Although CBS’s Ghosts has its own unique appeal, the U.S. remake of a UK sitcom did borrow one clever adaptation trick from an earlier cult classic. It can be hard for American remakes to capture the tone and appeal of their predecessors.
Humor is famously subjective and often reliant on cultural context, so jokes that were hilarious in an English TV comedy can fall flat when remade for an American audience. However, 2021’s Ghosts proved this isn’t always true when the sitcom reworked the BBC’s 2019 series Ghosts with a new cast and characters.
2021’s American version of Ghosts borrowed the basic premise of the UK series. Sam and Jay are a young couple who unexpectedly inherit a remote country home. After a near-death experience, Sam gains the ability to see and talk to the ghosts that inhabit the house.
That’s where things begin to change, as the ghost characters in CBS’s Ghosts are almost entirely different from their UK inspirations. Sam and Jay fulfill much the same function as the original show’s Allison and Mike, but few of the ghosts Sam communicates with bear a resemblance to the UK version’s characters.
