America has had its fair share of television shows that originated in the United Kingdom. Remakes are a common thread on American TV, whether it’s Strictly Come Dancing becoming Dancing With the Stars, or narrative shows being ported over to a different audience, including Being Human, Life on Mars, and more. Each has had varying degrees of success, based on how well the concept translates to American humor, but none has perhaps been more successful lately than Ghosts, a supernatural comedy that arrived on our shores in 2021, after the original version premiered in Britain in 2019.
Where some American remakes try to alter their premises to better fit the tastes of a much larger country, both versions of Ghosts remain largely the same on the surface: a couple (played by Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe in the UK, and Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar in the U.S.) inherits a large, rundown manor house that they intend to turn into a hotel. Little do they know, the house is crawling with ghosts of all kinds, and when half of the couple has a near-death accident that grants her the ability to see them, things go awry as they must learn to manage their new home and the needs of the spirits haunting it.
It’s a simple concept, propelled just as much by its cast of characters as its interesting premise. The UK version is still as much of a success as ever, finally coming to an end after five seasons and a new Christmas special that was released in December 2023. The team behind Ghosts also produced a book giving a special inside look at the characters of the series and continue to receive massive amounts of love from fans, who each have their favorites out of the rowdy pack of specters determined to find peace in Button House.
‘Ghosts’ UK Is Defined by Its Creators
But more importantly, that team is exactly what makes the original version of Ghosts so special. While the U.S. version was developed as a spin-off adaptation by Joe Port and Joe Wiseman, the original series came from the minds of Them There, a collective of comedians, writers, and actors comprised of Mathew Baynton, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, Ben Willbond, and Simon Farnaby. While each has achieved personal success in their own career — Farnaby notably co-wrote last year’s Wonka, as well as the hit film Paddington 2 — they’re largely known for their group efforts, which began with the inception of Horrible Histories in 2009. A comedy sketch show meant to teach children about English history (notably including the iconic “Monarch Song”), the series brought the six creatives together as they were hired out of the UK comedy scene, and brought them such success that they banded together to continue creating, moving on to the fantasy series Yonderland and the comedy film Bill, a humorous take on the life of William Shakespeare, before creating Ghosts.
Them There is the backbone of the series, writing the show as well as playing a majority of the ghosts inhabiting Button House: Baynton as romantic poet Thomas Thorne, Howe-Douglas as the stuck-up Lady Button, Howick as cheerful Boy Scout leader Pat Butcher (the greatest DJ in the ar-e-a), Rickard as both the decapitated Lord Humphrey and stoic caveman Robin, Farnaby as pantsless Tory MP Julian Fawcett, and Willbond as the simply titled Captain. While a few others fill out the cast of specters plaguing Ritchie’s Allison (including Horrible Histories guest star Katy Wix), the collective is the heart at the center of the show that elevates it over the American remake.
