CBS’s Ghosts is currently in its first season and while its Rotten Tomatoes score sits at a comfortable 93%, its Audience Score is currently at 45%. Compare that to the 96% from Critics and 92% from Audiences and the BBC’s original version of the show clearly surpasses what the US version is currently producing.
The chemistry amongst the cast in BBC’s Ghosts is almost unmatched and it will take a lot for the crew of the CBS version to be able to build to somewhere similar. The group working on the original have been friends for years and both created and wrote the show together.
Fans will of course know them for their work on Horrible Histories, but they also produced the underrated Yonderland as well. For CBS’s version of the show, this kind of chemistry will likely be built from lots more filming and consistent reps working with one another.
There’s a subtlety to the way that the characters are written that really goes a long way in the storytelling in BBC’s version of the show. Whether it’s The General’s inability to face the truth of his sexuality or Julian’s quiet regret at the life that he led, each character has an ongoing arc permeating through the core of their performance.
This kind of depth means that these personalities aren’t simply caricatures of the past but genuine people who lived very real lives. It grounds the paranormal and spectacular wackiness into some kind of reality that audiences have gravitated towards. CBS would be wary to do the same, ensuring their ghosts continue to develop their own subtle sub-plots.
