How CBS’s Ghosts Redeemed a British Blunder (And Created a Masterpiece!)

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Ghosts fixed a harmful element of the original UK version, and it’s one of the CBS series’ best stories. Ghosts UK inspires the American sitcom, which has progressed into its fourth season. With the shows sharing a premise and even some of the same original creators, Ghosts characters based on the UK version exist, and some American characters share noticeable commonalities with their British counterparts. As the American series progresses into the present, it has opportunities to improve upon what its predecessor established.

Despite numerous differences, Ghosts and Ghosts UK feature a young couple who inherit a mansion full of ghosts from different time periods and backstories. The female protagonists — Rose McIver’s Sam for CBS and Charlotte Ritchie’s Allison for the BBC — have a near-death experience, allowing them to see the spirits who inhabit their homes. Sam and her husband Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) open the Woodstone B&B, a nod to Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) and Allison’s gatehouse, and dream of running an inn. Whichever series you prefer, the American show builds on the British series, but it improves it in some ways, making a central Ghosts story even better.

Ghosts US & UK Features Gay Men Who Weren’t Able To Freely Express Themselves When They Were Alive

Both Ghosts series feature a gay man who couldn’t freely express himself while alive. Ghosts UK features Captain, played by an English actor and a producer for both Ghosts series, Ben Willabond. Captain served in World War II and is referred to simply by his rank rather than by his name, James, which the UK series doesn’t reveal until season 5 — its final season. The CBS series features Isaac, a Revolutionary War soldier and a member of the American Continental Congress, played by Brandon Scott Jones, who also reached the rank of military captain before the ghost character died.

Regardless of why, neither character had a fulfilling romance while they were alive.

Both characters telegraph their sexual orientation throughout the series before sharing their identity with other ghost characters, subtly admiring different men on the property or on TV. Each character has a backstory that reveals they couldn’t freely express themselves during their respective periods, with critical differences but the same result. Isaac is married to “a handsome woman” named Beatrice, recounting how they slept in separate bedrooms to “keep their flame alive.” In contrast, Captain is never married in Ghosts UK, but that isn’t his greatest tragedy. Regardless of why, neither character had a fulfilling romance while they were alive.

Only Ghosts US’ Isaac Gets To Live His Truth In The Afterlife; Captain Doesn’t

Ghosts US Redeems Ghosts UK

What differentiates Isaac’s story from Captain’s is that the American character acts on his sexuality in the afterlife. Isaac’s story redeems an essential element of the original series, extending beyond Captain not having a fulfilling relationship after his death. In Ghosts UK, most characters aren’t romantic, anyway. The primary blunder in Ghosts UK is that the Captain’s death plays into the “bury your gays” trope, with the character suffering a tragic fate in the middle of trying to express his love for another male character, Havers (Peter Sandys-Clarke), whom he has a heart attack and dies in front of.

While both characters suffer a tragic fate after unfulfilled romances during their lifetimes, Ghosts UK worsens the inevitable death of their gay character by coupling it with the tragedy of not fully being able to express himself. In contrast, Isaac finds comfort in his afterlife because he and his wife, Beatrice, had non-romantic intimacy. When he makes peace with his guilt, Isaac allows himself to act on a romance with Nigel Chessum (John Hartman), making the most of his afterlife. While the UK characters are much less intimate, the series missed an opportunity to redeem Captain’s harmful death.

Seeing Isaac Starting To Embrace His True Self Is Satisfying & Inspiring

Isaac Is Still On His Journey Of Self-Discovery

By leaning into Isaac’s narrative rather than treating his experiences as tragic, Ghosts delivers one of its best characters and storylines. Isaac Higgintoot is undoubtedly one of the series’ most prominent, humorous characters. How he processes the events in his personal life contributes to that. Isaac has experienced massive growth, and it’s been satisfying and inspiring to watch it play out. Ghosts season 4 taps into Isaac’s emotional aftermath after Isaac and Nigel break up in the Ghosts season 3 finale, expanding Isaac’s journey from simply settling down with his crush.

Isaac will continue to process the aftermath of his relationship in the Ghosts season 4 story as he grapples with the complicated emotions surrounding his split. Isaac changes his hair in Ghosts season 4, episode 4, finding a way to move on in the afterlife despite his limitations on interacting with the material world. By giving Isaac the freedom to express himself openly, the CBS series makes room for positive LGBTQ+ experiences in the media and has told many of its best stories through that lens, genuinely enhancing Ghosts with Isaac’s diversity.