October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01) – July 22, 2018 (2018-07-22)
Ghosted is an American supernatural sitcom that premiered on Fox on October 1, 2017.[1][2] The series debuted via streaming on the social media website Twitter on September 21 and 24, 2017.[3] The show stars Craig Robinson and Adam Scott as two polar opposites recruited to investigate paranormal activity in Los Angeles. On November 29, 2017, it was announced that Fox had ordered six more episodes, for a total of sixteen. On June 28, 2018, Fox canceled the series after one season.
Plot
The series follows a sharp-witted skeptic and a genius true believer in the paranormal who are recruited by an organization called The Bureau Underground to investigate a series of "unexplained" activities that are occurring in the Los Angeles area, which are supposedly tied to a mysterious entity that could threaten the existence of the human species. The second part of the season then focuses on conspiracy theories following Leroy and Max finding the Bureau Underground is bugged and questioning if Paranormal activities actually exist.[4][5]
Cast and characters
Main
Craig Robinson as Leroy Wright, a mall cop and former police detective who was fired from the LAPD after his partner was killed during a call. He has a nephew he is close to.
Adam Scott as Max Jennifer, a book store employee and former Stanford professor. He wrote a book on the multiverse. His wife was abducted by aliens, and he was fired from Stanford University when no one believed him.
Ally Walker as Captain Ava Lafrey, the captain of the Bureau.
Adeel Akhtar as Barry Shaw, a scientist at the Bureau.
Amber Stevens West as Annie Carver, a technological employee at the Bureau.
Recurring
Kevin Dunn as Merv Minette, the new Captain of The Bureau Underground.
Sam McMurray as Campbell McMasters, a wealthy country club member.
Mo Collins as Monica Yates, a trophy wife of a wealthy country club member.
John Getz as Romsio, the director of the Bureau Underground and Lafrey's boss.
Production
Ghosted was created and executive produced by Tom Gormican (who also serves as writer) with Craig Robinson and Adam Scott (who also star in the lead roles), Naomi Scott, Mark Schuman, Oly Obst, Kevin Etten, and director Jonathan Krisel.[6] On August 30, 2016, Fox commissioned a production commitment for the pilot. On May 10, 2017, Fox ordered the pilot to series.[4] On November 29, 2017, it was announced that Fox had ordered 6 additional episodes, bringing its first season total to 16. It was also announced that Kevin Etten was being replaced as showrunner by Paul Lieberstein which focused on retooling the second part of the first season into more of an office setting rather than a paranormal show.[7] The series was canceled after one season in June 2018.[8]
On August 30, 2016, Fox cast Craig Robinson as Leroy Wright and Adam Scott as Max Jennifer.[4][9] Edi Patterson was cast as Delilah on February 14, 2017.[10] On March 1, 2017, Ally Walker was cast as Captain Lafrey.[11]Adeel Akhtar was cast as Barry on March 9, 2017.[12] On July 12, Amber Stevens West was cast as Annie, who was played by Edi Patterson in the pilot.[13]
Broadcast
The series began to air on Fox's sister network FXX in the weeks following the premiere. In the United Kingdom, it began airing on ITV2 on October 30, 2017. In Latin America, it broadcast the 16 episodes from June to July 2018 on FX.
After an agent from the Bureau Underground is captured, the Bureau takes his advice to recruit Max and Leroy. The unlikely duo go on a mission to save the agent and fight his abductor, an alien-possessed man. However, the alien escapes with the agent onto a UFO. Max and Leroy decide to stay with the Underground Bureau to find out more. In the end, Max's wife is revealed to be in the Bureau's custody after being possessed by an extraterrestrial.
Leroy takes Jermaine (his former police partner's son) trick-or-treating, and Max tags along. However, Jermaine reveals he is only interested in going to a party against his mother's wishes. Meanwhile, a cat infects Jermaine with a virus, which turns Jermaine and the party-goers into zombies.
Leroy and Max investigate a murder in which a body has been found with its heart removed. Max urges Leroy to go on a date with a female police officer who turns out to be a succubus who is responsible for the recent death. Meanwhile, Captain Lafrey is suspicious of her teenage daughter.
An amphibious monster is inadvertently brought back to life at the Bureau and begins killing people, initiating a lockdown. Max, Leroy and the others must kill the monster within 30 minutes in order to prevent the Bureau Underground from being destroyed.
While acting as Bureau Director, Annie installs an Artificial Intelligence software to manage the office. Max grows suspicious that the program might be evil and want access to the Bureau's personal files. Meanwhile, Leroy makes a new friend which causes Max to be jealous.
The bureau investigates the disappearance and reappearance of a young girl who was dragged by an unseen force at a "haunted" hayride questioning it if it was real or a publicity stunt.
Leroy Wright becomes disillusioned with the Bureau after there has been no case of paranormal/monster of the week for months and questions why he is still working for the Bureau. To fuel his boredom he sells hangers to a mysterious customer. Meanwhile Max Jennifer finds a bug in The Bureau Underground.
Leroy Wright brings in a psychic who helps him to figure out who bugged the office. The psychic tells the staff one person will die after leaving the office. Only Max is unwilling to believe the psychic.
An article in the Times about the Bureau Underground breaks news around the world. Max's mother and father ask him to quit and go work for his brother selling power bars. Leroy is ordered by Minette to interrogate his co-workers to find out who leaked the information to the Times. Ava, using info about who bugged the Bureau Underground, goes looking for answers, coming face to face with danger.
The Bureau Underground struggles to be taken seriously while forced to share a case both with the FBI and the FAA. Disheartened by the lack of respect, the team turns to Merv (guest star Kevin Dunn) who offers very little support. Meanwhile, an unlikely relationship forms and Max makes a shocking discovery. This is the season (Series) finale.
While trying to prove their worth to Captain Lafrey and the rest of The Bureau Underground, Leroy and Max finally have a lead on the whereabouts of Agent Checker (guest star Linc Hand). Leroy finds himself in the odd position of being the believer when Max loses faith in their competency. This episode was aired well out of order. This shows the direction the series probably would have taken, had it not been retooled.
^The pilot episode received an early release on September 21, 2017.[14]
^Was to be the winter finale broadcast January 14, 2018, Fox postponed this episode with 5 days notice to air with the rest of the extended season however it was still streamed by Amazon on its originally intended release date.
Ghosted received mixed to positive reviews. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 59% approval rating based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 5.92/10. The website's critical consensus reads "Craig Robinson and Adam Scott's odd-couple chemistry is strong enough to carry Ghosted through a first season that finds the show a promising work in progress."[31]