After 18 episodes, CBS’s smash hit freshmen sitcom Ghosts has wrapped up for the season and is set to return for its sophomore year this fall. With Ghosts and set to shoot this summer in Montreal, there is a lot on the horizon for the Joe Port and Joe Wiseman-created series. But things will undoubtedly pick up from tonight’s season finale, “Farnsby & B,” in which Livings, Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) open the Woodstone bed and breakfast. [Spoilers are ahead for Season 1, Episode 18: “Farnsby & B”]
While their efforts were met with some resistance as Thor (Devan Chandler Long) revealed he had placed a Norse curse on Sam and Jay at the very start, Port and Wiseman tell PopCulture.com exclusively that Thor’s alleged curse will be the least of fans’ worries for Season 2 as they break down some of the episode’s biggest moments.
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Thor’s curse vs. the B&B’s future
Is the curse Thor allegedly cast on Sam and Jay real? As co-creator Port tells PopCulture, “It’s like Sam says in that episode, who knows if it’s real or not? Pete got shot in the neck with an arrow. Was he cursed?” The showrunner adds how it was more a spirited message about how we react to our biggest challenges. “I think life throws obstacles in all of our ways and it’s how you deal with it and how you react,” he said. “So whether the curse is true or not, or real, I don’t think that’s a question we’re going to know the answer to. It’s more the story of how they deal with the problems that either the curse or life is throwing at them.”
With the creators equally happy that the B&B is up and running, Port said it will be a “great opportunity to have stories walking in the door,” but that Ghosts Season 2 will also turn into more of a story detailing a couple’s struggling business. “[Like] how the stresses of running that business as a couple, are going to affect Jay and Sam,” he said.
Wiseman adds that because it is a “super old house,” there will “always” be things that need repairing. “We want to sort of move forward with Season 1 [being] about them getting it ready to open up the B&B. They have now done that, but it’s not going to be smooth sailing. Big spoiler alert!”
The emotional kitchen moment
After Thor revealed to Sam how to remedy the alleged curse — with hilariously, just some sugar and cinnamon — the moment sparked a wave of emotion on social media with viewers losing it over the ghosts’ heartfelt “goodbyes” and the possibility of Sam actually going through with a curse reversal, which could prevent her from seeing her spirited friends. Considering the scene was shot right before the Season 2 renewal announcement in January, many will wonder if it took an emotional toll on the cast too.
While Wiseman wasn’t on set that day, he knew it was a “big” scene to film. “It’s a scene that takes all day to shoot. I think there were some tears, there were some takes of Alberta’s where tears were just flowing down her cheeks and we didn’t use those takes because we weren’t sure, ‘Oh ghost tears, how does that work?’” he laughed. “But I know for sure when watching the dailies that there was for real emotion flying around and it was very powerful. I can’t speak to what it was like, because I wasn’t there, but I love how that scene turned out.”
Port who was in attendance that day adds that though they weren’t picked up as yet, they had a feeling they would be. “I don’t think people were feeling like, ‘Oh, this might be goodbye forever,’ in their real lives. But I think that they’re great actors in the story of the season, which led to real emotion for their characters in those moments,” he said.
Wiseman added: “And the truth is, we thought we had a pretty good shot of being picked up, but until you are, you’re not. So the same way that scene is like, ‘Is Sam going to lose her power?’ Probably not, but just in case, this is goodbye. So in a way, it was paralleling life a little bit.” At this point, Port nods his head in disagreement much to Wiseman’s laugh.
Isaac & Nigel
Additionally, the episode also saw Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones) taking a big centuries-in-the-making step in his personal life and confronting Nigel about his feelings. With Isaac officially coming out, Port and Wiseman reveal there will “absolutely” be more Nigel in Season 2. “It was such a satisfying moment for Isaac to finally be able to come out and be who he is,” Wiseman said. “So now we’re going to follow up and we’re going to see their relationship and the ups and downs of that as well, so we will be seeing more of Nigel.”
The Farnsbys
While the episode also met with some conflict from the Farnsbys (Mark Linn-Baker and Kathryn Greenwood) who attempted to take down Sam and Jay with their own B&B, the showrunners tell PopCulture that they would “definitely like” to see the contentious couple return. Port adds with Sam learning how there are some ghosts at their home too, there will be a way we get to “meet some of them,” while also establishing “some interesting connections” to the Woodstone Mansion ghosts.
With Wiseman and Port telling PopCulture they are ready to start filming in the “beautiful city” of Montreal this summer with their amazing cast and crew, Ghosts will return this fall on CBS for Season 2. Keep it locked to PopCulture 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.
