Per Deadline, a French remake titled Ghosts: Fantômes en Héritage is set to come to the small screen. The show, which will be a direct adaptation of the UK series, is being produced by the French arm of BBC Studios and will air on Disney+ in France as well as the French network TF1. The show, which is being written and directed by Arthur Sanigou, will premiere with a six-episode season that closely hews to the UK series, but could expand into new territory in season 2, should it be renewed. Read comments from Sanigou and co-writer Joris Goulenok below:
Arthur Sanigou: Yeah, we’d love to [do more.] We are writing the Season 2… The English show was not very famous in France, it was very new for us, and we watched all the UK series. After the first two minutes, I was like: Okay, I love it, the energy, the comedy, the setup with some shots where you see the ghosts and some where you don’t. We are very close to the UK version [in Season 1], there [is] some magical stuff that’s working in the UK series.
Joris Goulenok: We wanted to have something that if a few seasons happen after [Season 1], to be able to go further in our own path. The same as with the U.S. version of The Office, which sticks to the Ricky Gervais version at first… We didn’t want to break what was going well, you know, the structures. They are very good, the English writers.
What This Means For Ghosts
It Could Become As Iconic As The Office
Although quite a few UK series have received US remakes, including House of Cards, Skins, Shameless, and Being Human, this influx of other international reboots is relatively unusual. In fact, it sees Ghosts potentially rivaling The Office as one of the most influential and frequently remade sitcoms to come out of the UK. While the US version of The Office ran the longest, lasting for nine seasons, the original show was also remade in Germany, Brazil, France, Canada, Chile, and nine more territories.
Why Does Ghosts Have Such Longevity?
Good Reviews And An Adaptable Premise Help The Show
For a show with such a unique supernatural bent, the fact that Ghosts has received so many remakes may seem surprising. However, there are likely several factors that play into the franchise’s international longevity. One is its glowing reception by both critics and audiences. Both the UK and US versions have been well-received, with the former earning an average score of 96% from critics and 92% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes and the latter earning 97% and 86% respectively. Below, see a breakdown of how every season of the US and UK series has performed on Rotten Tomatoes:
In addition to the fact that the shows have been consistent in quality across international lines, the premise – while specific – is uniquely adaptable to other regions. While the main human characters remain roughly the same, the ensemble of ghostly characters around them can easily be swapped out to represent different time periods in the history of whatever region the show takes place in, as revealed by the Nazi sympathizer character that was written for the French version.
Our Take On The French Remake Of Ghosts
Season 1 Could Still Have Major Differences
Much like the US version of The Office, the French version of Ghosts will remain faithful to the original scripts and characters for a certain period of time. However, even within that framework, the amount of cultural differences will most likely add up quickly, most likely making the upcoming show feel very different from the original by the time it hits its season finale. This could offer some major insight into the direction that season 2 could take as it splits off from the original narrative.
