Although CBS’s Ghosts is deservedly loved by critics and viewers alike, the hit sitcom’s success may have contributed to another rival show’s swift demise. It is always tough when two competing TV shows or movies stumble on the same central conceit. In 2015, both Scream Queens and MTV’s Scream took a stab at reigniting the self-aware teen slasher craze of the ‘90s. A few years earlier, 2 Broke Girls and Don’t Trust The ***** In Apartment 23 told the stories of young New York heroines who struggled to make ends meet with the help of a cynical, sardonic friend.
In some cases, both dueling shows can succeed alongside each other despite their similarities. However, when CBS adapted the 2019 BBC sitcom Ghosts for an American audience in 2021, the show’s creators may have inadvertently doomed another series. Borrowing its premise from the British series of the same name, CBS’s Ghosts centers on a young couple, Sam and Jay, who inherit a lavish period property. When Sam suffers a near-death experience, she gains the ability to communicate with the property’s plentiful population of ghosts. The ghosts of Ghosts provide most of the hit sitcom’s biggest laughs.
Ghosts And Shining Vale Had Similar Premises
Both Sitcoms Centered On Women Who Spoke To Ghosts
However, a series that debuted less than a year later ended up exploring a jarringly similar premise. CBS’s Ghosts debuted on October 7, 2021, while the Starz series Shining Vale arrived on March 6, 2022. Both Ghosts and Shining Vale starred heroines who spoke to ghosts, but their peculiar similarities didn’t end there. Ghosts and Shining Vale both followed married women who moved to new houses and encountered ghosts there, only for their communication with these ghosts to fundamentally alter their lives. Shining Vale’s sense of humor was darker, but the central conceit remained unmistakably similar to that of Ghosts.
In Shining Vale, Courtney Cox’s author Pat Phelps is caught cheating on her husband, Greg Kinnear’s beleaguered Terry, and this prompts a move to save their family. The discontented recovering alcoholic Pat soon finds herself possessed by the spirit of Rosemary, a sharp-witted homemaker who died in the house years earlier. Although Ghosts changed a lot of details from its British inspiration, one thing that stayed the same was Sam and Jay’s home playing host to numerous specters. Similarly, Rosemary is not the only ghost that Pet encounters in Shining Vale’s two seasons, although she is the most prominent.
It is important to note that Shining Vale is a comedy, albeit a darker one than CBS’s largely family-friendly sitcom.
Ghosts Was More Popular With Audiences Than Shining Vale
2021’s Hit Sitcom Beat Shining Vale Among Viewers
Pat in a bathtub in Shining Vale season 2
Since Cox’s character is a frustrated author in a failing marriage who resents her children, Shining Vale arguably has as much in common with The Shining as Ghosts. However, it is important to note that Shining Vale is a comedy, albeit a darker one than CBS’s largely family-friendly sitcom. Both CBS’s Ghosts and Shining Vale mine dark laughs from the unfortunate circumstances of their ghost’s deaths, but Shining Vale takes the plight of its heroine more seriously. Sam and Jay are surprisingly open to Sam’s newfound paranormal powers, whereas Pat struggles with her and Rosemary’s shared ability to communicate.
Ghosts season 1’s best ratings saw the series gain 6.68 million viewers, whereas Shining Vale ’s season 1 peak was a mere 0.228 million.
As a result, it shouldn’t be too surprising to learn that Ghosts is a bigger hit than Shining Vale. However, it is undeniably striking to see just how much the CBS sitcom outperformed its competitor. Ghosts season 1’s best ratings saw the series gain 6.68 million viewers, whereas Shining Vale’s season 1 peak was a mere 0.228 million. 6.2 million viewers tuned in to see Flower’s return in Ghosts season 3 whereas a mere 0.112 million watched Shining Vale season 2’s highest-rated episode. Considering the involvement of Friends alumnus Cox, these numbers were notably low.
