‘Ghosts’: BBC Series To End With 5th Season
Hit BBC series ‘Ghosts‘ will end with the upcoming 5th Season the UK broadcaster has announced. This was a creative decision by the team behind the show, not a cancellation.
From the creators and stars of ‘Yonderland’, ‘Bill’, and the original stars of ‘Horrible Histories’, ‘Ghosts’ is set in Button House, home to restless spirits whose lives, or rather, afterlives, are thrown into turmoil when a young couple unexpectedly inherits the peaceful derelict property with plans to turn it into a bustling hotel.
The series stars writers and creators Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond, with Lolly Adefope, Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.
“After five incredible years haunting the halls of Button House, we have decided that the time is right to let our beloved sitcom Ghosts rest in peace,” said the team behind the show. “We have just wrapped filming on our fifth and final series and we can’t wait to share it with you all later this year. We could never have imagined the reception the show has enjoyed, or the fun we have had making it, and we would like to thank our amazing cast and crew as well as everyone at BBC Comedy, BBC One and Monumental Television for their tireless support But most of all we’d like to thank everyone who watches. Mathew, Martha, Simon, Jim, Laurence and Ben x”
In the upcoming fifth season, Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) begin exploring other means of making ends meet and contemplate a new chapter that could have a huge effect on the Ghosts’ (after) lives.
“We are officially in mourning for the end of this BBC Comedy Classic,” adds Jon Petrie, Director of Comedy. “We can’t thank the Ghosts team enough for five incredible series (not to mention some perfect Christmas Specials) and we can’t wait for BBC viewers to see the final series. We look forward to working with the team on new projects.”
The fourth series launched in Autumn 2022, and has been nominated for a BAFTA for Best Scripted Comedy. It was the biggest comedy series of the year in terms of audiences across broadcast TV with 5.7 million viewers tuning in for episode 1 (30 days data).
“We are so proud of Ghosts, and particularly the way that audiences have taken it to their hearts,” said Alison Carpenter, Creative Director at Monumental, who produces the comedy. “We couldn’t be more grateful for the creativity, talent and hard work that every single cast and crew member has brought to it over the five series, starting with the brilliant creators and stars of the show. The Ghosts family is a very happy one, and we’ll miss it.”
Whilst we will mourn the loss of the brilliant UK original series, the US version, which also airs on the BBC in the UK, is still going strong. It is one of those rare times when the US actually get an adaptation of a UK comedy series right. Sure, it might not live up entirely to the original, but it is still a very well-written show with a solid cast. There is also a lot more of it, due to them running around 18 episodes per season as opposed to the UK’s 6-episode runs. The US version was renewed for Season 3 in January 2023.
‘Ghosts‘ 5th & final season will air later in 2023 on BBC One and iPlayer (usually around Autumn). If you want to keep track of this or any other show, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
