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.”
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.
