Skip to main content

‘Ghosted’ star calls show cross between ‘Midnight Run’ and ‘Stranger Things’

Craig Robinson and Adam Scott at the Ghosted Press Room San Diego Comic-Con 2017
Jenny McGrath / Digital Trends
Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation) and Craig Robinson (The Office) star in Fox’s new show Ghosted, which some have called a mix of Ghostbusters and X-Files. “It’s like those but way worse,” joked creator Tom Gormican during a press roundtable for the show at San Diego Comic-Con 2017. It’s quite a pedigree to live up to, but there are all kinds of paranormal activity, and Leroy Wright (Robinson) is the skeptic to Max Jennifer’s (Scott) true believer.

Gormican and showrunner Kevin Etten said they try not to stray into parody with the show, citing Ghostbusters as an inspiration. “Bill Murray is a regular guy, a skeptic who’s thrown into those crazy situation,” said Etten. “That’s what makes it funny.” Before an agent in the Bureau Underground goes missing, his last request is to find Wright, an LAPD detective turned mall cop, and Jennifer, an astrophysicist with an alien-abducted wife (or so he thinks) and a job in a bookstore. Ally Walker’s (Sons of Anarchy) character is in charge of the Bureau. “She’s a hardass,” said Walker. “I yell a lot.”

Recommended Videos

On set, Gormican calls Robinson and Scott a total odd couple but the dynamic works, and the show is about 70-percent scripted, 30-percent improvisation.  It’s actually the opposite of the show,” Scott said of their characters. “I don’t believe in any of it, but Craig…”

“I’ve had some experiences, yes,” said Robinson. “Nothing that needs to be shared right now. I do believe.”

While it’s a comedy, Walker said the show has its scary moments. Gormican and Etten said they’re mining all sorts of ghost stories and legends for inspiration. Both Scott and Robinson wanted to work with each other, and Scott liked the idea of doing an action comedy in the vein of Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hours, and Ghostbusters. “The genre stuff was just a cherry on top,” he said.

Scott actually thinks the show is closer to another ‘80s movie than either Ghostbusters or X-Files: “The quick way of describing it is, in best case scenario, if Stranger Things and Midnight Run had a baby, and for me, that baby would be my favorite baby.”

Ghosted debuts on Fox October 1.

Jenny McGrath
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jenny McGrath is a senior writer at Digital Trends covering the intersection of tech and the arts and the environment. Before…
Tom Cruise risks it all to save the world in Mission: Impossible 8 teaser trailer
Tom Cruise stares with a concerned look on his face.

Tom Cruise must save the world one last time in the teaser trailer for Mission: Impossible 8, now officially titled Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. 

For Ethan Hunt (Cruise), every action and decision he's ever made has led to this moment. At the end of Dead Reckoning, Ethan manages to steal the cruciform key to the Entity before escaping the train. With the key in his possession, Ethan and his team must find the Sevastopol, the sunken Russian submarine that hosts the Entity, and destroy the all-powerful AI before it gets into the wrong hands.

Read more
The Penguin saved its best surprise for last
Colin Farrell sits in a chair in The Penguin.

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for The Penguin (2024).

There is an inherent danger in making a show like The Penguin. The series has to humanize a despicable villain, Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell), and make him a character that viewers want to follow for eight hours. At the same time, it has to make sure not to humanize him so much that it ends up removing the character's villainous edge. That's a balance that certain superhero movies and TV shows have struggled to strike over the years.

Read more
Marvel’s What If…? season 3 trailer: Storm, the Goddess of Thunder highlights final episodes
Red Guardians and Winter Solder leap together and punch.

Get ready for one final ride with alternate versions of the MCU in the trailer for What If…? season 3.
Marvel Animation’s What If…? will end after its upcoming third season, consisting of eight episodes. The biggest reveal features the arrival of Mjolnir-wielding Storm, the Goddess of Thunder, voiced by X-Men ’97‘s Alison Sealy-Smith. Other noteworthy moments include a Howard the Duck-Darcy Lewis team-up and the new Avengers joining to form a giant robot like the Zords in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
Besides Storm, confirmed characters in What If…? season 3 include Captain America/Sam Wilson, The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, Hulk/Bruce Banner, The Red Guardian, Captain Peggy Carter, Agatha Harkness, and Shang-Chi. Jeffrey Wright continues to narrate the series as the Watcher.

Marvel Animation’s What If…? Season 3 | Official Trailer | Disney+

Read more