Television series

Ghosts

Name: Ghosts
Genre: Comedy, Supernatural
Released: 2021
Cast: Brandon Scott Jones, Rose McIver, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Richie Moriarty, Danielle Pinnock

Ghosts is a bright, big-hearted sitcom about a woman who inherits a crumbling estate and discovers it's stuffed with squabbling spirits only she can see. Structured like a workplace comedy where the workplace happens to be haunted — Viking marauder, Prohibition flapper, disgraced Scoutmaster and all — it's silly, gentle, and surprisingly moving. Put it on when you want to feel looked after.

TVMaze rating

7.0

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What We Do in the Shadows2019

Same mockumentary-ensemble bones as Ghosts, but with vampires instead — deadpan, chaotic, and weirdly tender about immortal housemates who can't stand each other and also can't leave.

But It's sharper-edged and more absurdist; if you want Ghosts' gentleness rather than its bite, this can feel a touch meaner.

The Good Place2016

Another afterlife comedy that smuggles real philosophy and heart in under the jokes — if Ghosts' warmth about mortality appealed to you, this goes even further with it.

But Heavier on plot twists and ethics lectures; less pure hangout comedy, more elaborate puzzle-box.

Schitt's Creek2015

Swap ghosts for a small town but keep the fish-out-of-water-inherits-a-property setup, and the slow thaw of prickly characters into an accidental family.

But No supernatural element at all — if that's what you loved about Ghosts, this comedy is much more grounded.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Beetlejuice1988

Same premise stripped to its bones — the dead haunting a house they can't leave, trying to deal with the living who've moved in — but played as anarchic horror-comedy instead of a warm sitcom.

The original haunted-house comedy: a dead couple stuck in their home try increasingly deranged tactics to scare off the new owners, and it's gleefully, grotesquely funny.

But It's far weirder and more macabre than anything CBS would air at 8pm — Burton's ghosts are gross-out chaos, not cuddly.

Superstore2015

The same big, generous ensemble-of-oddballs energy, just relocated from a haunted house to a big-box store, where everyone gets a real moment, nobody's a throwaway joke.

But More grounded workplace satire with union politics and real stakes; there's no fantastical hook to soften it.

Abbott Elementary2021

Mockumentary warmth and an ensemble of teachers who bicker and love each other in equal measure — the same low-stakes, generous comfort as Ghosts.

But Entirely realistic setting; if the ghost gimmick was half the appeal for you, this won't scratch that itch.

Parks and Recreation2009

A relentlessly optimistic ensemble comedy that, like Ghosts, finds its jokes in character rather than plot — you end up loving every single one of them.

But Takes a rocky first season to find its footing; some patience required before the good stuff really kicks in.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine2013

Another big, silly workplace family with a soft centre under the jokes — great for the same 'put it on and feel good' kind of evening.

But Faster, jokier rhythm with less of Ghosts' melancholy undertow about mortality and memory.

Grace and Frankie2015

An odd-couple-inherits-a-house comedy for grown-ups, with the same knack for slipping genuine sadness in between the laughs.

But Slower paced and more soap-operatic across its many seasons; no ghosts, just very human baggage.

Community2009

An ensemble comedy that loves genre pastiche as much as Ghosts does — expect the occasional gonzo episode that breaks format entirely for a laugh.

But More manic and meta than cosy; its wilder swings won't suit everyone looking for easy comfort viewing.

Topper1937

Ghosts' whole comic engine — mismatched dead people meddling in a living person's life for their own good — was doing the rounds in Hollywood nearly ninety years earlier, just with martinis instead of a bed-and-breakfast.

A screwball classic where a fussy banker gets haunted by a glamorous, boozy dead couple who decide to loosen him up — funny, fast, and surprisingly sweet underneath the wit.

But Black-and-white 1930s pacing and manners comedy won't land the same way for viewers used to modern sitcom rhythms.

Over the Garden Wall2014

Trade the sitcom format for ten short animated chapters and you find the same question Ghosts keeps circling: what tethers a spirit to a place, and what does it take to finally let go.

A gorgeous, melancholy ten-episode animated fable about lost souls wandering a strange autumnal world, each carrying their own unfinished business — gentle, eerie, and quietly profound.

But It's a mood piece, not a joke machine — go in expecting wistfulness and atmosphere rather than sitcom laughs.