Ghosted by the Ghosts? Here’s Why Some Characters Vanished in Season 4!

Many episodes of Ghosts season 4 were missing one or more characters from the sitcom’s lineup, and there is a satisfying explanation for this. The spirits of CBS’s Ghosts are the show’s main characters and, despite all that Sam and Jay do for them, the sitcom’s true focus. As such, it is always noticeable when one of the show’s ghosts goes missing for a few episodes.

With so many major characters, it is no surprise that some season 4 episodes didn’t feature major Ghosts characters like Sass, Thor, or Flower. However, the sheer number of characters in the sitcom’s lineup isn’t the only cause of its missing cast members in season 4. When asked about this phenomenon in TVInsider’s “Ask Matt” column, TV critic Matt Roush had this explanation to offer:

“When this question has come up before, the show’s creators have typically explained that with so many characters to service each week, there will be episodes when one or another ghost may not be featured. The actors could also be written out if there’s a personal reason or other work conflict for them to be absent on a given week. This reasoning also applies to recurring characters like the basement ghosts and the headless guy, who’s rarely seen and almost never heard.”

Ghosts Season 4 Absences Make More Sense Now

BTS Reasons Are Justified For Their Absences

This explanation makes a lot of sense since Ghosts has a bigger central lineup than many hang-out shows. There are Sam and Jay, who appear in every episode, then Thor, Sass, Isaac, Hetty, Alberta, Flower, Pete, and Trevor, and this is without even including Nancy, the rest of the basement ghosts, guest stars like Nigel and Joan, or season 4’s new ghost Patience. In contrast, other hang-out shows have much smaller main casts.

Friends, The Big Bang Theory, New Girl, and How I Met Your Mother all have a similar setup to Ghosts, with these shows focusing on a group of close friends navigating messy, complex personal and romantic lives. However, the four shows mentioned above have six main characters apiece, not ten. Thus, it was easier for most episodes to reliably incorporate all of these characters, something Ghosts can’t promise. In any case, the set-up is working for the CBS sitcom thus far.

Our Take On Some Ghosts Season 4 Episodes Missing Some Characters

The CBS Sitcom’s Next Outing is Likely To Continue This Winning Approach

As such, it is reasonable and natural that Ghosts season 4 would need to write out certain characters most weeks, even if it weren’t for conflicting work commitments on the part of the actors. Although Sass’s Ghosts season 4 storyline wasn’t perfect, the plot did make up for the character missing out on three season 4 episodes.

Similarly, the fact that Devan Chandler Long’s Thor was absent for three episodes was ameliorated by outings like episode 11, “Thorapy 2: Abandonment Issues,” and episode 14, “Alexander Hamilton and the Ruffle Kerfuffle.” These episodes gave Thor plentiful character focus, much like Sass’s storyline proved the show had not forgotten about him in his absence. Thus, Ghosts season 5 can continue with this approach for the foreseeable future without ruining the sitcom’s setup.

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