping viewers hooked. It can be hard to lose a favorite, with many people claiming that as a reason why they stopped watching a certain show. Not only that, but each character is meticulously thought out to balance, work, and clash with other characters. By removing one of those pieces, could the show still work? Once again, this is why it was smart to bring in some of the other ghosts, including the Cholera crew in the basement.
Nancy (Betsy Sodaro) has been the only ghost from the basement that has had a main plot point in the prior two seasons. She also is probably the closest to Flower’s carefree energy, with how she could easily fit within any scene with the other characters. It was great seeing more of her, but it left us questioning if maybe we will get to see if she starts to move from a side character to more of a main character.
Along with Nancy, we got to see the whole group of Cholera patients mingle with the upstairs ghosts. It wasn’t just the uncomfortableness and randomness that left us snickering, especially as Catherine (Cat Lemieux) just blankly stood in front of the TV. But it provided the ideal situation for our valuable lesson of the day, while also once again shining a light on the powerful character that Flower was.
Jay Steals Every Scene
We touched on Nancy moving into a more permanent position, but there was another character in this episode who seemed to be living his best life. Jay is probably the character that has the hardest time fitting in, and that is mostly because he has no idea what’s happening. The last two seasons hinged on the humor that he was always on the outside, however, this episode seemed to change that up.
We saw him more involved with the ghosts than ever before. From giving Thor a pep talk to trying to pet Thor’s shoulder, and especially the way he seems to keep whispering straight into their ears; this episode makes it seem like Jay might be the one getting more time this season. This is an area that sometimes feels under-utilized because Jay is so moldable that sometimes he feels like a second thought. We see him every episode, but unless the plot impacts him like when Trevor tried to date his sister, he just floats in and out.
What’s Next for Ghosts?
Any time a new season starts off with shaking up the cast, it can be scary, but Ghosts handled it effortlessly. As well as continuing to set the bar high for the type of beautifully crafted episodes that fans have come to expect. There were so many moments of laughter and “oh you guys” moments, that left us feeling more like we were reconnecting with old friends than just tuning in to another episode.
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The balance between laughing and enjoying the jokes, while also paying respect to a beloved character leaving the show, was perfectly captured with one word, Flowl. If the season premiere of Ghosts Season Three was any inkling of what we can expect in future episodes, then it seems to me that we are in for another delicious treat of ghost antics, Jay’s one-liners, and Sam’s sweet ideas going haywire.
Tune in every Thursday at 8 PM on CBS or check out the Paramount+ streaming service to watch the latest episodes of Ghosts.
About Ghosts
Release Date: Season Three Feb 15, 2024
Network: CBS
Showrunner/EP: Joe Port and Joe Wiseman
Season Regulars: Rose McIver, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Sheila Carrasco, Rebecca Wisocky, Brandon Scott Jones, Devan Chandler Long, Danielle Pinnock, Asher Grodman, Román Zaragoza, and Richie Moriarty
Synopsis: Samantha, a cheerful freelance journalist, and Jay, an up-and-coming chef from the city, throw both caution and money to the wind when they decide to convert a huge run-down country estate they inherited into a bed and breakfast — only to find it’s inhabited by the many spirits of deceased residents. The departed souls are a close-knit, eclectic group that includes a saucy Prohibition-era lounge singer, a pompous 1700s Militiaman, a ’60s hippie fond of hallucinogens, and an overly upbeat ’80s scout troop leader.
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