I've seen the pilot and think it just may be a comedy hit. Nice mix of historical trivia and humor with each ghost having an attitude toward "The Livings", what they call the new owners of the over 100 year old manor now being turned into a bed and breakfast. It has the pacing and comedic timing of the old Cary Grant Topper movie. Topper (film) - Wikipedia Comments welcome.
I watched it... sadly, the married couple have no chemistry.... Other than that, plenty of 'soft-comedy' can come from this premise.
The original British version just finished it's 3rd season. Not sure why they didn't just make it available in North America. It's a great series!
I had the same feeling about the couple's chemistry, but I thought that about the husband switch in the Bewitched sitcom from Dick York to Dick Sargent, both of these TV series have this sparkle in the timing and pacing of the actors and the events they encounter I can settle into. At least Ghosts has a plethora of material and wisecracks to source for the ghost characters to riff off the modern topical events in context of their own time in history similar to Bewitched. There's jokes about the Broadway musical Hamilton from one of the ghosts who lived during his time who trash talks the American founding father. Not sure of its staying power but right now it's better than La Brea and other shows from the big 3 networks on cable tv.
will have to watch it. it's fun to see if these new shows use any frame of reference from previous shows & films or even flat-out copy them sometimes.
I love the British Ghosts series, I wonder if many of the references would translate to a wide audience in America - such as the tory MP ghost for example.
Didn't know of a British version of Ghosts but if similarly British sourced sitcoms like All In The Family is any indicator, I don't think American audiences tuned in much to see the British version. I know I didn't. And CBS's Ghosts' humor is sourced mainly from topical satire that references American culture and history. I would think the British version's jokes wouldn't land with American audiences due to this difference.
The British original is fantastic. The American version takes the concept and overlays it with the usual American sitcom style of overplaying. If you like American sitcoms you’ll probably like this Ghosts retread. Me, I couldn’t make it through the first episode. JohnK
I have watched the American version, then watched the first show of the UK version. As with many things, I preferred the one I watched first. Enjoying it so far.
HBO MAX has the UK series and in the opening credits on the American version, they do note that it is CBS Studios/Lionsgate BBC production.
Watched the first two episodes which were on one night. I like the premise but did not find it very funny. There were scenes here and there which were amusing, but I am going to have to watch more of it before I decide to write it off or not. Have not been motivated to look for the latest episodes, but I see the potential in this type of show.
The stock broker ghost who obviously died with no pants and underwear is probably the funniest character because he gets to trash talk and say snarky comments to the historically older characters and play with their heads due to their era's more innocent and respectful nature. I laughed when the Victorian era character talks of other ghosts getting "Sucked Up/Off" into heaven after resolving issues on Earth. The stock broker guy tells the "Living" that can see and hear them to not correct them because it's too funny due to them being oblivious to how they word certain terms.
We took the plunge into GHOSTS last evening, watching all three of the episodes aired so far. It's pretty good. We'll be sticking with it for awhile.
No idea what the US version is like, but agree that the UK 'Ghosts' is brilliant. It is of course written (and mostly) acted by a team that have been together for a decade or so. They are almost like a gentle version of Python by now. Not all the episodes are absolute classics but those that are - are so good! Unexpectedly moving in some segments with its meditations on time and mortality. The 'Pat' stories are really emotional and Jim Howick steals the show! 10/10
What ratings? Nielsons? I wonder how that long standing rating system is holding up, keeping up with streaming services? I still don't understand how they arrived at their numbers even back when I first heard the name in the '70's. Maybe now it's conducted by some type of Survey Monkey online. Of course CBS touts that Ghosts has been getting high ratings in ads on TV.
Impressive. Wonder if the numbers are influenced by the fact Ghosts is a Halloween themed movie and there doesn't seem to be any family friendly new similarly themed shows outside of Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Guess we'll have to wait till next month to see if the numbers stay the same or increase.
I wouldn’t say that the BBC version is 100 times better but I would say it’s at least 10 times better.
I’m a fan of the British version and was a little skeptical of this version, surprisingly it’s pretty good, it even does the ghosts getting Sucked off bit, which then becomes a running joke.
Last Thursday's episode in the US version had the Victorian woman ghost suggesting the "Livings", uptight from negotiating a permit with the head of the Historical Preservation group invited over for a prepared supper, needed to take some cocaine to feel better, adding it was often recommended in her day which invoked gasps of disgust from the more recently deceased. That's the kind of historical trivia that adds interest to the show. Any similar trivia mentioned for shock value in the British version?