As the central couple of the CBS supernatural comedy “Ghosts,” Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar are the audience's eyes and ears in an elevated world where some energetic specters end up haunting their place of death in a kind of purgatory, but with a smart turn. .
After a near-death experience, Sam, McIver's type-A freelance journalist, can see and communicate with spirits, while Jay, Ambudkar's free-spirited chef, cannot. That unique premise has transformed the American version of “Ghosts,” which is both a retrospective of American history and a throwback to classic family comedies, into the second most-watched comedy on network television (after “Young Sheldon”). .
If the group of ghosts forms the raucous heart of the show, then Sam and Jay are the eye of the storm. For three seasons, McIver and Ambudkar have played a married couple who uprooted their lives to turn the quaint farmhouse they inherited into a bed and breakfast. While some may balk at the idea of their spouse being able to communicate with the deceased, the writers wisely decided to have Jay immediately embrace Sam's new abilities, which has not only allowed them to get up to comedic hijinks together, but has also made them a couple. It's worth supporting.
Rose McIver plays Samantha, who can see and talk to the ghosts that inhabit her new home. Utkarsh Ambudkar is Jay, who cannot see spirits in “Ghosts.”
(Bertrand Calmeau/CBS/CBS)
“Jay is the definition of unconditional love,” Ambudkar says on a recent video call with McIver. In return, Sam gives Jay a sense of purpose and fuels his adventures with the ghosts. “It feels really good to be able to play a loving couple on screen who are going through a lot and recognize it.”
“And that, at the end of it all, they still choose each other,” McIver adds. “There's a reason why all the ghosts are haunted by them, they want to make this couple work. It was a really smart move to have Jay be their champion, because now everyone is his the biggest admirer.”
“It was a really smart move to have Jay be their champion, because now everyone is his “My biggest fan,” Rose McIver says of “Ghosts” couple Sam and Jay.
(Chris Ryan Ross / Paramount+)
Like their characters, McIver and Ambudkar's personalities complement each other. While McIver likes to approach her work in a more technical and methodical manner, Ambudkar is more spontaneous and improvisational. Over time, the actors have developed a shorthand with each other: She knows when he's going to go off script, and he knows she's always looking at the big picture. The result is more like an ordinary married couple who can finish each other's sentences. “Much of the success that happens on screen is a direct result of harmony off screen,” says Ambudkar.
And that's not to mention the difficulty of both of their jobs. “Utkarsh can't interact with 80% of the cast and Rose has to do takes of entire scenes in which she reacts to various people who aren't even there,” says executive producer Joe Wiseman, who serves as co-showrunner with Joe . Port. For his part, McIver points out that with muscle memory it has become easier to remember eye lines, but he essentially still has to play two versions of the same scene.
As Ambudkar says, McIver has to figure out how to “find the time and space to include Jay while also playing whack-a-mole with the ghosts.” On the other hand, McIver says Ambudkar knows how to “add color” and “fill in the details” of scenes without downplaying the ghosts' story lines.
Port adds that the writers have leaned into the absurdity of this concept: “We have Sam doing a play-by-play for Jay of what's happening in the scene, and he catches the highlights of what's happening, and that provides another avenue.” for comedy for us.”
What makes McIver and Ambudkar's performances particularly fun to watch is their wholehearted commitment to the part, however ridiculous, and that extends to more than just their own characters. For example, Sam and Jay have been possessed by one of the other ghosts, giving the protagonists the opportunity to lean on the eccentricities of several characters at once. “Without Rose and Utkarsh committed to the premise, those episodes wouldn't have worked,” Wiseman says.
McIver has compared working with the rest of the ensemble to creating an intricate Rube Goldberg machine, where a team has “so many little pieces that come together and require each other's attention.” The actors, like their characters, have found a way to cooperate and live together in harmony; In season three, Sam and Jay found a way to set some boundaries with ghosts while still seamlessly incorporating them into their daily lives. “I love when [Sam and Jay] “They have a mission and when, in true sitcom style, they find some way to ruin that mission, it brings them and the ghosts closer together,” Ambudkar says.
“Ghosts” “is not for a small voting room in Hollywood; It is for the millions of people who live a normal life, who work hard and want to feel a bit of joy in their lives,” says Utkarsh Ambudkar.
(Chris Ryan Ross / Paramount+)
Despite being a hit with both critics and audiences, “Ghosts” has been largely ignored in the awards conversation in favor of darker dramas, which have begun to crowd the comedy categories. While they agree that this type of recognition would be particularly meaningful, McIver and Ambudkar have been more moved by the international and intergenerational appeal of the program, whose accessible and inclusive nature has opened up difficult but necessary conversations about mortality and tolerance.
“I'm very proud of the lack of snobbery in our program,” McIver says. “It encourages us to connect with people who aren't (or think) exactly the same as us, and there's an openness and warmth to that. It is not a specialized, dark and daring comedy. “It's warm and loving, and I think that's something people really need on television right now.”
At the end of the day, “Ghosts” “is not for a small ward of Hollywood voters; It's for the millions of people who live normal lives, who are hard workers, and who want to feel a little joy in their lives. So I'm very proud that we're not in the 'cool kids club' on this show,” adds Ambudkar of the veteran main cast of “misfits,” who were largely stage and character actors before starring in “Ghosts.” ”. “To be fair, if being a loser means being the most popular show on television, sign up!”
