Ghosted: Mid-season Update -- Spirits in the Material World

With Ghosted now on hiatus until mid-January, there is no time like the present to update you on what’s been going on with the Bureau Underground, and our intrepid heroes, namely Craig Robinson’s Leroy and Adam Scott’s Max. As I stated previously, the key to the show’s success will be how well Leroy and Max interact with one another. As of the eighth episode, the chemistry between the two is still good, and naturally, deeper than in that first episode. It’s not Seinfeld-Costanza, or Jerry-Elaine level yet, but one can see that it could be if Robinson and Scott are committed to it, and, of course, the show lasts long enough.

This episode, Haunted Hayride, has the two investigating the paranormal possession of a local high school girl, which stays true to the show’s science fiction basis. Indeed, I do like the cases that Leroy and Max are generally sent on, as in they fit the show’s description as being a “comedic X-Files.” The investigation is, of course, bookended by the humorous interactions of Leroy and Max, which keeps to the show’s other basis, namely comic relief. This is where both Robinson and Scott are at their best. Having been told separately by their boss, Ally Walker’s Captain Lafrey, that he is in charge of the investigation, Leroy and Max, bumble over each other to try to exert their “influence” on the other, until they realize Lafrey only wanted them to compete against another, in order to strengthen the bond between them.

While the Leroy-Max element of the show seems to be developing well, one point that is missing, if they are comic relief is the secondary characters in the Bureau, including Lafrey, Adeel Akhtar’s Dr. Barry Shaw, and Amber Steven West’s Annie, are still not very funny and not very well developed. I think if the show is to have a future, the writers need to put more time into making them not only supportive of Leroy and Max but also funny and interesting in their own right. To reference Seinfeld again, that show would not be the same without Kramer, Newman, and J. Peterman.

From the preview of the next episode, which has Annie going along with Leroy and Max on an investigation, it looks like the writers have also noticed the emptiness of everyone on the show other than Max and Leroy. If this is the case, then the second half to the season should be quite interesting as we see Leroy and Max continue their development, as well as, the deeper inclusion of the show’s co-starring characters. All in all, the first half of the season was solid. On the one hand, there is room for the show to be a true sci-fi-comedy success. However, on the other hand, there is just as much potential for it to “jump the shark” sooner rather than later.