Bertrand Calmeau/CBS
SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details about the third season premiere of CBS' Ghosts.
It's been a while since we met with the residents of Woodstone Mansion.
As the second season of Ghosts came to an end on CBS, audiences were treated to quite a cliffhanger as one of the ghosts finally moved on. Or, as the other ghosts call it, “got sucked dry.” Just like the audience, Jay [Utkarsh Ambudkar] and Sam [Rose McIver] They also don't know who left the property as they only saw a flash of light from their car indicating someone was gone.
The third season premiere wastes no time solving this mystery. After a quick head count, Jay and Sam discover that it was Flower who eventually crossed over to the other side. Bad news for Thor, who was madly in love with Flower. Meanwhile, some of the others have complicated feelings about her departure, because while they miss their friend, they're also waiting for their turn.
The rest of the episode deals with the aftermath of Flower's disappearance as everyone tries to figure out their own way of grieving.
Executive producers and showrunners Joe Port and Joe Wiseman spoke to Deadline about the fallout from Flowers' departure and what else to expect from this short season of Ghosts.
DEADLINE: When did the idea of sucking out one of the ghosts come about?
JOE PORT: Towards the end of the season last year we just had this idea and thought it would be a really cool and fun way to end the season as a teaser for next year.
DEADLINE: So how did you come up with the idea that it would be “Flower”?
JOE WISEMAN: I mean, we had a lot of conversations after we got picked up. Before the room started, we didn't know exactly who it would be, but we definitely had candidates in mind. And then just by saying it, we wanted to be someone who had consequences, someone who had an impact. We landed on Flower, [who we thought] It would be an interesting ghost to disappear. because that would create a lot of storylines. Many people would react differently. Thor is obviously in love with Flower and would be completely devastated. Other spirits would be jealous of her because she hasn't been there that long. So it seemed like we were making up a lot of stories.
DEADLINE: There was a moment when I thought that maybe she wasn't really gone after all. Have you considered that the ghosts just thought she had been sucked dry, but in reality she was just out doing something, like a comedy act?
HARBOR: When we discovered that Flower was going to be the one to leave, I think we wanted to reveal it at the beginning of the episode so that we could deal with the fallout in the episode and really explore how that affected everyone in the house Premiere.
DEADLINE: So does this mean Flower isn't coming back? Or is there a chance she can return?
WISE MAN: Secure. It's interesting: When a ghost is sucked out in the series, it's not dead. They're all already dead. So we've had opportunities to bring sucked ghosts into play in previous episodes [come] back for stories and so on. And we tell stories with flashbacks, etc. So, yes, theoretically there would be ways to still see a ghost that has moved on.
DEADLINE: One of the longer running bits that never gets old is how Jay is so unaware of the ghosts. There are several moments in this episode where this happens. How do you keep that bit going without making it feel tired?
HARBOR: It's a challenge that Jay can't talk to 80% of the cast, but it's definitely an opportunity because it fits a certain style [of comedy]. Sam does a lot of the play-by-play for Jay in the scenes, and she just kind of gives him the highlights. So sometimes it turns out that he missed quite a lot. I think Joe and I both… we've read that people are saying, “Oh, he should get these powers and he should be able to see the ghosts.” First of all, we think that a lot of the humor was lost would go as you suggested and we also think that, as strange as it may sound, that doesn't seem real. I've never met anyone who can see ghosts. Therefore, it seems strange that there are two people in the same household who happen to develop this gift.
DEADLINE: I recently read an interview in which Asher Grodman teased that Jay might see ghosts this season. Given what you just said, can you elaborate on that?
WISE MAN: I think what he's talking about is a version of that, but not the same thing. Without going into spoilers, it's not the same as what Sam does.
DEADLINE: This is a shortened season, primarily due to the strikes. Given that you only have ten 20-minute episodes, how did that impact your creative decisions?
HARBOR: We did 18 in the first season. Then last year we did 22 and hope to do 22 in the future. I think the way we look at it is that we usually divide the season into two halves. That's why this year we simply followed the progress of the first half of a season. We always end the first half of the season with some big developments. This is no different.
DEADLINE: Can you tell us a little more about the production schedule and how it evolved after the strikes?
WISE MAN: First of all, everyone was so happy to be back at work. Everyone loves the work and it's fun to work here. It's fun to think and write about ideas. Everyone was just excited to be back in the room…it was the same on set. Nobody lost a step. Everyone is so excited and happy to be back to work. There are certain challenges. We shoot the show in Montreal and usually try to start in July. The weather is good most of the time we are there, but we didn't have this opportunity. So we're dealing with a little more winter weather than we normally would. We still get out of the house, but we have to be creative with where we go and how we shoot it. But the crew up there is incredible. Our production designer is incredible and just came up with some very creative ways to help us shoot.
DEADLINE: What else can you watch from Season 3?
HARBOR: I think that Flower's disappearance will be an ongoing story that unfolds and has many implications throughout the house. We'll learn about some of our ghosts' powers that we haven't learned yet, and we'll learn how a ghost died in what I thought was a very moving episode.
WISE MAN: There are a few storylines that we follow. Isaac and Nigel recently got engaged, so we'll be following them as they plan their wedding, bachelorette party, etc. And in the meantime, Jay and Sam have broken ground on the restaurant. They continue to convert the barn into a restaurant. So this is also an ongoing plot that we attach some stories to.
HARBOR: We're doing another Halloween episode this season, even though we're not airing on Halloween. We love making them and we use them to launch a major story arc.
DEADLINE: What about new ghosts?
WISE MAN: Part of the fun of the show is finding ways to introduce new ghosts. We have a few fun ways to do that. We're going to see some love for Alberta this year, which we're really excited about.
DEADLINE: Do you find that you introduce new ghosts into the story out of necessity, or do you ever just think of a fun character you want to write?
HARBOR: It's both. We think we've come up with a particularly clever way to have a ghost visit the property this season. And when we found out we had this character, we thought he would make an interesting love interest for Alberta. That became the story of his visit.
“Ghosts” airs Thursdays at 8:30 pm ET/PT on CBS.