Why CBS's "Ghosts" Is The Most Shippable Show On TV!

Love is in the air this week… and on TV!

Like every other conscious person on the planet, I enjoy a good movie, TV show, and/or book. But what really gets my attention is an intriguing love story to get invested in! Yep, it’s true – I am an unapologetic shipper. And the weirder, the better!

Enter “Ghosts”, CBS’s single-camera comedy based on a U.K. series of the same name about a woman who inherits an old country estate from a distant relative and, after hitting her head, is able to see and communicate with all the ghosts that haunt the property. She and her husband turn the sprawling house into a bed & breakfast, and shenanigans ensue! The series is not only hilarious but chock full of heart and feel-good moments – something lacking from most fictional media these days, no?

But what the show probably does better than any (save for huge ensemble prestige dramas like “Game of Thrones”) is provide viewers with an abundance of offbeat romantic pairings to root for. With an array of different personalities, values, and time periods to play with, the writers are clearly having a ball creating love scenarios for these diverse characters, and I am here for all of it!

Sam & Jay

At the heart of the series is the central couple, Samantha (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar), and obviously the most conventional one. But what makes Sam & Jay unique and interesting is the lack of drama in their relationship. They are unusually loving and supportive (as far as fictional couples go these days) and always work together to solve problems. Early on in the series, Sam was able to convince Jay of her “power”, and from then on, he doesn’t even question whenever she suddenly begins to converse with seemingly thin air. “A ghost thing?” he often asks, without a hint of judgment or condescension. He certainly has his issues, like when the ghosts invade their personal space or interfere with his plans with Sam, but they always mange to come to an understanding. We love to see it!

Isaac & Nigel

Who doesn’t love a good enemies-to-lovers trope?! And you can’t get more enemies than an American Revolutionary War captain and a British soldier… especially when the former shot the latter! The Hamilton-hating Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones) lives in the main house, while Nigel (John Hartman), plus 2 comrades, occupies a shed on the property that was once used as barracks. Through the course of the series, Isaac comes to realize and acknowledge not only his sexuality but also his budding feelings for his (literal) mortal enemy. Isaac & Nigel were the first ghost romance to bloom on the show, and as of this writing, they have decided to take things to the next level by having Nigel move into the main house with Isaac!

Hetty & Trevor

What can be more salacious than a conservative Victorian lady-of-the-house and a partied-too-hard ‘90s finance bro?! Hetty Woodstone (Rebecca Wisocky), a former occupant of the manor house (and Sam’s 4-times great-grandmother), has not loosened her corset much over the last 150 years or so and is an apologetic snob. Trevor Lefkowitz (Asher Grodman) died with no pants on; nuff said? Hetty spends most of her days judging people and watching trashy period dramas on TV, while Trevor (who possesses the power to move objects) is a total horndog and constantly tries to woo Sam in the most inappropriate ways. You can’t get more opposite than these two, which is why it was both surprising AND delightful to see these two hook up! And the affair seems to still be going!

Sass & Jessica

Poor Sasappis (Román Zaragoza). As probably the least dramatic member of the household, the young Lanape has had the most tumultuous love life. Not only is his former irl crush Shiki stuck in a magazine publishing office where he has no direct access to her, but when he finally did get an honest-to-goodness girlfriend, that fell apart too. Earlier this season, Sam and Jay hired an assistant, Freddy, to help them out at the B&B. With him came his car and the ghost occupying that car, Jessica (Nichole Sakura), who crashed the car while drunk (seemingly very recently). The good news is that she gets to see a lot more of the world than the other ghosts; the bad news is that she can only occupy the car and its immediate perimeter. So when she and Sass develop feelings for each other, all of their interactions are forced to take place inside the car. Jessica soon becomes restless for life on the road, and when Freddy quits for the hundredth time, Sass is crushed. And so were we!!! Well, looks like we’re back to hoping he and Shiki miraculously find some way to get together…

Thorfinn & Flower

There is no superior pairing to me than "Big Grumpy Dude + Sweet Innocent Girlie", and this pairing hits that mark hard! Thor (Devan Chandler Long) is a burly, gruff Viking – the oldest spirit on the property – who dreams of killing Danes and has the ability to mess with electricity (probably because he died from a lightning strike). Then there is Flower (Sheila Carrasco), an easy-breezy hippie who is perpetually stoned but sweet and a bit naïve. She died from a bear attack, which seemed to intrigue Thor because that is apparently the moment he started crushing on her. About halfway through the series, Flower told Finn she loved him when it looked like he would be moving on to the afterlife. When he questioned her about it later, she admitted that she was hesitant about dating someone… emphasis on “one”… and would feel more comfortable if they were part of a throuple. Since then, Thor has been hanging on a thread, telling Flower that he is willing to wait until she’s ready to be with just him, because she’s “worth the wait” (d’awwww!). BUT THEN, in a recent episode, the twosome found themselves stuck in a “ghost box” together, and when they thought they only had mere minutes to “live” before their souls were obliterated forever, they did the only logical thing – start making out voraciously! Luckily, they were rescued from the ghost box, but their hook-up was happily no end-of-the-world fluke! And last night, they had their first date and are now officially a couple! Woo!

Pete & Alberta(???)

Pete Martino (Richie Moriarty) is the good-natured Girl Scout troop leader who was killed in the ‘80s after an unfortunate bow-and-arrow accident. Alberta Haynes (Danielle Pinnock) is the vivacious Prohibition-era singer who is obsessed with 2 things: being famous, and finding out who murdered her! (She also has the power to communicate with Alexa devices.) Pete harbors a bit of a crush on Alberta (because duh) and has made several clumsy attempts to ask her out, and even try to kiss her, but sadly Alberta does not seem interested. Still I continue to form a prayer circle for #Alpeta. After having been cheated on by his wife, Pete deserves some happiness, and Alberta deserves someone who reveres her like the diva she is. Meanwhile, Nancy, a cholera victim who haunts the house’s basement, has a lingering thing for Pete after he had her pose as his girlfriend at one point – ironically in an attempt to convince the other ghosts he doesn’t have feelings for Alberta. Occasionally she comes upstairs to try to reignite their flame (which was never lit in the first place) to no avail. Oh, and Pete was also Thor and Flower’s choice to be part of their throuple, but he politely declined.

“Ghosts” airs Thursday nights at 8:30pm on CBS!