By Jason Murphy
Paramount+ began its SDCC ‘22 inaugural run on Thursday with Ghosts in Ballroom 20. This was one of the first of a few panels from Paramount +, the new streaming juggernaut that has joined the mix. Paramount has some major heavyweights in their corner with Star TrekDiscovery, Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Brave New Worlds, which they hope will help them take on the likes of Netflix, Apple TV, HULU, Amazon Prime, and HBO MAX.
Ghosts has been a sleeper hit, well worth a panel in Ballroom 20 at SDCC this year. The panel welcomed cast members Rose McIver (iZombie), Utkarsh Ambudkar (Free Guy, Britney Runs a marathon), Brandon Scott Jones, Danielle Pinnock, Ritchie Moriarty, Asher Grodman, Sheila Carrasco, Devan Chandler Long, Rebecca Wisocky, Román Zaragoza, and moderator Matt Walsh.
The show’s origins began on the BBC in 2019, with its American counterpart sharing the same name akin to NBC/BBC’s The Office. Married couple Samantha and Jay welcome a dream inheritance when they’re given a beautiful mansion in the country, only to find the house is in shambles and the grounds inhabited by numerous ghosts who died on the mansion’s grounds, with only Samantha able to see them. Since this is a comedy series viewers can assume whacky hijinks ensue, which they do.
The panel opened with a video teaser for Season 2. The trailer was an update of the series’ away time, voiced by each ghost and what they’ve been doing over the summer.
Homeowners Samantha and Jay end the teaser as their voiceovers dictate a “postcard” to future BnB guests coming this fall and how they can’t wait to welcome them to their newly-opened Bed ‘n Breakfast. If you are a viewer of the show you know that the premise of the first season worked toward the couple fixing up the mansion in order to open the BnB in Season 2. The time has finally come.
The panel, moderated by Matt Walsh, sees the full cast on stage who began by sharing stories about how they each got cast and what to expect from Season 2. Special praise was given by the cast to McIver as the matriarch of the show, her ability to memorize the lines of not only herself but of many of the cast members, and her overall involvement in the show’s popularity and success.
Cast and fans spent much of the panel reminiscing of the super popular “Dungeons and Dragons” and “Ghost Prom” episodes from Season 1 and going through their favorite deaths on the show. Fans were also treated to some fun facts such as how Ritchie Moriarty (Pete) played one of the Cholera basement ghosts in the first two episodes due to Covid protocols and lack of extras on set.
Other than the opening of the Bed ‘n Breakfast, a small teaser to Season 2 supplied footage of Utkarsh’s character Jay hitting his head and “hoping” to see the ghost only his wife could see in Season 1.
Lastly, the studio did supply a fantastic gag reel from Season 1, which should be available online in the coming weeks. Overall it was great to see the full cast from Isaac to Trevor to the enormous Thorfinn make it onstage in these weird times. We’re hoping to get many more seasons of this up-and-coming sleeper hit. Here’s to hoping for a Season 2 panel at SDCC ‘23.
Miss any of The Beat’s earlier SDCC ’22 Coverage? Find it all here!
