‘Ghosts’ Star Rose McIver Breaks Down ‘Incredibly Emotional’ Season 1 Finale Scene (Exclusive)

CBS’s Ghosts might have had its Season 1 finale earlier this month but one scene, in particular, has driven fans to the brink emotionally. After Viking ghost Thor (Devan Chandler Long) allegedly cast a Norse curse on Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) in an attempt to prevent the B&B from opening, the Livings discover the only way to reverse it is by hilariously combining sugar and cinnamon. Sounds easy enough but when Alberta (Danielle Pinnock) is concerned the remedy could also reverse Sam’s ability to see them, the ghosts begin to say their goodbyes.

The moment sparked a flurry of sentiments by fans but it also translated behind-the-scenes with the cast per McIver, who tells PopCulture.com exclusively she and her co-stars were overcome with emotion. Revealing how the season finale episode, “Farnsby & B” was split in half due to production being shut down over COVID before Christmas, the New Zealand-born actress admits it was a moment in time the cast acknowledged most humbly. “It was before any of us knew that we were coming back [for Season 2], and it was an incredibly emotional thing to film because, we had all, during this last crazy couple of years, the show,” she said. “Being able to work on this thing together was a real light at the end of the tunnel for us and we’ve kind of been through some pretty strange times together and become very, very close.”

McIver adds how that culmination left them all “excited and hopeful” for a return, despite not getting the greenlight just yet. “People seemed to be responding so well, but you never know,” she said. “The idea that we could in any world lose this group of people and the amazing story we’re getting to tell was really, really emotional. I don’t think any of us kind of expected to be tapping into these kinds of things on a 22-minute sitcom and it’s happened a number of times in the show, like Pete’s wife or Alberta’s flashbacks, her reflections on her father. There are so many moments in the show that we have been kind of surprised how personal and emotional we’ve been able to kind of get with it.”

As for the remnants of the alleged curse, McIver says if she were to channel how Sam really feels about it, she would like to hope it’s not real even if stranger things have happened. “I think that this is a world where she has in the last year, been able to see all of these new ghosts and her life is so otherworldly and extraordinary now. I think you’d have to be kind of naive not to be a little bit open to wondering whether there’s truth behind these kinds of things,” she said. “But no, I’m hopeful that with all of the best intentions and with everybody now being so welcoming of her and of Jay in the house that they’re going to get past us.”

With a deeper, more solidified connection to the ghosts following that emotional moment in the kitchen, McIver asserts for the sake of Sam, “there’s definitely going to have to be some time management going on” for Season 2 as her character fulfills the wishes of her spirited friends. “A lot of people that really are deserving of help and support too, and who have provided it for her, so it’s going to be very interesting kind of seeing how she navigates all of these different demands,” she said. “I often think of Sam as like a mother with a bunch of children or a teacher with a bunch of students where there are just so many different people to be facilitating their needs at any given moment. But Sam is constantly spinning tight and I don’t imagine that’s going to get any easier when the B&B is now open and they’re also taking care of guests.”

As the show beautifully balances the stories of each ghost in every episode, McIver goes on to share how it is also hard for her on-screen counterpart Sam to gravitate to one single ghost over the others in terms of their friendships. “It’s like a parent choosing a favorite child, you can’t do that,” she laughed. “But I do think in some ways I really enjoyed exploring with Sasappis [Román Zaragoza], he’s a writer. There’s a real kindred thing that they share and I feel like that’s quite a strong one to have explored. Even though they’re not what we would consider being similar people. He’s very cool and laid back, and in some ways, it’s a really unlikely pairing that they would kind of see so much of themselves in each other. I find that quite interesting.”

Stay tuned for more with Rose McIver talking Ghosts only on PopCulture! Keep it locked right here for the very latest about the show, news about the cast and everything in between. In the meantime, relive the first season of Ghosts on Paramount+ and get an exclusive streaming offer here.